OPEN THREAD conversation-starter: Starbucks is #24 on Fortune's "Best Big Companies to Work for"

The rankings just came out -- and I know this will start another string of moaning and groaning about work conditions. But..... there's got to be some reason Starbucks landed in the top 25. Discuss this or anything Starbucks-related in the open thread. || Jump to the second page of comments.

Comments

[Mr. Frugal]

I think Starbuck's service is fine enough. In truth, service is kind of an afterthought to the product. An important one, sure, but still its after the product.

Every single one of us knows of a place, wether it be restaurant or retailer, where we shop because of the product alone. We may even despise the people who run the stores (I think clothing stores are definitely a good example of this.)

We as consumers buy because of the product.

I've recently got into a huge arguement over email with the owner of a blog about this. He's saying that Starbucks is suffering because they've lost their original romance/core business. I disagree.

I really think Starbucks just needs to find a new way to entice customers. People are sick of just plain coffee every morning when competitors like Jamba Juice or whatever have more to provide.

Just my two cents.

[Mr. Frugal]

Oh I forgot to link to the article I mentioned.

Here

"the two tailed mermaid"

http://www.thiscoffeekid.com/2009/04/two-tailed-mermaid.html

[Barista Ben]

So. Anyone seen the new cookies? With the fantastic poem? This will go over SO well with our customer base. I'll quote you part of the poem on the box of cookies, for kids.

"O lovely Pussy! O Pussy my love, what a beautiful Pussy you are, you are! What a beautiful Pussy you are!"

Thanks cooperate, I can't wait for angry soccer moms to start asking me about that one.

Actually it is pretty damn funny! haha. head to my web-page if you wanna see a picture of the box.

[MJ]

Does anyone know who manufactures Starbucks Signs?
How do they make them consistent in color and shape?
I wonder if they are manufactured centrally and then distributed worldwide, or if they have multiple contractors.

[g]

Melody,
Thanks for the info. Now I can really emphasize how I feel when posting.

[(former) FLA SM]

RE: inappropriate cookie messages.....

I guess it's a good thing they didn't choose a story about a big rooster!

[Just a Customer]

Just want to give a shout out to #9976 41 & Center Avenue in Venice FL. I was visiting family and stopped for coffee. A very elderly lady was making a purchase and held up the line.

The barista's went ABOVE and BEYOND to get everyone's order going so when they paid, their drinks were waiting. Legendary service -- to the lady holding up the line not knowing what she wanted, the lady who wanted something cold, sweet (never being at Starbucks), and to the 9 or so customers waiting for their drinks. The cashier said they were a tight group (it showed) and invited me to join them in the evening.

Y'all ROCK!! I will definately be back again! Thank you again!

BTW, that lady who wanted something cold and sweet parked next to me and as I was pulling out, she was THRILLED with what you made her!

[Coffee Soldier]

Hahah Barista Ben...I bought a box of those cookies last week to hold onto for when the company decides to pull them to have as a souvenir!! We've been laughing out butts off at our store about that poem!

[ChiTown Via Vendor]

Should I contact The Business and Ethics department? I think that our DM SM and ASM are involved and could all get in trouble? I don't want to defraud SBUX or our Government.

[Coffee Soldier]

ChiTown:

Why don't you talk to your SM or DM and voice your concerns....see what their point is and then decide to take action...is there even tax in your state on this item?...It seems slightly sketchy in the fact that your store could be essentially inflating the VIA sales for this other store...isn't there some big contest going on (remember that post with the picture of the girl decked out in VIA)? If it were me I'd ask my manager or DM first before calling the business and ethics line. Also if the DM is orchestrating this then I'd fault them before your SM or ASM.

[Mrs. Tillinghamshackles]

Is Via taxed? I know our whole bean coffees aren't, but since Via isn't quite as far north of Seattle as me I don't know.

[Venti Urnex Latte]

That poem, Edward Lear's "The Owl and the Pussycat," is a classic. But maybe not the best choice for Starbucks in the year 2009. There are plenty of other children's poems to pick from with no double entrende.

