"From the Comfy Chair": Don't blame Starbucks corporate for bad service -- or credit it for good work at stores

Starbucks
953 West Clairemont Ave.

Eau Claire, Wisconsin

BY JUAN VALDEZ

Wow.  If you had told me my string of good visits was going to continue, I would have happily said, yes, yay, bring it on. If you had said, however, it would continue in Eau Claire, Wisconsin, I woulda said...whoa, wait a minute...EAU CLAIRE?  That's some sort of French named town out in the backwaters of America, isn't it?  Aren't they like twelve million miles from the beating heart of Starbucks?  Don't the leaves get browner the further they are from the trunk?  Doesn't the ripple fade the further you get from the center of the splash? 

What in the world of coffee do they know about good service, efficient operations, great product and, yes, of course, clean bathrooms?

Well, based on my visit, they know plenty and, frankly they could teach some of the limbs closer tot he trunk a thing or two.

My first clue was when I walked in and stopped at the condiment bar for a napkin to wipe my fevered brow. The bar was wet but not from random spills that had been sitting there for hours, unattended.  Nay, the moisture was evenly spread out and drying; left there by someone who'd just recently wiped it down.

I was greeted before I even reached the pastry case with a hearty hello and "what I can get started for you?"  The pastry and cold cases were clean and stocked. I paid for my drink and it was waiting for me on the handoff plane with a genuine "have a great day." And then I sat down and watched the four partners as they did regular lobby sweeps/restocking/cleaning while taking care of the steady stream of customers which came in the door and through the drive through. And appeared to have a ton of fun while doing it.

What was even cooler was they were talking about product too. One of the partners told the others about some new thing that was coming up and reminded them to do this, that and the other thing.  The art on the chalkboard featured the Strawberry Banana Smoothie and was done by someone who clearly was an artist and loved what they were doing...it wasn't just half assed like you see with a lot of these boards.

While I was sitting there, enjoying my visit, I couldn't help but think about some of the comments which are left from time to time on my columns about how they CAN'T do all these customer service type actions because they simply don't have the time or, even if they have the time, they're so burned out they just don't feel like it. I have to say out of the 37 stores I've visited so far, there has not been ONCE where partners couldn't be reasonably expected to do their job properly. Yes, I've seen some busy situations where partners were pushed but, even in those cases, there's always been opportunities afterward to recover and resolve which, in most cases, weren't utilized. I've yet to find a store that's been “understaffed” for the business that was present during my visit. I'm sure there are stores where such is the case on a periodic basis however I've not yet seen one. 

I truly think there's been enough “Juan Valdez” visits to start having a clear picture emerge. When I first started these columns, there was a lot of caterwauling in the comments section about how Howard was “ruining the company”, how stores were understaffed, how partners in general were on the verge of a collective nervous breakdown that was going to cause the company to implode right before our very eyes. I honestly thought this might be occurring and thought this column might help expose some of this for the benefit of the partners eg: hey, if this huge breakdown was documented very publicly, it might help push the needled toward partner friendly changes that would reverse the trend. 

At this point, my thinking has changed 180 degrees. It's becoming more and more clear to me, anyways, that, yes, there are issues in the stores however they are, as with many companies, more a product of poor management (being focused, setting expectations and then following up) as well as partners who simply aren't willing to do more than the bare minimum, if that. 

I've yet to see an example of poor service that could be reasonably traced back to upper management despite all the claims to the contrary by some commenters.

Nor have I seen an instance of great service that could be reasonably traced back to upper management either.

In other words, it's still all about what takes place between the four walls. Which is how it's always been.

Comments

[Starbuckeroo]

What brings you to Wisconsin Juan?

[Another one Bites the dust]

Juan I am glad you had another good experience at a Drive-thru store. As a former SM you understand that a Drive-thru receives more labor on the floor than a cafe. When two people are on the floor alone doing 35-40 transactions per half hour for four or more hours at a time, it is easier to understand why the employees(no longer considered "partners") find it difficult to do the restroom checks, condiment bar, RTDE restock, spins, or give each customer more than the 4.5 seconds alloted for the Connect Discover,Respond that "LEAN" Optimized scheduling affords. I am not saying that there aren't many stores that are given the labor time to do all these things and don't but please realize that not all are so lucky to still have that luxury to provide "legendary" service. I as one person can only physically accomplish so much in the time given to me but received a write up for working to fast and not having conversations w/ the customers more. The ones standing in a ten person deep line do not understand why there are only two working and ask daily " did someone call in sick"? For which my only response can be, No. Please keep checking thru the country and I'm sure you will find a store sometime (usually afternoon) that has the some conditions I face daily. I really loved this job when I started four years ago but everyday I leave exhausted and have a beat down feeling. I have now been informed that a warming oven will be installed soon with no added staffing to execute this additional task. This is the proverbial straw that breaks this camel. I have typed my resignation today and will be turning it in Friday when I pick up my check. I truly will miss the regular customers that I saw daily of which many have become off work friends. I doubt after I am gone I will stop by this site or the stores anymore due to the bad taste Sbux has given me but wanted to say that I have enjoyed your postings and hope for your success in the future. Gook Luck.

[oops]

YEAH EAU CLAIRE :D, Great way to showcase area 14.

to another one bites the dust, Drive-thru stores have been under same staffing as cafe stores since October 2007. Minnum staffing at 2 partners instead of 3, having to have the sales and transactions to earn any extra. Believe its not easy being pulled in 2 directions when there's only 2 partners on the floor then a bus pulls in and you are sunk.

If teamwork is present in each store, you'll work together to get all accomplished instead of complaining about it.

