Weekend OPEN THREAD: Let's get the coffee-talk going!

Ready for the big July 4 weekend? Discuss your holiday preparations, or anything else Starbucks related in the open thread. || Jump to the second page of comments.

Comments

[BOSTON STARBUCKS REBEL]

Does anybody have an idea on how deployment is suppose to work for this situation.

If there are two partners on the floor and one is R1 and one is B1, who is suppose to grind and brew the coffee.

Also, if you do not immediately, stop whatever you're doing and take care of the coffee, you risk letting coffee expire after 30 minutes since you have no way of verifying what the age of the coffee is.

[Hard Opinion]

Whilst Seattle fiddles with new store designs, the empire continues to burn! Buildings do not a business make - but people do!!!!

Yet more good managers leave taking their talents to those who are prepared to utilize them. Great little video that everyone should watch - CHECK IT OUT:

www.HardOpinion.com

Share your views on thes message.

[aeiou]

boston starbucks rebel:
I would have the shift be on register and the barista be on bar. Usually, the shift is the more experienced partner and can multi-task well to help customers as well as get coffee brewed. How that plays out with the new cadence grind-on-demand system, I don't know since we haven't started that at my store yet. Also, from what I remember reading or being told about deployment, you want the shift to be on register because usually the register person is more free to get away for a moment to do things like check the cafe, brew coffee, restock things, etc. and you don't want the shift stuck at the bar getting a bar tunnel vision and not having the bigger picture of the cafe in mind. Like I said, though, I have no idea if this actually works with the new coffee cadence, so my information might not be as good as someone with experience in that. I hope it helped a little, at least.

[Venti Urnex Latte]

I would say the opposite of aeiou. The "better" partner should be on bar, where there is more time to get away and do other stuff. The register partner needs to be right there to greet the customers, without getting stuck with wet hands or back in the stockroom.

It depends on a lot of things like the store layout, busyness, weather (frapp season or not), mix of partners and their competence, which varies enormously, as we know. Figure it out as you go. Muddle through. That's how everything is typically done at Starbucks.

[morningbecomes]

Ditto, Venti Urnex Latte. The bar partner usually has a -bit- more flexibility than register.

My guess would be that if you only have two partners on the floor, the bar partner should be prepping/brewing coffees.

[CamSpi]

I'm not going to abandon the 30 minute timers to the new cadence timer. There's too much possibility of fresh coffee getting spoiled.

[StarbucksGirl]

At our store we brew decaf only when a customer requests it. Some days we go all day w/o brewing a single pot of decaf. Therefore in the mornings we are only rotating Pike and the bold pic of the day. We decided to try the cadence thing and just do it on a 12 minute rotation instead of 8 since we're only brewing the two coffees. In a perfect world, where you never run out of coffee, it might work. However, when you run out it throws the whole timing thing off. This is very frustrating for someone who is also trying to keep the cafe line down, keep the pastry case tidy, warm sandwiches in the oven, keep the condiment bar clean, etc., etc., etc. Very frustrating!

[Will]

Does the extreme emphasis placed on selling promotional drinks (ie sell 30 Vivannos a day or your job is on the line), and the quiet acceptance/encouragement of wringing things incorrectly to achieve those goals border on fraud when Howard goes to the shareholders and announces the success of the new promo drinks?

Also, why are they threatening managers with termination over stupid stuff (like getting an 89 on QASA), when they won't even give us labor to train new hires?

Will they seriously spend the money to train managers but not train front line employees?

Something about this company is seriously wrong. I think Howard is doing his part to get the stock price to an acceptable level in a year before dumping all his shares. The actions of DMs/RDOs/etc suggest that he's not really interested in salvaging this company.

I'm thinking the overreporting of promotional drinks really is fraudulent practices, and the buck is being passed down to Store Managers. This isn't fair, and I often wonder if this is illegal, either through wilfull action or through negligence.