[Venti Urnex Latte]

Suender Cafe, your website is great and the pic of the two elderly pink ladies, Mother and Aunt Jen, is priceless and touching.

In my store, a daughter and her very elderly wheelchair-bound mother come in often. The daughter told me that her mother loves coming there because it is accessible for her, so she can be out and about, relax with her drink, watch people, talk to me (they love me!) and have an overall nice time, regardless of the weather. It is heartwarming.

[tarnishedname]

Ca ca service at the Cleveland, OH Doubletree Starbucks. I know it is a licensed store but....my bf and I went in at 7:15am today to get a latte, a venti coffee, and a pastry. Two girls working. One customer in front of us. One girl is totally engrossed in the anemic pastry case, though she hadn't bothered to label the trays. The other girl didn't have her apron on, and was running around doing who knows what. Neither greeted any of us. I asked the customer ahead of us if they were open, and he said "I was wondering the same thing." He was ordering tea, but for some reason, it was taking an eternity for her to get his order. We left, and so did the lady behind us.
Licensed stores can't be dismissed as "not real Starbucks" as they totally tarnish the name. However, I did have a great experience in my hometown Pittsburgh store yesterday.

[Melody]

On the topic of the Starbucks closing in Ripon, California:

Venti Urnex Latte, I'm glad I'm not the only one who was touched by that. The first time I saw that pic and read the letter that went with, I had a moment of wanting to water up around the eyes.

Here's the MSI link with the letter by the folks trying to save their Starbucks in Ripon, California, and has the link to the photo too:

http://mystarbucksidea.force.com/ideaView?id=087500000005LqTAAU

^ Please vote to help save the Starbucks in Ripon, California!

[AliCat]

@ChiTown Via Vendor...

Hey, I'm in Chicago too... that is so wrong, but I'm not exactly sure what is gained by doing it... call Kristen at corporate and ask her!

[usorthem3]

i guess from one who usually asks the questions that make others think i am bitching but really it is just asking questions this comes as a shock. i made comments on MSI about not getting to wear coffee tees at work, well this open mouth that some want to shut just got two free shirts from the corporate office this week. i know this doesn't change the other things that are happening in the company but for a blink i was cool with the world.

vote or no vote it will come down to what is cheapest in ripon, business as usual.

juan great post from a store howard should be stopping by on the way into work daily, i try everyday to do what makes it a third place but lack of labor takes it away sometimes, hard balance between serving customers and spinning the lobby when there is twenty people in line looking at you like "why is he doing that instead of back there making drinks?"

in the words of susan powter ; STOP THE INSANITY!
coffee core all else is extra but not all necessary

[pApI NEWS]

Logo lands Starbucks in Middle East brew-haha

HUSSEIN MALLA/AP FILE PHOTO
A Starbucks sign in Beirut bears a Star of David taped on in a protest over its purported links to Israel's military. Starbucks denies the claim. Email story
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Apr 26, 2009 04:30 AM
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Oakland Ross
MIDDLE EAST BUREAU

JERUSALEM – Sometimes it seems a person can't have a simple cup of coffee in the Middle East without making a political statement.

Take Starbucks, the Seattle-based purveyor of coffee, coffee-flavoured beverages and international cool.

The company has been active in the Middle East since 1999, but it faces challenges here unlike those it has encountered in any other corner of the planet, and lately they have taken a strange, even outlandish turn.

The latest Middle Eastern tribulations of Starbucks are merely one example of the political minefield that many North American or European companies must negotiate in what must be among the twitchiest, most disputatious neighbourhoods in the world.

Cue Egyptian cleric Safwat Higazi.

Speaking on Egypt's Al-Nas TV in January, the avuncular, grey-bearded imam issued a call for Arabs to boycott Starbucks, which operates a total of 280 coffee shops in nine Arab states, including Egypt.

