Analyst: There are still plenty of "Starbucks snobs" out there, so buy the stock

Starbucks snobs are otherwise known as people who wouldn't buy their coffee anywhere else. Because of that fierce brand loyalty, analyst Pete Najarian has developed a taste for the stock. “The number of visits per month went up in November," he says. "I think by mid-2009 they could have things figured out." || Read "Coming From Behind in 2009: Starbucks"

Comments

[Greta]

I'm the first to admit, I'm a coffee snob. But, I'm also a snob in other ways too. I don't like going places where standards are slipping. You know, the type of place that stretches its employees and cuts staff; the type of place where things aren't quite as clean and tidy as they used to be; the type of place where I have to wait in line forever to get my coffee, and the new fast food types who have signed on to replace my old baristas treat me with indifference. You know, the type of place Starbucks seems to be evolving.

[houtxbarista]

I feel your pain. Still a part time employee -- I sometimes won't wait in my own store for a freebee the line is getting so long....

[Cali sm]

QUIT WHINING!!!
JUST HUSTLE, stay organized, don't be lazy.. It's all in your attitude...Make it work:)

[Deadtiredinla]

I agree with Cali sm. Quit whining. Stop complaining that the company doesn't care about you. They can't anymore. They have run the place into the ground, by focusing on making money and growing at a ridiculous rate. Then they woke up an found the economy kicking them in the ass. So stop whinin g. They don't care about you, even though they say they do. It's a different company now. The mission statement went out the window years ago. Respect and Dignity? Who the hell cares. There are only two people on the floor, we don't have time for that nonsense. Suck it up or move on. If you are a long time partner, go in the back an mourn the company that Starbucks used to be for five minutes of the ten minute break you never get anymore, and then get back to work. I don't even call it Starbucks anymore. I call it McBucks. Good luck Cali sm, your the kind of person this company needs right now.

[formershift]

I'm a coffee snob. I go to Vivace, Ladro, Vita, Stumptown, Victrola, Zoka, Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf (The Hawaii franchise rocks!), and Glazer's in Honolulu. Bux? Not anymore. The aforementioned coffee shops match/exceed Bux in every criteria, except perhaps volume/speed of service. And with these labor cuts, Bux doesn't even excel at that anymore.

If I was still a partner, I wouldn't sweat too much over the labor shortage. Remember, 2 people cannot do the work of a 4-5 person crew. So just do the best you can, on the clock, and that's that.

People go to Starbucks for the ambience, customer service, speed of service, and quality product. Guess we'll see what the corporate brass decide to do when their measures of customer satisfaction tank, stores get filthy, service disappears, customers walk out or refuse to patronize the company.

[Mysticboi]

Aww come on people bare with it! In the end it will all balance out. The surplus of customers will eventually not come to Starbucks anymore and it'll become easier and easier that even two people can handle it. Everyones ability is different, but on average...10k/week stores? LoL!

[Left after 8 years]

"QUIT WHINING!!!
JUST HUSTLE, stay organized, don't be lazy.. It's all in your attitude...Make it work:)"

CALI SM: We've all worked for managers like you...noone likes it! Get better acquainted with your success profile and the company will be much better off.

[Nope]

I would rather see the business make sensible moves to get rid of unneeded staffing.

When business is down, you need fewer people.

[green_cup]

Aww come on people bare with it! In the end it will all balance out. The surplus of customers will eventually not come to Starbucks anymore and it'll become easier and easier that even two people can handle it. Everyones ability is different, but on average...10k/week stores? LoL!

Posted by: Mysticboi | December 17, 2008 at 10:13 PM

Said best.

This company is doomed, and it's sad. I feel so bad for the employees of Starbucks.

I also feel really bad for the customers (of which I am). I'm tired of waiting in line and am visiting less and less. I don't even think I went into a store in the last week! That's ridiculous considering they're just about everywhere. Your loss.

Like mysticboi said, they're will be fewer of us, the customers, coming soon sooner rather than later, and it has nothing to do with the economy. It has everything to do with poor customer service -- long wait times, half-made beverages and poor quality. And nothing of it is the fault of the employees in the store. It really is the issue created by Starbucks HQ.