[for real]

Labor is earned based on customer transactions, sales volume, and product mix. But, ALS gives a third partner at 28 transactions per half hour, without exception, regardless of dollar volume of sales. If you are doing 35-40 customers per half hour with only two people for four hours straight, then the problem is schedule forecasting or manager proficiency in ALS (or, the manager is pulling the 3rd partner from that particular daypart in order to add a partner to build labor in another daypart). Regardless, the problem you are describing is not external to the store--it is a result of labor management within the store. Now, if you have 20 customers transactions per half hour and they are all ordering multiple beverages and warmed sandwiches, then you might have a situation where labor earned does not quite keep up with true volume. But, if you consistently sustain that level of sales volume, even with the low amount of transactions, you will still begin to earn more labor.

And Juan, you are absolutely right.

[crema_the_crop]

THATS MY OLD STORE!! YOU GUYS ROCK!! AREA 14 TO THE MAX!!

[PDXRyan]

Great Column Juan! Great service comes from the individual partners in our stores not the support group. When we step back and look at those partners who constantly complain about how bad upper management and the support network are, we begin to realize THEY are the true problem. I have a word of advise for those partners with negative attitudes; If you're not in it to win long term, get out of the boat. we don't need you and DONT want you around, dragging the rest of us down!

[PDXRyan]

And for those who talk about how we earn labor.... Stop working so hard to explain it and go EARN IT!

BE KNOWLEDGEABLE; upsell through education!

[Another one Bites the dust]

PDXRyan could you please show me where in my post that I am blaming the upper executive management, because all I said was that with two employees on the floor for four or more hours doing 35- 40 transactions per half hour doesn't give each customer more 45 seconds of attention. If my math is wrong then I am sure you will correct me but I don't think it is off at all. one minute= one transaction
The complaints are coming from customers that must wait in line with a dozen others during the afternoon while there are two employees working as fast as they can to provide the best service possible.
I did state that my resignation will be turned in on Friday so I can only hope your angry comment about leaving this company can be put to rest. I can only hope too that after the fiscal is over and the phone call comes down again that your endurance has another couple years of -%VTI because you are going to need it. Happy Holidays!

[Voice of Reason!]

Another one bites the dust-

Good luck in the future. Don't bother listening to PDXRyan. He probably doesn't even work in a store or he's new. If you have a head you can see how screwed up Starbucks is and how different it is now from the way it used to be a few years ago. We are called partners still but that means nothing now. Just like the guiding principles, they are just meaningless words said by out of touch upper management.

[green_cup]

The situation is what it is. If you're truly in the position to have only 2 people on the floor with 35-40 transactions/ hour, then it's your JOB to make it the best you can.

Of course, math-wise, it works out to a finite amount of time you have to be with each customer.

That said, the variable in the equation is your efficiency. I'd bet that you guys aren't as efficient as you could be. Instead of the customer count being the variable factor, why not the way you utilize your time? Stop trying to blame the paying customer.

[Another one Bites the dust]

green_cup~ It is the customer in my opinion that is getting the short end of the stick and speak of your own efficiency and not of mine of which you know nothing about as always.

As a trust fund baby or Howard Schultz, which ever you are, you have again proven that your opinion bears no validity what so ever on this matter. So sit in your Ivory penthouse and comment on another persons' life because you don't have a real one of your own.

The company policies, not the customers have made my choice to leave for me. Tomorrow is the day that begins my last two weeks of employment with Sbux. I shouldn't give that notice but MY integrity will not allow me to just walk out as so many others have in the recent months and that is why company wide there is a annual turnover rate of 50%.

[sigh]

@Another fact bites the dust

The turnover rate at SBUX is actually much higher than 50%, BUT, the typical turnover rate for retail is around 100%. We're less than that, and in line with the national average. When someone like you gives me two weeks notice, I take them off the schedule right away--no sense having a bitter bean hanging around. You'll show you're really over it when you stop posting here, and I hope the grass is as green as you think it will be.

[green_cup]

@Another one Bites the dust:

Your reply is incoherent.

It's simple: two variables, out of many, are customer count and efficiency. You can't help the customer count, as customers are unpredictable, but you can help efficiency.

Being more efficient helps you help your customer.

Now go finish up your tenure and realize you're probably a quitter who can't even manage working in a retail food service business.

[Another one Bites the dust]

green_cup i guess you are right and I should just quit it all. I can't even handle working for sbux so instead of quitting friday i have decided to just step away from my sad life tonight. what is the point of staying alive anyway.

[Corbo]

@green_cup:

I'm sorry, but I don't understand your post. I don't think that anyone is trying to blame the paying customer. People here are just discussing the way that labor is earned through customer count and sales. I don't know a lot about it, but it's very interesting to me.

@Juan Valdez:

I really enjoyed your column. I laughed when I read the part about the part about the Strawberry Banana Smoothie sign -- we are so lucky to have a manager come in from another store do our artwork because no one in our store can draw!

Also thought that it was cool to see how the good attitude was reflected in the store environment. From what you said, the store was fairly busy. I bet that customers come and return because of the energy. People definitely pick up on that stuff. It can be difficult to coach partners on having a good attitude, but I try my best. In the end it results in more customers, which is everything that we need! :)

[barista]

I'm glad you love us! Thanks for a great review on our store... passing this onto the rest of the staff

[cc416]

This was "my" store when I lived in the area. You didn't just catch them on a good day. They were *always* like that. Glad to see it hasn't changed. (I've been gone about a year.) Cheers for the partners for consistently providing wonderful customer service!

[Air Jordans]

The man who has made up his mind to win will never say "impossible".