"We want Starbucks to be shut down throughout the Arab world," declared Higazi.

The reason?

Well, it has to do with the Starbucks logo.

What most people likely see when they inspect the famous green-and-white Starbucks emblem is the likeness of a long-maned mermaid wearing a crown, surrounded by several concentric circles that contain the company's brand name.

But that is not what Higazi sees.

"The girl in the Starbucks logo is Queen Esther," he insisted. "This queen is Queen of the Jews."

And the crown she wears?

"This is the crown of the Kingdom of Persia. This girl you see is Esther, Queen of the Jews in Persia."

The cleric, whose four-minute polemic may be viewed online on YouTube, goes on to summarize the Old Testament story of Esther, a beautiful virgin who is manipulated by her cousin Mordecai to win the heart and hand of the Persian king Ahasuerus (believed to be Xerxes I) without revealing to him that she is a Jew.

"Can you believe that in Mecca, Medina, Cairo, Damascus, Kuwait and all over the Islamic world hangs the picture of beautiful Queen Esther with a crown on her head and we buy her products?" exclaimed Higazi. "It is inconceivable."

He cautioned his viewers not to ransack Starbucks coffee shops or burn them down, but he exhorted everyone to boycott the offending premises.

On a section of its website devoted to the peculiar hazards of selling coffee in the Middle East, the company takes direct issue with the Egyptian imam, who has stirred up more than his share of controversy before.

"This is totally inaccurate," say Starbucks management. "This myth has been brought about by the similarity in looks on the cover of a children's book about Esther to the Starbucks logo."

In fact, says the company, the figure in its trademark is taken from a 16th century Norse woodcut.

It is unlikely the coffee-seller's protests will carry much weight, for rumour campaigns against Starbucks have been swirling unchecked through the Arab world for years.

Most of the rumours directed against the company, whose CEO Howard Schultz happens to be a Jew, involve charges the Seattle firm provides financial support for the Israeli government or the Israeli military, allegations Starbucks flatly denies.

In fact, the company does not even operate in Israel. Citing unfavourable market conditions, Starbucks closed its six Tel Aviv coffee shops in 2003 and has not returned.

But the rumours of an Israeli connection persist, bolstered by a 2006 letter, purportedly signed by Schultz, that has been floating around the Internet for several years. In it, Schultz supposedly admits to bankrolling the Jewish state with hundreds of millions of dollars annually. The letter has been debunked as a hoax, but the rumours rage on, nonetheless.

In January, demonstrators in London trashed two Starbucks coffee shops in protest against what they believed was a decision by the company to provide two weeks' worth of revenues to fund that month's bloody invasion of Gaza by Israeli forces – another rumour the company denies.

Starbucks is not alone in facing obstacles in the Middle East. More than 120 familiar corporate brands – including Sara Lee, Nestlé, Marks & Spencer, Coca-Cola and Ralph Lauren – are also on the list of targets compiled by an international Boycott Israel campaign.

All these companies are accused of supporting Israel in one way or another. But do these boycotts have much impact on the targeted firms?

Most experts say no.

"The purchasing power of the Arab world is very limited," said Efraim Inbar, director of Israel's Begin-Sadat Center for Strategic Studies.

"It's equal to Spain. The ability of the Arab world to boycott products is very small."

[pApI NEWS]

Starbucks To Shutter Legendary (Sort Of) NYC Location
Posted by Bob O'Brien
Has the dramatic downsizing of the Starbucks (SBUX) come to this? The shuttering of one of the most-notable of its Manhattan locations?

Apparently it’s true, at least according to local media, that one of the Starbucks located on Astor Place in New York City’s East Village will be closing. Whether it’s tied to the chain’s down-sizing effort is open to debate.

What’s notable about the store is its location: situated 250 feet from … another Starbucks. While standing on a small traffic island - the one with the cube-shaped sculpture titled Alamo - pedestrians can look into two different Starbucks locations simultaneously. This prompted the joke in the comedy film Best In Show in which a character said she met her husband at a Starbucks. Just not the same Starbucks. They saw each other in different stores across the street from each other.