[Sumatra Sunny]

We tried a modified version of the 8 minute cadence this week, since we have 4 brewers, and it was a disaster. We usually only run out of coffee before or after the rush, since for whatever reason a lot of our partners pay more attention when we're busier, but in the half hour we tried the cadence, we ran out of coffee 3 or 4 times. Granted it could have our incompetent ASM, who was running the cadence. Anyway, we went back to the 30 minute timers pretty quickly.

Yesterday all 4 of our brewers broke down right after the morning rush. Miserable. The afternoon rush was spent awkwardly stepping over and around the maintenance guy.

[Buxy]

Another thing to consider about deployment is that labor earned is based on transactions per 15 minutes ... so if the register partner is running away from the register and not ringing the next customer in line, the system doesn't know to give you labor for the people standing in line until there is an order punched into the register and tendered ...

This is why there are shifts/ASMs/SMs out there that beg their registers partners to stand at the register, even when the register partner doesn't think calling out a muffin is as efficient as grabbing it themselves ... the minute you stop hitting tender buttons on the register is the minute the computer says "nothing is going on, no labor here" ... When you get to 3 person deployment it's ideal to have an R1, B1 and the Expeditor on R2 so that they can sneak in some extra transactions/15minutes to ramp up the labor earnings as much as possible.

In 4 person deployment an R1, R2, B1 and Floater who can also act as a B2 is going to earn you more labor then an R1, B1, B2 and Floater who occasioinally rings. As long as there are customers waiting to be rung in there is potential for more and more labor earnings; when the lines dies down and there is no one to ring then you've maxed out your labor earning potential.

Basically the more efficiently and quickly you move transactions into the register, the more people you earn to fufill completing those orders and delivering them to the hand off plane.

[anon]

The Shift should be on register if there are only 2 people on. Generally the most experienced person is the point person for the customer.

[Bouncing Barista]

i think we all should just decide not to go into work tomorrow and see what happens...then nobody will brew on the cadence, and no customers would have to yell at us (cuz they can yell, but nobody would be there to hear them...kind of like if a tree falls in a forest and nobody is around, does it make a sound?)

hahahahaha... :( I'm opening too much.

[Melody]

So Starbucks announced today that there will be cloth tote bags and tumblers with fabric in them both with authentic Rwanda patterns:

http://news.starbucks.com/article_display.cfm?article_id=233

Can't wait for the tote bags to be on the shelf! MSI participants have long been asking for a tote bag the size of the Starbucks paper bag!

Apparently they've been to an HIV clinic in Kigali. Thousands of patients, and hundreds of them children being helped by (Red). I know green_cup thinks this is all sell out stuff, but I'm not so sure. I see the good in this association.

[Cover My Shift]

I made a website this week to help cover shifts and I was hoping to get some feedback on it: http://www.covermyshift.net. It's just a simple site to post shifts, I'm not making any money off of it or anything. If you have any ideas to make it better, let me know on the feedback page. Thanks!

[DC Black and Bold]

anybody heard that PAP got rid of the whole field management team last week? I heard it had to do with them disagreeing with not tracking cash overs/shorts anymore in the daily log?

[green_cup]

Apparently they've been to an HIV clinic in Kigali. Thousands of patients, and hundreds of them children being helped by (Red). I know green_cup thinks this is all sell out stuff, but I'm not so sure. I see the good in this association.

Posted by: Melody | June 26, 2009 at 04:33 PM

I never said (RED) was completely worthless, just that it could do a lot better less Bono's support, flashy ads and intense PR campaigns designed to make shopping seem like a form of "giving." People wanting to help out a charity ought to just write a check to a non-profit: it's probably tax-deductible (vs that mocha at Starbucks, which is not) and more of the donation will end up helping the cause than anything a (RED) donation could ever do.

Further, Starbucks is selling out to a trend, hoping to capture some customer goodwill for associating with a "cause" that's popular today (even though it's not really that effective).