Soon enough, fewer customers will equate to fewer hours of labor needed and this will resolve just like HQ sees it happening; a self-fulfilling prophecy in the making.

Just in case: I really am sick of waiting for crappy pastry choices, dirtier stores everyday and frantic service ONLY after waiting 10 minutes in line. It's getting old and there are *so* many other choices of where I can go. Starbucks, listen up!, your customers are sick of the crappy experience. You've designed, marketed and executed your company in the past to be extremely customer-centric and now that you're going away from that, your customers are becoming less and less patient. Fix this or continue to lose more business!

[Will]

"Coming from behind in 2009."

How appropriate, considering where we all just took it after the labor cuts.

[BOSTON STARBUCKS REBEL]

I think the article should be called taking it from behind.

[BOSTON STARBUCKS REBEL]

Starbucks lines are suffering because of the labor cut. I was just wondering how efficiency has been effected by fewer people?

[MatchaBomb]

A question for all you SMs and such out there. Yesterday our DM announced that anyone who misses a punch in/out/lunch punch will get an automatic corrective action. If someone misses a punch it gets written in the log and we have to initial it before we get tips. Now we are being told that will attract a mandatory corrective action starting from today. We have also been told that three of these will mean an instant termination.

The Partner Resource manual in the store (2003!) says nothing about this being a corrective action issue. Is this a new corporate policy or is it just our DM doing this? I myself rarely miss a punch, but others in our store do. While I agree that we shouldn't miss punches, this seems a little harsh....

MatchaBomb

[Sad]

Though this may sound rough, I really encourage some of you to leave Sbux and gain some clarity of perspective. I was in the EXACT same boat as you- long term partner, thought the ship was sinking, was woo'ed by a new company, got more money, and silently gloated in my head as I was resigning. I really felt that I was making the best decision for my career, and though I knew I would miss a few things about the Bux, I didn't even look back on my way out.

It was the worst mistake I ever made. Sure, there were a ton of issues at the Bux, but guess what, they're also at my new job, with even more. I work for people who REALLY have no sense, despite looking incredibly polished on the outside. I work longer hours, I feel less successful, I have 1/2 of the voice that I seemed to have at Bux with my manager, peers, and team, and though I was hired to bring the starbucks culture to my new workplace, I quickly can sense that they want nothing to do with it.

Looking back, I feel like I was in a better place to work for a company that realizes the right path, but just can't take it right now, vs. working for a company that cannot even see the right path.

So I encourage you, if you really feel strongly, find a new opportunity and gain some perspective. You'll see that Starbucks really isn't a bad place to work. I rarely regret any decision I've ever made, because life is about learning, but this is one that I will say I regret. If I could do it all over again, I wouldn't have left. 100 out of 100 times.

And I wish at the time that I was thinking about it, that there were a post like this to caution me. So I thought I would put it out there.

[scootes]

seeing that this is about stock, how many partners bought stock in the company years ago only to have it drop to $7 when they paid way more for it? i would also ask of the new partners(let's say in the last two years) what % of them purchase the stock options? when i started in jan 07 it was $34.5 a share so why would anyone buy something that has decreased in value by that much?

to Cali SM i saw what happened at the hyatt corp in 92 when all salaried sous chefs(middle managers) were told that they could either leave or downgrade to hourly supervisor with only 40hrs to do what they had to do when they had 50+ before. sound familuar? the attitude you convey of move faster, be better and shut the hell up only works for people like you. there are laws of physics at play here and not even a god like you can change them. time doesn't bend for you or anyone else. a human can only move and accomplish so much. if you are so "all that " then why don't you just work off the clock for the good of the many. or you could just sign over your paycheck, you don't need it,right?

[questionforsad]

Sad,

Did you get out of Starbucks and stay in the food service/qsr industry? I'm getting out, but I've collected a few IT certifications and am getting a job where I don't have to deal with food/entitled food customers. I want to hear about your transition and how easy/hard it was.