The amusement factor of having two Starbucks outposts located so cheek-by-jowl played into the mounting sense, at the height of the coffee chain’s expansion, that Starbucks had over-saturated urban locations such as Manhattan with its stores. Manhattan had 185 locations, suggesting that there are about eight per square mile.

In fact, the Astor Place location(s) would have been situated no more than a couple hundred feet from a third Starbucks, a small branch operated inside a Barnes & Noble store on the same block of Astor Place. That bookstore closed last year, reducing the outposts that would sell you a grande latte by one third.

Of course, the amusement of having so many locations so close together belied the fact that both stores were routinely packed. The East Village is both heavily populated, and a destination for tourists. Astor Place - despite being just one block long - is one of the main thoroughfares.

Whether the location being closed this weekend is the victim of corporate down-sizing or something else altogether is a subject of debate. Some blog posts on New York food-related websites insisted that the building the to-be-shuttered Starbucks is located in - part of the Cooper Union University complex in New York - is being moved, and the building re-purposed.

Regardless, there will be one fewer Starbucks in the Astor Place neighborhood in New York. Customers who don’t especially care for the mammoth outlet on the west side of Astor Place will be forced to trudge to another location … which would require they walk one avenue east and one block north to Second Avenue and Ninth Street.

[SBUX Customer]

Is Starbucks still doing the free beverage when a pound of coffee is purchased when you use the gold card? Went to the Starbucks website and don't see it listed anymore on the gold card website.

[SBUX Customer]

When will new drinks be coming out?

[(former) FLA SM]

RE: the class-action lawsuit in Florida for Store Managers getting overtime......

Anybody have any info on how to get in on this? Who do we contact? I did a Google search, but every relevant link led back to the original article in the Seattle Times.

[Blaze]

@ Former FLASM

Cmon now your going to get on the "Sue" list, whats going on with your vaccation and that new job??

People this sound like a Manager "Union" effort, whats going on here??

[seventysix [76]]

Check out the stock. Highest it's been since October. :)

I still love this company. I'll continue to enthusiastically satisfy my customers. I've been here TWO YEARS now and I still have a really wonderful team and a passion that keeps me going.

Hope all is well across the board.

Best,
seventysix [76]

[TNT]

"It’s a sad day when a company’s stock price is up 90% off its low and is still down 66% from its high."

Posted by: TNT | April 25, 2009 at 04:35 PM

[Melody]

This is probably just a journalism mistake (I assume) but can anyone here confirm or dispel this:

http://www.mad.co.uk/Main/News/Articlex/08e918598a4c41c8a842397779aecdb8/Starbucks-debuts-new-rewards-for-card-holders.html

http://tinyurl.com/UKRegCard

^ Does the UK version of Starbucks registered card benefits really include free extra shots? See news links above (long version, and tiny link goes to the news article too).

Thanks!

Melody

[Mrs. Tillinghamshackles]

SBUX Customer,
Getting a free beverage when buying a pound of coffee has never been a reward with the gold card. This is what I hate about having two different card systems. It confuses people. You get that benefit when using a registered (not gold) card.

[TNT]

@Mrs. Tillinghamshacles,

Actually there is a gold card that does give that benefit. It was that “by invitation only” gold card. It was white and supposed to tell the customer’s name and drink at the register. That lasted longer than some of the harebrained ideas Starbucks has come up with recently. But then they came up with the membership card and stupidly called it a gold card too. No one in top management really knows what they’re doing.

[Ben Jensen]

Wasn't that just the gold card test programme?

[TNT]

I need to correct myself. That gold card I referred to in my previous posting was only available in a test market, however many still remain active and used. So I guess the test didn’t last that long. It’s hard to remember all the stuff we’ve tried that didn’t work…there are just so many failures.

