OPEN THREAD conversation-starter: Howard Schultz says he's "not leaving soon" as CEO

A few things that Howard Schultz told Harvard Business Review:
* "Bloggers were putting holes in the equity of the brand, and it was affecting consumer confidence, our people, everything. I woke up one day and went to my desk, and I had 75 to 100 e-mails and phone calls about an issue I had never heard of. There was a sensational story in the Sun, in London, that Starbucks was wasting water through something called the 'dipper well.'"
* "Our health care costs over the past 12 months were approximately $300 million. The thought that we would cut that benefit -- I couldn’t do it."
Read a summary of the interview or the full interview. Discuss this or anything else Starbucks-related in the OPEN THREAD. || Jump to the second page of comments.

Comments

[Crema_the_crop]

Seventy-Six, are you in Chicago??

[Jeff]

Has anyone tried the flavored Starbucks coffees? I saw the vanilla at Target today and want to try it, but I'm leery of paying $7 a bag if I'm not going to like it.

[:-]

Starbucks can suck a fat nut and Howie can lick my ball bagz I hate working at this place and I'm leaving. You poor souls keep making the slave labor and best wishes to you...My destiny awaits me....

[Coffee Soldier]

I'm exceited for the Q3 reporting...it seems like from the pulse of sales and success around my area we can hope to see the stock move up a bit more. What will be funny is if the Sbux decides after another banner quarter to pay out bonuses company wide to baristas and SS like they've done in the past (way past now but still has been done)...then I bet the Howard bashing would stop for a few days! Or it would be oh my I only got XXX dollars what a horrible job I have we should have got so much more. I'm confident that soon we will see some parter appreciation. There are confidential focus groups currently providing feedback on many of the aspects of the Parter View Survey happening all over. They are digging deep and gathering much information before $$ is spent and decisions are made on what exactly is important as voiced from these groups and what partners want...wait and see! :)

[Melody (reply to: is it so hard to be civil )]

@ is it so hard to be civil:

Store numbers start at 101. All the "100" numbered stores were originally part of Howard's Il Giornale business before he purchased Starbucks. Store 101 is on the corner of 4th & Cherry in downtown Seattle, and has been there continuously since April 1985. Link in name goes to an image with a receipt from 101.

I have heard that there are some "200" stores in Canada - Very early stores too, but I don't know for sure.

The "300" stores are really old Starbucks that have been around forever but were never part of Howard's Il Giornale business. So, 1912 Pike Place is 301.

[me, myself and I]

" If any company doesn’t have the time to talk to people on the front lines, then you might as well close it up, because it’s not going anywhere."
Good old Jim Donald had it right even back then. Too bad we were all so happy to see him leave (including myself). Does anyone remember how happy we were when Howard took back the CEO seat? Feels like a bad memory from a long time ago...

[Violet]

Starbucks treated their Baristas kind with their good benefits. I appreciate the benefits but, not how we got treated by our customers:(

[Sheik]

REPOST:

FALL 2010 PROMO!!!!!!

Seeing Pumpkin spice candles at Kohl's yesterday put me in the mood! Which reminded me that Pumpkin spice latte will soon be back and Frappuccino season will be OVER.

So any chance of Maple Macchiatto returning??

Anyone else have any Fall Phase 1 info from the portal?

[Darth Sidamo.]

Yeah, I feel the exact same me, myself. In retrospect coming out with a new syrup every month and a half wasnt a great business strategy, but partner morale was much better with Jim. I felt like Howard coming back at the time was a joyous occasion. I still hope things will be turned around in a big way because I feel the entire focus has been on Wall Street.

I believed him in the partner survey video. I would just like to see more than just talk.

[spence]

Oh please let me vent a moment. Newbies are driving me crazy. They come. They leave. New ones come. Then they leave. I'm not blaming them for being new. I'm just so tired of working with people who need are always too new to be self sufficient. Customers are sweet. They ask me to make their drinks. But I also need to do all the shift stuff. Every day, I leave the store, I'm physically so sore that I haven't the energy to enjoy what's left of the day. The experienced partners are working way too hard. After 8 hours of very very fast paced work, always multi tasking, and never finishing the DDR even when signing off on it, I just don't feel the love.