[Noodoggy]

okay..that was a pretty funny article...and pretty on target. There is a lot of whining and such going on here lately...and I get it...I have been whining too...but here's my ultimate take on it. Shultz has been taking a lot of actions that needed to be taken over the last year...and unfortunately it happened concurrently with a huge economic downturn. But one thing that seems to be forgotten a lot is the sense of culture that starbucks has brought to our lives. Benefits for part time work...not so outlandish now. Great coffee...wow! Great atmosphere...it's a common value-adding business requirement these days. And like the (red) ad noted...There are a lot of Starbucks out there.
We should all take a step back...and get the bigger picture or delayed gratification. It's a concept that has been lost on a lot of people...and probably underpins this entire economic recession. Read up on the credit markets...the whole thing was about short term gratification - screw the later consequences. It's really not that hard when you are at work...and you smile..and act as if the entire world is just a blip. It's making coffee...not brain surgery...And a little comment here, a smiley face there, a recognition elsewhere...make all the difference no matter how slow or busy it is...If you have DMs giving corrective action for minor things...call business conduct hotline 1.800.611.7792 and report anonymously. Our mission is to inspire and nurture the human spirit..and it means that. If there is deliberate attmept to belittle or create an unethusiastically unsatisfied atmosphere among partners..corporate needs to know.
And Have a Happy Holidays...pass the cheer..and give the next ccustomer you see a free drink..pass it on...see how great you feel after that! =)

[Sad]

I left the industry completely, and went to another that, as of a few months ago, could appear a "safe" haven considering the economic pressures. Guess what- they have had a round of layoffs since i joined, with another one coming next month. So, nowhere is safe. AND I had my years of past performance to rely on at Sbux, I don't have that here- I'm the newbie that everyone expects to go next.

I think the biggest "miss" that I didn't think would be a big deal was the small stuff. I was caught up in what I would be getting, that I didn't have then. An office, a great title, more money, the opportunity to influence with the skills I had developed at Starbucks.

None of that is seeming to matter to me right now. The title is a facade (I'm not doing what I was told I would be doing, the job description was faaaaar off), the money isn't THAT much more, and they don't want my influence in these times. (I've even been told that thanking people and informally recognizing them is "unnecessary" when I do it)

It's that kind of thinking that makes me scratch my head and wonder how all of these people come to work every day. I literally feel like I'm working at "The Office". But this was all hidden from me during the interview process. I asked a TON of questions, met with several people. They just had the right people in front of me, and hid the rest of them. Seriously.

[nonsenseprofit]

Since stock IS the topic, let's talk about it. Starbucks has something called Total Pay if anyone has forgotten about it. Starbucks offers way more than just a paycheck and in this economic downturn, everyone of us should take full advantage of these great benefits. Okay, the stock market isn't the greatest place to be investing maybe, however, you can use S.I.P like a savings account that will make you an instant 15% intrest. At the end of the quarter sell your shares and make money.

Starbucks, if you are going to promise a PREMIUM brand MAINTAIN YOUR UPSCALE PRODUCT AND IMAGE.

[Novina]

You never know what you are going to get when you leave. I left after 8 years--perfect timing. I understand the turmoil the company is in--but i'm not that loyal to drag myself down with them. I have a family that needs my devotion, not the bux. I have a job in a different industry and I never looked back. Its such a relief to be gone.

I am also one of those people who stops going to places when it is obvious they are spreading things thin. if its messy--i can be assured that there are short-cuts going on. yuck. I hope it doesn't feel this way in stores.

I have an office job now and the one thing i miss is the running around. I miss the days flying by. I don't miss working the weekend away for Holiday and dealing with every partners life issue. Though i do miss the partners. I would hate to be managing a store trying to keep partners upbeat and onboard with over the top expectations and way less labor.

I weighed it out. we have one life to live...the stress from the bux was not worth my time. Change is good. Change is growth. Change will give your fellow partners more hours. :)

Good luck to you all...I refuse to visit retail America this Christmas season--at least this first year i have off! WOOT!

[Howard Goaway]

starbucks ceased being a premium brand a long time ago when they started serving $2 hockey puck breakfast sandwiches

[yo]

just a thought.....

my store sold over $2100 in Starbucks cards yesterday....not including reloads. We have ben breaking the $1000 mark for a few weeks...and still have one more until Christmas.