[SBUX Alum Bill]

@ (former) FLA SM:

In Reed v. Starbucks, and the lead attorney representing Ronald Reed is Daniel Levine of Shapiro Blasi Wasserman & Gora of Boca Raton, FL. If I were you, I'd contact him to get info on the potential class action.

[Lisa Suender]

Good Afternoon Starbucks Fans! Happy to announce the petition to Save our Ripon Main St/Wilma has left the building and is en route to Seattle! The 1,500+ signatures collected in just over a weeks time is scheduled to arrive tomorrow morning at 10:30am via Fed-Ex addressed President Howard Schultz, Brad Stevens, Vice President of Customer Relations and we also have a copy headed to the regional manager for this location!

Talk about a community that knows how to get things done! Even this morning, more signatures were posted via the online petition and more sheets were turned in by our amazing "Collection Angels" all volunteers! The entire community is on pins and needles and excited to see our efforts finally reach their destination.

We ask Starbucks to take a second look and reconsider some options before taking our favorite, most desirable, social gathering place for the entire community of Ripon.

Perhaps Starbucks would consider reducing the open hours to match the peak business times of the day. This downtown store is driven by the 2 High Schools that are less than a mile away(they are not allowed to drive)and across the street is the large senior community residence that is residents cross the street to enjoy their daily treats and morning joe. Other downtown businesses close by 6, Starbucks is open till 9. No other business is open downtown on Sundays but Starbucks is. Perhaps it could be open but for half a day. The owner of the building Ward Schemper has people signing the petition and perhaps a new lease agreement could yield some significant saving to Starbucks on top of the reduction of hours-

Consider taking a second look, review all of the comments, letters and signatures and be sure to visit our SOS website http://suendercafe.squarespace.com/sos-save-our-ripon-starbucks/

[lucy]

Hi guys,

I was wondering if you can still make blended tea lemonades? One store said they wouldn't make it for me because they don't have the lemonade, but I can still get a passion tea lemonade, just not blended with ice. I'm confused??

thanks!

[g]

Lucy,
Starbucks has discontinued the blended lemonade base, so technically, we cannot make a blended lemonade anymore, at least not the kind that you might be used to ordering.

However, we already used our regular lemonade for the Blended Strawberry lemonade, therefore, we can still make that.

The problem with making a blended lemonade with our regular base is that it comes out very icy. It is definitely not the same as the original blended beverage.

I've blended passion tea lemonades for customers before. They don't come out that bad.

[so mad]

My friend who is an awesome shift was fired. He was late to work two weeks ago. He was put on an action plan. He was hit yesterday by a car while skateboarding. He couldn't work. His wrist was broken. He called out with a valid reason. That's why this company has fallen. It's not about taken care of people.

[Going! Going! Gone!]

So mad,

Starbucks doesn’t take care of partners, it uses them up. If you are looking for a decent company to work for don’t go to Starbucks. Ask not what the company can do for you, ask what you can do for the company is their motto. Their leaders are heartless liars that cling to a reputation that they no longer deserve (possibly never did deserve).

Sorry to hear about your friend but he’s probably better off to be out.

[Grande Latte]

so mad-
your friend has learned a valuable lesson. As you GROW UP you need to start acting responsibly. Skateboarding in the street or anywhere where you can be hit by a vehicle is not being responsible. Hopefully your friend is not a household provider. Anyone old enough to work at Starbucks should be old enough to make smart decisions and be able to prioritize their life. Most people who NEED to make money will learn at some time that they need to make smart decisions if they want to stay employed. Until that time many just go along, upset and blaming everyone else for their misfortune. It's always the employers fault that they do something stupid and lose their job. Of course your friend had nothing at all to do with his firing.

[Going! Going! Gone!]

Grande Latte,

The guy wasn't late a second time, he couldn't work because he was hit by a car. He had a broken wrist. Starbucks supposedly supports a healthy, active lifestyle which might includes skiing, snowboarding, jogging, tennis, softball, weight lifting and possibly even skateboarding. OMG how about a little compassion. This doesn’t have to do with a lack of responsibility; it has to do with wrongful termination. (Oh, I’m sorry “separation”. Starbucks never does use real words to describe their actions.) This company has no kindness at all, yet they want customers to believe they truly care. It’s all bull$!##.