[Noodoggy]

i like the covermyshift.net. we need simplicity and that does it...easy to understand...great work...i am passing it on to my partners and local SMs

[High Volume Sku]

What is a high volume store? My store does 35-40k a week. What does your store do?

[DON'T SAY A WORD]

WILL IT'S THE LAST WEEK FOR FSN TO MAKE IT OR BRAKE IT.
QUOTE; FROM THE VP OF MID-AMERICA REGION.
WITH A NONRECOGNITION CONTRACT IN PLACE.
SO IF THIS DEAL GOES THROUGH.
WE SHOULD HAVE HEARD SOMETHING BY NOW.
BUT NO ONE IS SAYING A WORD.
WHY WOULD THIS BE.
DID FSN GET A DEAL ON THE CONTRACT.
FOR MORE TIME. I CAN'T WAIT TO FIND OUT..
IF THEY GET MORE TIME THAT MAKE'S LESS TIME FOR THE TECH'S TO FIND A JOB...

JUMP SHIP NOW BEFORE IT'S TO LATE...

SORRY GUYS BUT NO INFORMATION MEANS SOMETHING IS GOING TO HAPPEN AND IT WON'T BE GOOD....NEWS....

[What the Hell]

What the Hell is this guy talking about.
I thought this deal with FSN was DEAD that's what I was told.
I didn't have to worry about my Job.
this is really starting to Suck.
I wish someone would tell me the Truth for one time.
I feel Starbucks should have brought back the Tech's along time ago.
I thought Howard like having the Tech's around I guess I was Wrong.
So who is Keeping up with Starbucks Standards in the Mid-American Region.
I would want a Drink From Those Stores.
that's got to be Sick....

[Nasty]

those Stores Drink's have to Taste really Nasty by now.
not having a Starbucks Tech to keep up the Standards.
that's has to NASTY.
I feel the same way about the TECH's.
BRING back the Mid-America TECH's...
HOWARD.
HOWARD.
Than why not. I would like to know.
Please.....
you can't be saving that much money....

[BOSTON STARBUCKS REBEL]

At my store, one person said that they will never do register again because of cadence. I then pointed out to them the deployment for cadence in an "ideal" situation is for bar to do cadence. Again, yes ALS is unable to associate the fact that having people not at register generates no labor, when in fact the line to the door of customers and OH SHIT, the cadence timer, I'll be back in 53-56 seconds while I do this stupid dance of moving from brew station, to sink, to grinder, to sink, to brew station, and finally back to register.

And if you're reading this at the SSC, I already know what you're predicted message will. It'll go something like.

"While, there seems to be confusion concerning which partner is suppose to grind and brew under Brewed Coffee Availability. Each store has to make their own decision concerning what works best for them and make it their own."

Our response is:

"While, sometimes, Starbucks customers may run out of coffee. Instead of implementing programs by pedantic drones in Seattle, they should offer real guidance on how to brew coffee, instead of giving us a bag full of crap and say look its great, its delicious, rub it all over your face! YEA! Look I'm Martin Coles!"

BOSTON STARBUCKS REBEL
PRIMUS INTER PARES
STARBUCKS REBEL ALLIANCE

[jtk]

BSR, Mr. former enlisted Marine, punker, time to quiet down. Instead of making personal attacks on execs, none of whom you know at all, maybe time to find a new employer?

Dont look to the SSC to solve all your problems.

Your incessant complaining says volumes about you.

[BOSTON STARBUCKS REBEL]

But the SSC, gives all these great programs that will solve all our problems.

[Shifted]

@jtk - BSR's incessant complaining is usually right. SSC may not be able to solve all of his problems, but they shouldn't be causing them either.

So, JTK, Mr. Not Really The One To Dictate Behavior, time to quiet down. Instead of making what you seem to think are insults to BSR (ooh, punker, yeah, cut him right down to size) maybe time to find a new website?

Your ignorant behavior and complaining about other posters instead of staying on topic, says volumes about you.