That is a lot of money that will be pumped in to Starbucks stores in the next few months....

[Melody]

@Howard Goaway - That coincides exactly with the removal of the whole bean menu from the walls - that was the true moment of change.

But regardless of what anyone thinks of Starbucks, at $9 or $10 a share, it seems like a good buy and something you'll be able to sell in a few years at quite a gain. I think that Starbucks will turn around. We're in economic uncharted territory for Starbucks, but these things do not last forever!

[GRTL]

I actually agree with "Howard Goaway" LOL. I joined sbux and within 2 months they were introducing "warming" and I KNEW we were in trouble. The warming IMMEDIATELY took away from sbux image. Customers themselves said the same thing. Time and again I heard, is this a fast food joint? Time and again we heard management say it wasn't. Seriously how can they be so delusional?

And people who think we just make coffee. Uh no I have to clean up after the customers who are far to lazy to pick up after themselves. Seriously, when did people become so lazy!

[exsm]

Kinda off topic, but in the realm of snobbishness: how is the sun-dried sidamo? I loved the Burundi when it was out over the summer and generally have good feelings towards Sidamo, but I'm not sure about all of the "dried cherry" talk.

Also: it may be because I haven't worked for the company in months and am used to weaker brews, but I find the XMas blend undrinkable. Anyone else?

[Melody]

@exsm - The sun-dried-sidamo rocks!! The overwhelming aroma and flavor that I pick up on is blueberries. It feels like I am drinking blueberry coffee. Even my other half loves it, and he's so hard to please when it comes to coffee. By the way, you can buy the one pound size in whole bean from any store that has a Clover - much cheaper than buying it in a nice tin. Because if you're buying it for home, why do you need a tin over and over again? I've had this Sidamo in a french press, as drip brewed coffee at Starbucks, and through a Clover: ALL were heavenly.

I LOVE to talk to coffee. It's amazing to me how many amazing wonderful coffees Starbucks is now producing but you hardly know it because the baristas don't have time for a lot of coffee tastings, there's no variety in the daily pick anymore, and the emphasis is on the blender/pastry case/ or complicated latte.

/rant over

[Lilith]

Sad: You almost sound like someone from corporate trying to prevent the inevitable influx of resumes from SMs trying to find other jobs.

I don't care if it is Christmas...it has begun.

If you're a self-professed coffee snob and you drink nothing but Starbucks, that's akin to a craft beer enthusiast saying they drink nothing but Budweiser.

[AmericanoMan]

Melody,

I used to love getting a press of the new coffee introductions.

Recently though, with the labor cutbacks and loss of experienced baristas at my favorite Starbucks, I have not had the heart to stress them out with asking for a press .

[watching my back]

@Noodoggy
I hate to burst your bubble but your living in the past or have your head in the sand. There is no culture anymore. We started losing that when we took on the fast food mentality. 30sec to get the customer out of DT once they reached the window. The DM's use to ride around and sit in the parking lot timing us and get angry at our manager if it didnt happen. They didnt care that a customer decided they wanted a pound of beans after they got to the window and by the way can u grind that for me too?
It didnt matter that we were samping and a customer decided to buy one. All that mattered was we werent getting them out within 30 seconds. At my store, we use to help each other. When we didnt have a customer, we helped whoever did but we got in trouble by the DM for not staying planted. Oh, Im sorry you have a line but I cant help you because I have to stay planted in this DT window until someone pulls in even though I can start the order from anywhere in the store with this headset on. Whats so funny now with the labor cuts is that what we were getting in trouble for before is what we now have to do. It makes no sense to me how people ( sr leadership ) who dont work in a store are the ones telling people who do how to run it better. Then they want to come in and have nothing but negative comments to make about everything, during the rush. Thats a big moral booster not to mention the customers look at them like WTF! I cant remember the last time we were told great job on anything or even asked how we were doing. Hell, now a days were lucky if they even remember our names. Yeah, what culture and benefits, who gets enough hours for benefits anymore? As far as calling the business conduct hotline, thats a load of SH..!!!
Our DM has fired several managers since she took over the district just because she didnt like them. Its common knowledge all over town and she makes it very clear if you cross her she will get rid of you. Numerous partners called the hotline about her conduct and how she was solicting them for help to get rid of these managers but nothing was done. Theres a rumor that another DM is soliciting partners to call the hotline on managers she doesnt like so she can use it to fire them. That was ignored also. Did I mention that both of these DMs were store managers together and promoted by the same DM? All calling the hotline did for me and the others was get us black listed. We have to watch our backs everyday. HR and the hotline are supposed to be there to help but theyre not, theyre there to help cover things up, especially when your DM frequently hangs out with her boss. This is not the company I joined a few years ago. Im a barista and cant hang out with my shift supervisor for fear of special treatment or I can get fired but the DM can hang out with her boss. Gee, it looks like shes the one getting special treatment.