[spence]

Another vent: I have seen a tremendous increase in injuries by shifts in the last few months. None that have required workmans comp and none of us have filled out an injury form. Not that we would have time to do so anyway. But burns are on the increase. Nasty red burns that take days to stop hurting. Pulled muscles have become commonplace. None of us signed on to be ditch diggers and that's how we are feeling at the end of the day.

[baroosta]

@Sheik - no info about Fall Phase 1 has been posted yet. When it is, I'm sure you'll see it here ASAP...

@Darth Sidamo - I'm with you...I would like to see more than just talk from Howard. I believed him in the video, but it's frustrating that we took that survey months ago and there's been no talk of it after that. I would expect that if 2010 is the "Year of the Partner," that we would be part of the process...

[Sample Cup]

The new Espresso Bar and Steamed Milk that other partners have been sharing with us here is now on the portal. I understand it will begin to be launched before the end of August. It's not that bad from what I read, though the "one drink at a time" is going to be hard on some people. Also baristas at the POS (and possibly floaters) will be marking cups - NEVER the barista making drinks (which if you work during a lot of two man deployments, it makes sense).

[Doppio Con Karma]

not looking forward to the one drink per pitcher model in a store with a dumpsink no where near the bar.
Anyone want to take bets on when they backpedal from this as speed of service suffers?

[Melody(with the blog)]

@Doppio Con Karma - If they're going to one drink per pitcher, I assume the pitchers are going to get smaller. Maybe this is a move to encourage latte art?

[chaichai]

What "one drink at a time" method? I haven't heard about this. Anyone care to fill me in? :)

[Monday]

I believe the "one drink at a time" method is just to be used during "down" times, as in not during a rush. We have been doing this at my store for about a year. If you just have one drink to make, you steam just enough milk for that person's drink. Simple. That is why they marked "Tall," "Grande," Venti," and so forth inside of the pitchers. That's just my opinion of what that could mean. Could be wrong. :)

[Doppio Con Karma]

@melody that would be a lot of pitchers to replace, but hey, who really cares about waste right?

[Darth Si'dutch idol']

our pitchers have not just tall grande and venti but tall plus tall, grande plus tall, etc.

[baroosta]

We've been doing the "Steam To Order" method at my store for more than a year now. Basically, you have one bar person who gets the cup ready, pulls the shots, steams the milk, and finishes the drink. This method has also been referred to as "Solo Bar." It IS to be used during morning rush periods. The new steam wands that you receive for the Mastrena machine steam the milk 50% faster, so you start the milk and the shots at the same time, and by the time the milk is done the shots are done (not expired) and you pour the milk.

The biggest downfall is when your R1 or Floater partner forgets to rinse your pitchers, because the bar partner is not allowed to do this.

It takes some getting used to, but when you think about it, our frappuccinos are now made "one drink at a time," so why steam milk for more than one drink at a time.

The pitchers stay the same, you are not allowed to use the "Tall+Tall" and "Tall+Grande" lines once you "Steam To Order."

[baroosta]

Oh, and one more thing about the pitchers - we keep 4 of each pitcher next to the bar, and basically once you steam your milk for one drink, you put that pitcher to the side and grab a "fresh" one for the next drink...

[Mrs. Tillinghamshackles]

@SPORK
Howard doesn't use a card, but he does indeed have numbers! I wish I could remember them, but it's been so long since he's visited the store I worked in. I have an ex that worked in Howard's daily store, he would remember... ;)

[Monday]

We don't have back up pitchers at my store. The person steaming the milk also rinses their own pitchers. @ Darth--that is why I said "and so forth."

[BAYAREABUX]

"One drink at a time" cannot be done with the labor we have. It would have even been a stretch with the labor we had circa 2006.

How many people actually still do the brilliant coffee brewing cadence with the timer going off every 6 minutes? Not many.

How many people are going to build one frappuccino at a time when you have 5 grande extra caramel caramel frappuccinos and two tall extra caramel vanilla bean frappuccinos? Didn't think so.

Speaking from the standpoint of a high volume cafe, we won't be doing one drink at a time unless we get 3 bars, 2 bar partners, and 2 hand off planes. I couldn't care less about what the lean thinking is these days.