[Melody]

*[quote]"While, sometimes, Starbucks customers may run out of coffee. Instead of implementing programs by pedantic drones in Seattle, they should offer real guidance on how to brew coffee, instead of giving us a bag full of crap and say look its great, its delicious, rub it all over your face! YEA! Look I'm Martin Coles!"

BOSTON STARBUCKS REBEL
PRIMUS INTER PARES
STARBUCKS REBEL ALLIANCE[/quote]*

So, BostonStarbucksRebel, does this now mean that instead of having a crush on Michelle Gass you now are swooning over Martin Coles?? ;-)
:-P

************************
@anon - Just in my experience as a customer, it seems like the opposite is true - The least experienced person is at the register. And I think this is true at more than just a Starbucks. I've always assumed that is because someone who has any authority at all needs to be a little less fixed within a store, than tied to a register.
*******************************
@High Volume Sku - I'm not sure what counts as "high volume" but I'd imagine that how many hours you work per week figure into the equation. If your store is earning $35 a week, but open long hours 7 days a week, that almost doesn't sound as high volume as a 5 days a week, closing at 6 pm, during about $20k a week.??
*****************************

Does anyone know what tests are being done that have to do with brewed coffee? Call me cynical but I wonder if any focus groups/tests related to PPR have their results/evidence a little skewed to be sure to support a pre-conceived theory about PPR. I'm going through that feeling that the SSC only cares about liquid venti candy bars. Sigh.

[puppygirl]

Don't know if anyone has suggested this for the coffee cadence, but we grind are grinding enough coffee to get us through our black out period in the am. We also "stage" out coffe (scoop into filter and place on top of coffee container). This helps cut down on the whole grind and scoop process. We also are doing 12min. cadence. We run out of the ground coffee by 11am and continue to grind in small batches until we reach our evening (about 5pm) then grind and brew. It is a good program, we just all need to work out the bugs and figure out what works best for your store and customers. I LOVE being able to offer both PPR and a morning pick with confidence knowing we have both :)

[drive]

My store does around 60K a week. I think it is one of the top 10 stores in the east, or it used to be. I think we might have been surpassed by other stores because our manager is so lousy.

[CamSpi]

@puppygirl
We're not allowed to keep the coffee containers on top of the cabinets for some reason. We have to keep it in the cabinet. Apparently it looks "too messy and unorganized" to keep coffee-cubes where customers can see them.
So every time we brew coffee, we have to reach down and get it. I mean, it's not the hardest thing in the world to do, but one more stupid, unnecessary step.
And now that I'm rereading my message it may be unclear why I'm responding to you. It's because we aren't able to "stage" coffee. LOL. :D

Anyone else having a really slow summer? My store is in an affluent neighborhood and everyone seems to be on vacation.

[CamSpi]

Oh, hey! Starbucks is going to open their Rwandan Farmers Support Center on Monday. Howard is in Rwanda right now, and I've seen some pics of him hanging out with some of the textile workers from Fair Winds Trading. Seems pretty neat. Does anyone think the new Rwanda coffee will become a part of the core line up with the investment of the Rwandan FSC?

[MissStarbucksSweetheart]

Is anyone going to come out and say it?!?!!? Grinding and brewing coffee every eight minutes?
Seriously?