[confused]

Im confused. Nonsenseprofit, can u explain to me how Im going to make money off SIP when they lock the stock price in at the beginning of the quarter at a discount, and at the end of the quarter, the stock price is half that. Yeah, Im able to buy more shares with the money I put into SIP that quarter but its not like I can turn right around and sell them for a profit.

[Coffee Soldier]

SIP is not meant for a short term gain...be sure to read your explanation of rules before doing anything with your options you must hold the SIPs purchased for 2 years or you will pay an extreme amount of taxes...it's much more beneficial to you to keep them a few years and hope the market goes back up.

[nonsenseprofit]

@ Coffee Soldier...what you are refering to is our grants that our given to us each year at a set price. Those grants then mature at 25% per quarter. And yes, those aren't weren't too much right now so why even touch them. S.I.P in something totally different. S.I.P or Stock Investment Plan is when you purchse stock with you own money. You can choose 1-10% of you paycheck. That money is taken out of your check every time you get paid. At the end of the quarter Starbucks takes the stock at it's lowest price for the quarter (which was under 8 dollars) then takes an additional 15% off of that amount and that is what you pay for it. Then that stock is worth the market price(which is over 9 at least). There is no penalty for doing this and you can make money on the side. If you want a more detailed explanation call the benefits hotline and they can help you. They have been very helpful for me. I hope this helps you make some smart choices moving forward. Every dollar helps and this is a great benefit to have!

[Coffee Soldier]

Nonsenseprofit....go check on Fidelity.com after logging in click on your Starbucks SIP section and under the SIP Q and A....Question #6 refers to what I was talking about. You CAN sell them whenever you want but I was just trying to get across that it would be smart to hold them...I was wrong about 2 years it's actually 21 months before you receive the preferential tax treatment. I just don't want any partners paying any extra tax! We all can use every extra cent right now!!

[CamSpi]

i'm in a hopeful mood at the moment! i see things picking up. we've gotta succeed and make this work. my favorite coworker was in such a crabby mood about labor today, but i started to mention the things which make working here so great... like favorite customers and tasting new coffees. we have a viable business. we. can. endure!

*i have no idea where this optimism just came from

[BAYAREABUX]

nonsenseprofit, actually, no.

I would love some SBUX shares at 15% off of $7.06, but only the closing stock price on the first day and last day of the quarter are eligible for calculating the purchase price. Fidelity takes the lower of the two and takes 15% off.

FWIW, the stock is trading at about 27.5% less than the Q42008 price *after* the 15% discount. OUCH!!!!!

Be knowledgeable.

[stardeez]

man... I left starbucks to be full time parent to our son (because the cost of childcare gets more and more ridiculous) as my husband moved to a management position at mcd's and I suddenly have more money than ever. and we have health benefits. and I get consistently good coffee whenever I want.
we are pretty much the only people with money in our extended circle... so one could say leaving starbucks was the best damn thing that ever happened to us!!
suddenly your 167 degree latte means jack shit. hmm. have fun in line now. kthxbai