[Corbo]

Grande Latte, I have to play devil's advocate here. While it is true that people need to take on more responsibility as they grow older, it is nonetheless very unfortunate that "so mad's" friend was injured, regardless of whether he was being responsible or not. In addition, it is unfortunate that one would be fired for being unable to work because he/she is injured. So mad, I am sorry to hear about this occurrence. I have heard many stories like this inside and outside of Starbucks... it is disappointing, but hopefully your friend will find suitable employment soon. Best of luck.

[Going! Going! Gone!]

Don't people ride bickes in the street too? How immature and irresponsible.

[pApI NEWS]

I just heard on the news that Sbux stock fell because 10 Sbux locations in Mexico City were closed yesterday because an employee came to work with the Swine Flu and customers fell ill.

This is an example of Starbucks creating an environment of workers having to go to work ill because A) they don't pay enough, and people can't afford to stay home, B) employees can't afford the health insurance and go to the doctor, C) they threaten workers with being fired for calling out sick...Miyerda!!

[usorthem3]

grand latte, i disagree with the thought that riding a skateboard is irresponsible. i would hate to tell a man like tony hawk that his whole life is irresponsible. a skate board is a mode of transportation for many people perhaps not you. depending on the state labor laws where they live i would check into suing for wrongful termination. pompass idea that this accident was the boarders fault and not that of the driver of the auto. stereotyping such as that has made more fools out of people with bias, susan boyle showed us that lately. maybe you need to revisit your diversity tree, should be posted somewhere in your store. tisk, tisk for prejudging.

[SBUX Customer]

Mrs. Tillinghamshackles, thanks for the reply. I can't believe I forgot that the benefit was for the Starbucks card and not the gold card.

[SBUX Customer]

I have a question regarding the caramel sauce (not syrup) that Starbucks sells in their stores. Is this the exact same caramel used by Starbucks when I order a beverage like caramel macchiato but just a smaller consumer version?

[Brendan M.]

Does Starbucks still sell those silver cans of iced Italian Roast coffee? I know it's technically a PepsiCo/Starbucks partnership product, but it's been months since I've seen it in a supermarket or in the RTD case of a Starbucks store. Sometimes an approximation of a Starbucks drink is good enough when you're on the go.

[drive]

The guy with a broken wrist is entitled to go on medical leave for a serious health condition. If he has proof he was fired because of his broken wrist, he should get an employment lawyer and sue for wrongful termination. If he has no proof, he is likely out of luck according to U.S. employment law.
If he was given an action plan for being late, it sounds as though they were just waiting for a reason to fire him. Did he have any indication he is or is not "eligible for re-hire"? They usually tell you when they "separate" you.
This company is often heartless.

[pApI NEWS]

"Kool-Aid delivering thousands of smiles per gallon" it's their new slogan, LOL!!!!!!!

[so mad]

My friend was hit by a taxi. He wasn't at fault. It could have happen to anyone. Everyone takes risks when they leave the house. That isn't irresponsible. He's a great person who had something unforeseen happen. He has skateboarded for years and years without major injury.

BTW
Skateboarding isn't a crime

[pApI NEWS]

You know what they say

"Skate or DIE..."

[me]

It doesn't really matter if he was on a skateboard, a horse, a or sitting in a streetcar or a car. Accidents can happen. Apparently they were just looking for an excuse to get rid of him. Maybe he knew too much, annoyed his SM by telling him the good old times were much beter or whatever.

All this story tells us is, SMs aren't well trained either. They usually have no clue about labor laws.
Hopefully he has proof so he has a case. Otherwise the SMs, DMs and RDs are going to back each other and make him look at fault for not spending 168 hours a week at Starbucks so he won't ever be late or get hurt on his way there...