Okay, whoever you are. You, whom I've never met, who has never come into my store, met my partners, spoken with my customers. YOU, who thinks it is okay to spring store closings, labor cuts, QASA, pairings, vivannos, and treat receipts on us all at once, YOU want ME to rebrew coffee EVERY EIGHT MINUTES!??????
You know what I have to say to that? Hell yes.
Hell yes, I will rebrew coffee every eight minutes. And while I am rebrewing coffee every eight minutes, I will speak to my regulars about their chemotherapy and their vacations and their children. I will dust the ceiling tiles. I will listen to my partners vent about their hours/families/divorces/problems.
While I rebrew coffee every eight minutes, I will give breaks AND I will do the cycle count AND I will do a lobby slide every ten minutes AND I will do it all without ever losing my temper, or crying, or showing I'm overwhelmed, or being short with someone. While I rebrew every eight minutes, I will coach with kindness and respect for other people's crappy days. I will give the homeless man a drink and then pay for it myself, I will pour my heart and soul into my work without regard for other people's judgements of my responsibilites, all while rebrewing coffee every eight goddamn minutes.
I will take this challenge like a champion, because I am BARISTA. I am not a robot. I don't wear a suit, and I would never ask someone to do something I couldn't do or haven't done. But I will still take this as an opportunity to grow. I will do it all, AND rebrew coffee every eight minutes.

[Korner]

...
MissStarbucksSweetheart I saved your comment on my computer... what a fantastic response.

[141bux]

I literally lol'd at your response MissStarbucksSweetHeart. It was totally awesome.

And, thank god the grind everytime we brew thing isn't coming to Canada!

[foxy]

that's what they said about ppr.....

[dobby the sbux elf]

i couldn't have said it better missstarbuckssweetheart!

[Gerrard]

--Will: "I'm thinking the overreporting of promotional drinks really is fraudulent practices, and the buck is being passed down to Store Managers. This isn't fair, and I often wonder if this is illegal, either through wilfull action or through negligence."

I think this is a great point. In my area, this is not passed down to the SM's as direction, but the DM's are not stupid and know it's going on but they certainly do nothing about it b/c in turn it makes their reports look good too. Good SM's are doing it...reason being simply that if you don't hit these targets or are at least are in the bottom say 15% in your area, you are "blacklisted" or let go if it's consistent.

Some stores are literally losing 20-30% of sales to last year, yet they are 200% above goal for iced coffee?...c'mon, a little math would tell you that according to the promo reports some stores sell an iced coffee to 30-50% of the customers that walk into the door! May happen in a one-off store or on a rippin' hot day, but day after day...

I would NOT blame the SM's for this necessarily though....people RD and above have created this environment that people are managing out of fear rather than optimism...sounds a lot like G.W. Bush is advising Howard (actually kidding, so stop the "I can't believe this fella makes that link" thoughts.)

[(former) FLA SM]

@ Gerrard: You have it exactly right. The Vivannos were introduced at the same time the initial batch of store closings were announced last year which was also the same time the practice of calling/texting numbers to the DM twice a day (or more) began. While no policy was ever officially announced, it was obvious that those who did not do well with the promotional drinks (meaning whichever ones we were tracking at that time) were most likely to get the axe. My DM explicitly told me that, all other things being equal, sales numbers of promo items could tip the balance when deciding which SMs stay or go as the stores begin closing.

After a couple of weeks into the Vivanno promo, I became aware of another SM in my district who was cheating by ringing up caramel machiattos as Vivannos since they were the same price. I informed my DM that this practice was taking place (without naming names,) expecting the DM to take action. Instead, the DM went into "head-in-the-sand" mode. In fact, I was severely chastised for "spreading rumors" and "not being a team player" and for trying to "throw another SM under the bus" in order to preserve my job. It was painfully obvious that my DM did not care that cheating was taking place as long as the DM had plausible deniability. I was disillusioned and disgusted.

Fortunately for me, my team pulled together and (without cheating) managed to not only be #1 in our district, but we also won the region-wide sales contest. What did it get me? Severance. Why? Because I was not a "team player." Brown-nosing was more important than developing a good team and selling promo items.

Never was a truer statement made than yours when you wrote "people RD and above have created this environment that people are managing out of fear rather than optimism."

