"From the Comfy Chair": Juan stops by Howard Schultz's neighborhood

BY "JUAN VALDEZ"

Starbucks
4000 E. Madison
Seattle

This particular column should be called "From the Starbucks that used to be a Starbucks cafe but that got scrapped a while back so now it's just a huge Starbucks" because, this week, I decided to mosey on over to Howard Schultz's stomping grounds amidst the stately mansions of the Madison Park neighborhood of east Seattle and see what was going on.

Madison Park is quite the place. It manages the neat trick of being in an urban area without seeming to be urban. It sits at the bottom of a hill, on the edge of Lake Washington and if you weren't familiar with the environs known as downtown Seattle, you'd never know downtown Seattle sat just three miles over the hill. You'd also never know that, about half way between you in Madison Park and downtown is the hood otherwise known as the Central Area. And yes, I say hood knowing full well what it means.  Ahhh...the smashing together of cultures. But that's what diversity is all about, eh?

I knew this store was the original Cafe Starbucks but, still, I wasn't expecting it to be so big. I think it pushes 4000 square feet in size which is getting close to the size of a Denny's. There's two condiment bars serving two separate seating areas.  For our purposes, that means two separate condiment bars not to clean. And there's more tables not to clean. And much more floor space not to be swept. 

Honest to God, I really thought a store so close to Howard's heart would be more on the ball but they weren't. The only time someone came out from behind the counter while I was there was to replace a milk pitcher. That's it. And they didn't bother to look at any part of the lobby to see if it needed cleaning, which it did. The bathroom had the prerequisite scratches and phlegm stains on the mirror (I'm beginning to think they send them from the factory that way) as well as some paper towels scattered on the floor. /CONTINUED IN THE FIRST COMMENT

Comments

[Mr. Frugal]

I don't care if the barista didnt blabber on about the Clover. Its an amazing machine and if the coffee tastes good then it ought to speak for itself.

[expired shot]

O You BSR! O you, all those responding with shock and awe at his/her size 0 as one said "perfection". How did society train us so well. You know in some parts of the word, a grown boy or girl would be offered a sandwich by passing strangers if they were only a size 0. I know if I saw a size 0 barista, I would offer him or her a meal, and then call the compliance hotline to let them know that LEAN hours combined with LEAN staffing has caused baristas to not be able to afford food, and has increased their daily work-out to a point that they are burning so many more calories than they are consuming!

[BOSTON STARBUCKS REBEL]

I think this weekend's open thread should be about the Global Responsibility Report that was posted on the Starbucks website.
For example, partner satisfaction and engagement both went down.

[mickey]

As ridiculously juvenile and abhorrently intolerant as Ms. SBRs comments are, this thread was JVD's comfy chair download on the regrettable service, inadequate product knowledge and disappointing conditions found at Howard's own Madison Park neighborhood store.

Is ANYBODY as concerned as I that the Starbucks Customer Experience, what generated the unprecedented and unparalleled customer loyalty Starbucks enjoyed in the past 15 years, trust and respect and loyalty which supported the growth and prosperity of the business in that same period, now so regularly falls beneath Legendary?

Don't give me Lean staffing. Four on the floor and no matter what the shift requirements are - connecting knowledgeably with a customer who comes in interested in exploring, in this case, a very unique coffee and (expensive) cutting edge equipment had better get all the !@#%$ing engagement he or she can handle. And anybody not comfortable and knowledgeable enough to be interested and involved or at minimum engaged enough to be LEARNING about either the product or the customer or ideally both, should damn well be cleaning a cafe or a bathroom.

Honestly, if you’re not there to do one or the other when needed, go. Don’t just go home. Just go.
I’ve told you before. Seriously, go. Best Buy may be hiring.
Your disinterest is unbearable to watch and may be impossible to overcome. (continued in next post.)

[mickey]

All the product and equipment innovation in the world, laudable as Starbucks are, won't overcome poor hiring, disengaged staffing and management, inadequate training and product knowledge, uninspired customer experience, avoidance rather than engagement or involvement or just plain INTEREST in connecting with the customer over coffee. I’ve asked in the past, who IS in charge of training Legendary? And without JVD, how are we measuring that since Snapshots are gone?

I have read with interest Mr. Valdez, not deciding until this post what a hero you’re really trying to be. You believe in what we could be, should be, maybe were, aspire to be. You’re like a Starbucks SuperHero, trying to protect us from our worst selves and promote our best selves. Keep reporting, hold up the mirror for us to see, remind us of what it could be. And let me know if you need help. I have my own cape.

It is up to Every Partner.
Especially Store Partners.
Every Shift
Every Day
Every Customer
Every Cup

p.s. where is dialog monitor? This got a little snarky for respectable social networking.

[Kenya Cup]

mickey,

You do see the problems but you’re looking at the wrong solution. Everything you describe is not the retail partners or SM’s fault. It is the fault of upper management. They have left the stores in no shape to help customers in the way they trained customers to expect that legendary service. Upper management is 100% at fault here and they are the only ones who can repair the damage. You can’t repair a company from the bottom up. It has to start at the top. All we’ve been given lately to work with are a bunch of silly promotions and ill-conceived procedures. Howie says one thing then says the opposite. The company doesn’t have a set direction. We are like a rudderless ship. It’s very depressing but it is the fault of upper management not the retail partners.

[SBUX Alum Bill]

@ Juan

Is your next review going to be published before or after the SBUX earnings announcement on Wednesday?

[Juan Valdez]

@SBUX Alum Bill

I'm pretty sure it will go up on Wednesday as normal but that's up to Jim. We did hold one column off until Thursday due to the shareholders meeting. I'll have my column to Jim in normal fashion and then he'll make the decision to wait or not.

Sorry I can't be more helpful but that part of it is out of my hands.

[Denise]

So I am the cause of global warming...Does Al Gore know this? The stupid--it burns! I guess the (Star)buck(s) stops here. I can at least feel relieved that the he-she BSR resides on the opposite side of the country. Poor thing.

[Shifty Stuporvisor]

I also find this "column" to be boring, poorly written, devoid of insight, and occasionally offensive. It really does interfere with my enjoyment of the site when I have to scroll through pages of this drivel to find actual news and information. In theory, this column is a good idea, but it would be more informative if the writer was someone who travelled and could tell us about stores outside of Washington, and more enjoyable if the columnist was a better writer with a better attitude.

[tallgrandeventi]

To Former Fla SM... I can't believe you think there is some similarity between a smoker and someone who is over weight. Let's start with this, if the person I am sitting next to is overweight or eating something unhealthy for them, it has no affect on me. I won't gain weight or get diabetes from their actions. However, if I were to sit next to someone smoking, I would be inhaling all of the carcinogens you chose to kill your body with. BIG DIFFERENCE.

I choose not to enter an establishment that allows smoking. Having a smoking section in a restaurant is like having a peeing section in a swimming pool. Duh. When will you smokers learn, your right to die, does not trump my right to live.