[grass is getting greeener]

sad,
Your story sounds suspicious. I worked at SBUX as for about 4 years as a store manager. Everyone has relative situations, but for the most part I was in and out of hell the entire time. I heard all the fluff, but saw very little action and role models behind it. To me SBUX was a bunch of fast food quick service types who were making 20K/yr as underachievers in the early days (early 90's), then the company exploded upward. Many of these folks defaulted into corporate positions and what you basically had was a bunch of underachievers who now had a sense of entitlement and were overpaid and on easy street. There were some obvious exceptions to that. I began managing food establishments to pay the bills after I got my degree, but found myself disappointed after 7 years that I was in such a tumultuous career. I finally saved some cash bit the bullet and walked away, admittedly from a great group of store partners, but never looking back. I got into Logistics and even got a Masters and the ceiling has been raised like I never imagined. I don't consider myself a success story, but I do feel that retail and food service is a unprofessional environment enlarge and despite your efforts the possibilities are very few for advancement. Think about it all the SM's aspire to be the 1 guy in 100 who gets to be a DM. From there it is basically the end of your upward mobility. In other professions the DM salary and responsibility is only a notch or two above entry level professional and the possibilities out their are much better for one than food service. I am not knocking those professional in food service, but I am saying don't ever let anyone in food service convince you that you have it good. That is not an environment most aspire to be in and your career outlook is not all that great. Show me a restaurant manager who did it at the same place for over 20 years and I'll show you the extreme exception. I guarantee SBUX will not have career managers, they will cap out and be replaced around 5. Coincidentally my first DM told me that the goal for a good turnover rate is 5 years for SM. You can go longer but basically the plan is work them for 5 and promote or replace. Go work in a distribution center somewhere (DO YOUR HOMEWORK THEY ARE NOT ALL THE SAME) if you have professional aspirations and learn every system you possibly can to get credentials and noticed and you'll be making close to 6 figures 3 levels into management. Just realize you will have to deal with the forklift environment for a period, but it is better in some ways than flipping burgers or steaming milk. I'm sure some will take offense to this, but SBUX is not a great company just a good to average one, depending on the current situation. However their are crappy jobs in good companies it just depends on what you define as crappy. To me crappy is anything that offers slim to no chance of effort related career growth and the carrot seems to always be dangling further and further. But your story sound too much like a planted grass is not greener story, like Howard used to always try and brainwash everyone with. The grass is greener in lots of cases, let me tell you. Apples to apples is a comparison that you should view from world wide orchard comparison not just the tree you are looking at. Sure a partner at SBUX is better off than the pizza slinger at dominoes (maybe), but is that your only choice in life? No offense to the dedicated food service professional, as I know first hand how challenging it is to be a professional when the store manager down the street is some pot smoking under achiever who lays all the work on his shifts and has never seen his/her store at night or on the weekend or holidays. They think they made it as an entry level manager. Honestly many of the baristas and shifts who I worked with figured this out, or suspected it and I was quick NOT to attempt the brainwash scenario. We all dreamed of making the leap. As far as I know my best shift is an HR Manager with a Masters degree somewhere and my second best shift is on an entrepreneurial journey of his own somewhere. I was happy to see them achieve their reality in spite of my DM wishing them nothing but the worst as we were encouraged to hold those partners who left in disdain. As for my DM she was the example of a career retailer gone bad which scared me the most, 55, had just gotten fired in a very public case from a major retailer in NY City for racism and discrimination. Funny you type her name into google and the first thing that pops up is the add in the NY times about the situation she got fired from and sued over by a major retailer. How she got into SBUX I'll never know (shes still there) but she was just an old hyper tense hippy who admitted to her heavy drug days back in the 60's, which I think continues. Smoked 2 packs a day and was just worthless to the nth degree. She would not last 5 seconds in a true business environment but she is the bad stereotype of a career level underachiever. Imagine starting out at a manager level at 23 or thereabouts and 30 years later being one level above that. I have not missed SBUX for one second and the move away was the best damn thing I ever did, post College, but the career type more so than the company. I'd rather be a customer at the most.