[Noodoggy]

@(former) FLA SM
any information you are receiving about actual performance in stores that were closed is erroneous. it comes down to simple economics. you dont put yourself into a hole of spending x amount of dollars to make x + 1 amount of dollars. Rents on these stores that were closed were the main reason they were closed. back several years ago when Starbucks said we would would open x more stores in 5 years we overshot ourselves and b/c there was a focus to open a certain number of stores, deals were made that were not smart and detrimental to our company. That's why so many newer stores were closed. It has nothing to do with actual performance in stores. We were giddy on good times and spent like it was never ending and we are paying for it now. It's plain and simple...and if DM's are threatening...it's an unscrupulous DM then b/c they do not have that power to close a store. To all the SM's out there, just focus on the 7 things...and you will be fine. For once everyone in the company is focusing on the same 7 things as a performance benchmark. Use it and be successful and make Starbucks successful.

[BOSTON STARBUCKS REBEL]

What are the 7 things. The KPI's?

[Will]

Noodoggy -- she wasn't talking about the stores that closed, she was talking about the SMs that were let go. Big difference. As stores were closed, SMs were shuffled, with "underperforming" ones let go.

I really think that this stuff should be reported to the media or even the SEC. I think that would get their attention.

Florida SM's story is the same as every manager in my region. I'm only a shift, and I hear it from everyone.

Also, how crappy and disingenuous is it that bonuses are based on gross sales now, and that stores have to eat the -10% discount from gold cards but not get the $25 as a sale?

Respect and dignity for Store level managers are out the window. And as the growth of the company has grinded to a screeching halt, promotion aspects for SMs are drying up. Stress on managers is stress on supervisors is stress on baristas. Couple that with no training time, -3.5% labor, and optimized scheduling, and I really think this is going to be a recipe for disaster.

[crema_the_crop]

1. Variance to Ideal schedule
2. Promotional item goals
3. Customer Voice
4. Controllable Contribution
5. ?
6. ?
7. ?

[J. H.]

For those who are complaining about the 8 minute brew cycle honestly its not hard to do ever with a 2 person deployment. Granted it is a bit of a pain when you first start brewing this way but within a week your store should be able to integrate it. It just becomes another part of the routine.

We rarely run out of coffee now. IF your SM tracks the batch amounts in the beginning when they are brewed it is VERY easy to see when you need to brew 1/4, 1/2 or full batches. Working in a traveler is not hard either, we empty the "old" urn as soon as the "new" one almost as soon as the new one is finished brewing so its open for use for what ever is needed be it IC or a traveler. We also grind and leave in the pitcher the next batch so it is ready as a moments notices.

The only time we usually run out is when we are not paying attention to the time of day or if we get an unusually large rush.

In our store the Starback is responsible for keeping things restocked re-brewed, and cafe sweeps done. They run on an 8 minute cycle just like the brew cycle. If on the off chance they can not get to the brewing one of others on the floor picks up the slack and rebrews...we call it team work.

[Melody]

On the topic of ringing up items wrong to up the sales of promo items: The few baristas that I can talk to very openly about this adamantly deny that that is happening. Of course, that doesn't mean it doesn't happen elsewhere. I can easily believe that given the undue pressure Starbucks places on stores to meet promo goals, that this is a common practice.

I just don't get what happens when a customer wants their receipt?

By the way, on the topic of coffee staged to go, I can't understand why that's a big deal. It seems like an efficient thing to do?

J.H., I have no idea how you have time to talk with customers about coffee, and sample and run around every 8 minutes with the ball and chain of a brewer and urn and grinder.
***********************
I've said this before one of the great things about the Clover is that the barista has to stand there and hand craft your coffee. These are intangible and non-quantifiable parts of the experience that sales data, taste tests, and sometimes focus groups will never catch.

I've been guilty many times of ordering a Clover knowing that it means for sure I will have 2 minutes to ask 'Pat, which law schools did your wife get accepted to, and your not really going to leave this store are you?'. Theater and romance at its best.

At one of my fave Clover stores, I'm there often enough that I see other customers doing the same thing. It was strange but one day recently I was getting a tall Kona (for a change of pace), and the beverage behind me at the Clover, coincidentally, was another tall Kona. I met the customer after me ("Debbie") who, swear to god, read my mind, and commented to how she loved the experience of when you get a Clover you get to stand there with the barista and watch your drink being made and talk to the barista. Of course, that same store has "Pat" whose drink is Pike Place Roast through the Clover only. There is no accounting for taste! LOL

Have a great weekend blogs friends. I'm off to see Transformers soon. :-P

Just for the heck of it, even the walls surrounding the remodel of the university village store are visually interesting:

http://twitpic.com/8jnpa

http://twitpic.com/8jnzh

(My name is back to being a link to an MSI thread about Pike Place Roast).

[Will]

Melody, your baristas are the exception to the rule, I promise you.

When a customer wants their receipt, I'm up front with them.

Either "Corporate is giving us ridiculous goals to meet and doesn't care how we get there, so I'm juking the stats as per the wishes of my regional director"

OR, in the case of the 4.06 (in my area) Vivanno

"Hey, I gave you a 10 cent discount, because I have to pretend to sell 30/day of those drinks I offered you when you came in. Keep coming back for your 10 cent discount all summer!"

I've never, ever encountered any sort of resistance to this.

---------------------------------------

Coffee staging, grinding, cadence, etc.

It's all part of the coffee theatre. Wall Street Journal reported that they wanted to bring back the aura of coffee shop romanticism or whatever, so they were sacrificing speed of service for fresh grinding coffee.

Don't worry, just like the "theatre" element of using shot glasses, cadence and on demand grinding will go away in 6 months. Mark my words.

[blarg]

My friend made covermyshift.net because I was having a hard time picking up shifts after I transferred to my new store which is incredibly slow. I only got like 20 hours a week as a shift.

[green_cup]

@ Melody | June 27, 2009 at 09:18 AM

I've been guilty many times of ordering a Clover knowing that it means for sure I will have 2 minutes to ask 'Pat, which law schools did your wife get accepted to, and your not really going to leave this store are you?'. Theater and romance at its best.

So, when exactly did you become a total jerk and start thinking other people's business was your own, especially in an unsolicited nature? I mean, come on! It's not your place to delve into someone else's personal life regarding work choices of their spouses and their own.

WHat you said was just jerky and elitest to say to a barista, especially considering you're a lawyer, no? I mean, you probably make many times over their salary with less actual physical work, and you're giving them work advice?

I know I go on here about what Starbucks needs to do to offer good service, but it works both ways! Don't be a total jerk to a barista unless they deserve it. If they're giving bad service, say something. If they're making your Clover coffee without any lip, etc then how about just minding your own business or keeping the topic to the weather.

[Will]

lol green_cup. Settle down.

[SBUX Alum Bill]

Fortune Magazine is currently in the final phases of assembling info for its "100 Best Places to Work" list for 2010. Starbucks has already made its sales pitch for inclusion in the list, but the opinions of employees that have left the company in the last year have been excluded from the Starbucks submittal. I believe that ex-employees have relevant things to say about the company's lay-off process, as well as new labor initiatives that Starbucks has implemented over the last year. I encourage all former Starbucks employees to:
Send an EMail to the Great Place to Work® Institute to let them know about your "Starbucks Experience."

Here's a link to their website for those who want to know more about the process:

Great Place to Work® Institute

[Venti Urnex Latte]

As for the 8-minute thing:

How many people actually empty and rinse the urn before brewing fresh coffee?

In my store, which is extremely busy, about 2 out of 10 baristas even seem capable of doing this. The rest simply brew new coffee on top of old.

[BouncingBarista]

I was under the impression that it is the "BIG SIX" (atleast that is what we're told out here in California)

1. Turnover (overall and 90 days)
2. Labor VTI/noncoverage
3. CVS
4. QASA/Ecosure
5. Controllable Contribution
6. Sales to Budget (NOW PROMO GOALS!!)

and I believe the DMs have to hit Total Contribution Dollar Amount instead of one of those or on top of those.