[stock options]

Correction-you're granted stock options mature at 25% per year not quarter. So you can only exercise 1/4 of what you got last year thius year and so on and so forth. If you get terminated or quit they go back to the company, unless you exercise them prior. SIP is different. You would all be crazy to exercise anything right now, unless you are leaving. You have another option which is to buy your exercisable options thus owning them outright and then they can sit for as long as you want, regardless of where you work. But you have to pay for them. It's all a bet, but I would guess that buying the stock through the SIP benefit is a great move right now if you can swing it. 15% off of of next to nothing and they will go up substantially, more than likely. Plus they are yours not a gift, so you can leave the company by any means and still have them. But your granted stock options are only yours in some cases, you'd be wise to be aware of their value and the vested amount in case the ax falls, so you can get on the horn and exercise them immediately. I think you have 24 hours to exercise them from when you get the ax, but I'd be willing to bet the company waits to drop the ax for that 24 hr period. If you suspect anything at all exercise them, as that is the only chance you have to get your benefit. I saw a lot of partners lose their entire grants due to not understanding this. I actually saw a guy who worked their for over 10 years in various roles lose all ,I think, when he left on his own and tried to cash in a few months later. He was their form the mid nineties and I'd have to guess he lost tens of thousands of dollars. Who knows he may have exercised some from time to time over the years.

[grass is getting greener]

That's what I think Melody, Sad sounds like a soldier for Howard's whole bean army. Makes me sad to hear someone try and convince people that retail and food service was the highlight of their career or life. It's what drives most to achieve higher goals at best, I think.

grass is getting greener:
I enjoyed reading your post. I have been seriously contemplating leaving the company. This cut in labor has basically become the last straw for me.

How long did it take you to find another job after you left Starbucks? I too have saved some money and I wouldn't mind focusing on school this Spring instead of working at this dead end job as I now see it, didn't used to, but now I do.

I have a degree, but I've noticed there's not a lot of jobs out there that I'm interested in right now. I keep thinking that I could easily become an SM and make more money, do that for a couple of years, and then move on to something better, but I really don't want to be an SM anymore. Especially with things being the way they are.

I understand life is all about taking risks, but I'm scarred to not have an income especially for 5 months while I would be going to school full-time. Even though I have that money saved up and I would most definitely be just fine for 5 months, what if I don't find a job after the semester is over????

These are some scary times to live in right now, and I'm not talking about Starbucks, I'm talking about the economy. I feel like I should just stick it out with Starbucks until 1) I find a better job, or 2) the economy gets better, then I quit, regardless if I have another job lined up or not.

I know nobody can make this decision for me, but I would appreciate any advice from anyone at this point. Thanks.

[darleenhopewell@yahoo.com]

I left Starbucks quite a few months ago and have been struggling to come to terms with my separation as well. Although I have also moved on I am still in the retail food industry and have found most of the same issues at my new company. So in my opinion the grass is not always greener. If it were that simple like some folks here have said, I don't think we would be seeing them posting on here. Obviously they haven't completely left or they wouldn't be on a Starbucks gossip site. I think everyone has to decide what is right for them, anyone can give their opinion, but you are the one who must live with it. So I would think long and hard about what it is that makes you happy.

[Ettal]

It is unfortunate to see this site skewing more toward bitter, angry, current and (mostly) former employees.

The readers of their vented anger do not have the entire story, nor does the writer. I feel for you but psychologically speaking, people who leave a job, feel threatened that their job is in jeopardy, or are outright fired will find a place to vent and justify their new reality in a way that blames everyone else... it is a natural and normal stage of grieving and dealing with pain and change.

Life is growth and sometimes you need to trim the branches to stay healthy. Those that can work within a system (no matter how unfair they perceive it to be) versus against have a much better chance to thrive and survive or at least be content with what they have. I understand that many of you feel slighted and betrayed, however it is far better to light a candle than to scream at the darkness.

That being said, there is just as much good going on around Starbucks Nation as there is bad and I would like to see a bit more optimism here from folks that can see the glass half-full or I believe this site will lose the balance it once had.

Check this article out: The Best Stock for 2009

[This Is Entertainment!]

I just came across this site and LOVE IT. What great entertainment value. So sad so many bitter people. All you power house store managers that have been around for the past 5 years. Take a look in the mirror and take some accountability you are the people that have being running the Operations the last few years and running it into the ground due to lack of experience. Whine about labor? Read your lastest P&L (if you know how to read it like a business operator) now look at your total labor spend in $$ this year to last, now look at the difference in sales. Now explain to all the shareholders why you as an operator have spent nearly the same $$ on labor when sales are down on average 10%? It is called accountability people. Your rapid growth hid the lack of experience of the store managers, not upper management. Now it is catching up to you. Make the adjustments improve the financial performance and you will be on track!

Not upper management? Aren't upper management supposed to be keeping an eye on middle/lower management?

[Experienced Store Manager]

This Is Entertainmen-

Know what your talking about before puting down store managers who did there jobs. I ran the highest gross margin in my district for the year as well as the lowest food cost and shrink numbers. And yes, I ran 1% over labor most times but was always in line with my vaience to ideal that we were required to do. We not only got in trouble for running over ideal but for running under. So you see, I did my job and met the goals set by upper management. My problem came by doing my job so well by taking care of my partners who in turn took care of the customers. I ranked in the top 7% for customer service and in the top 10 for beverage quality and cleanliness. Having happy partners keeps them around for a long time driving your average hourly rate up which in turn highers your labor $ and %. So dont condemn me and call me a bad manager for taking care of my partners and having a low turnover rate. Why be loyal to this company anymore, they sure as hell arent loyal to the partners. They preach about taking care of their partners and when you give them your heart and soul they cut it out because you cost to much. At least now with them wanting stores to run a negative 3% ideal everyday, they dont have to worry as much about the loyal tenured partners hourly rate. And by the way, it hasnt been the SM's running the stores for a very lonng time, upper management stepped in and took over and we became little robots doing as they directed. The regional directors are the ones telling us to make sure we have at least one of EACH sandwich left every night. They dont sell as it is so lets make sure we have 8-10 left every night just in case. Thank God I ran my business or I would have had over 50% markout waste every night and I would have gotten bitched out about my food cost, not the RDO. Its when upper managment, you know the ones who have never worked in a store, starting telling us how to do our jobs and micromanaging us that the P&L's went to hell. Upper management are the ones running our stores now, not us so dont blame us for their lack of experience of store operations. God knows we tried to tell them if we didnt think something would work (we used to be incouraged to that) but now were looked upon as not a team player. THEY need to step up to the plate and own their mistakes instead of blaming us everytime their brilliant ideas dont work. They need to let us do our jobs like they use to. The stores ran much better before they decided to take over our jobs and do them for us. Why are there even store manangers anymore, anyway?

Its upper upper management doing all of our jobs, DM and down. They ARE the ones who should take the fall for the poor decisions, not us. Were only doing what they command us to do or get fired if we dont.

[Northwest]

All of the Complaining naysayers on this site make me laugh. My and your grandfathers went through some of the most difficult situations both economic and global. (that's why they call them the greatest generation) and all they could do is smile and raise their families. I never heard a single whining gripe from my grandparents about working four jobs to get by.

All of you naysayers are weak.

Learn to make coffee and brush off the attitude that you are over worked and under paid. Go live in a box down at pioneer square and complain that your company doesn't give you enough.

Again you are all weak.

I work in 40,000 + Drive thru and the labor cuts have not hurt us one bit. Just learned to do things without the luxury of non-cov, and cut our open hours back.

Again you are all weak and miserable and you make me laugh.

Keep whining, I need material to keep me smiling at your udder lack of drive and motivation to do anything but bitch and moan.

Cali SM and I should have coffee sometime and laugh at you all.

[darleen]

Northwest,
Your post makes me angry for a number of reasons, but lets start with the obvious. Who are you to come and spout off at partners venting about how hard they are having it adjusting? So much for star skills. Yes, maybe they did have it easy but now with the labor cuts they are struggling. Even the customers are seeing the stress on them. does that mean they need to learn time management? Most definitely, but your callous response makes you just as bad. I hope you don't treat your partners the way you act here. Not everyone is of the same caliber, maybe you should learn that, and some respect while you're at it..Your response to these partners that are really struggling is pretty harsh. What about showing some support and giving them some advice? We all have our bad days, some of these partners have legitimate concerns. Your lack of compassion is astounding.