[herbertprerry]

sbux is the shit, howard is the man, u haters out there can go piss ur pants

[Joy for Roy]

@Sheik - I believe we're planning to come out with a free pastry day near August... But it may depend which locations.

Where are you located at?

[usorthem3]

@baroosta "The biggest downfall is when your R1 or Floater partner forgets to rinse your pitchers, because the bar partner is not allowed to do this." So you are saying the R1 is supposed to rinse pitchers instead of taking customers beverage order? Can't wait till winter when the orders for 20 kids hot choc. come in and they have to wait for 20 pitchers of milk to steam, LMAO

[james]

@BAYAREABUX -- and thats why ur you and why howard is howard. great attitude and drive, great discipline. a true winner u r.

[baroosta]

BAYAREABUX - My store has been doing the coffee cadence, steam to order, and blend to order frappuccinos and we seem to be doing okay. I'm not saying that it's not stressful or not as fast as our "old" ways, but we have learned new routines to help compensate. After all, when we got rid of the big steaming pitchers we all thought "oh no now how will I steam enough milk???!??" but we've gotten used to the small pitchers.

usorthem3 - At my store, between customers, the R1 partner turns around and rinses the pitchers and then returns them to the bar partner. I'm sure the deployment will be determined by your own store's bar layout.

[me, myself and I]

The problem is, a lot of stores are designed in a way so the deployment wouldn't work for just a two partner staffing level. And unfortunately this is the norm in a lot of stores these days.
If in my former store the R1 partner would have to rinse all the pitchers he would have to walk about 30 steps (okay I am not the talles, so maybe for some of you it would only be 25, but still) to do that each and every single time. This is due to the L shaped layout of the bar and the pitcher rinser being far removed from the bar. As long as store layout is designed by people that never work behind the counter Starbucks won't be able to be as efficient as they might like to be.

I used to work at a store that had a tiny bar area and right behind the bar was the sink. So all you needed to do was turn around, press the pitcher on the rinser, turn back and you were ready to go again. So every pitcher was rinsed after each and every use. Then they renovated the store and moved the sink to the other end of the floor. Be my guest to guess if every pitcher was rinsed as often as before.

I really don't understand why they can built dipper wells and stuff next to the bar, but no mini sink with a professional pitcher rinser.

[otterinthewater]

@me, myself and I,

Amen! I'm pretty lucky with the bar arrangement at my store, but I've seen some pretty crazy arrangements elsewhere.

What would have been really fabulous is if they'd given all the stores with the new dipper wells a faucet tall enough to rise out pitchers in there. One wouldn't even have to turn to rise while flying solo on hot bar.

... and who else hates blender pitcher rinsers. Ours broken constantly! They seem pretty flimsy for $90.

[baroosta]

@me, myself and I - Are you on two part coverage during your peak time of day? If so, I'm not sure what to say because that's incredibly ridiculous to be scheduled with two partners during a peak time! During your off peak time, the bar person can probably just rinse their own pitchers.

@otterinthewater - I agree with you, the BPR is not the best quality and we just got the new VitaMix blenders yesterday and the new pitcher just doesn't rinse out as well as the old ones...

[Sick, Hot, and Tired Barista]

After reading all the comments about one drink one pitcher, I am quite happy that I only have 3 shifts left at the buck. I will bet money that this is another cleverly disguised way to cut labor.

[baroosta]

@Sick, Hot, and Tired Barista - Basically, you're right. I think all of the "LEAN" repeatable routines are really cost-cutting measures that are disguised as measures to help us be more efficient and increase speed of service.

[otterinthewater]

I love efficiency, and I'm pretty good at building my own routines around doing stuff quickly and in a high-quality fashion. I think that while LEAN stuff can be great for those without that skillset, it us an indication to me of the further "fast-food-izing" of Sbux.

It began with the changing over to automatic machines, had run through breakfast sandwiches, around the oft-used fast food practice of "stroking," on which you soothe employee's egos with stuff like Partner View surveys, and now we're doing the dance with repeatable routines that help avoid spending too much money of training and time spent coaching.

If there's any way to shorten the time needed for pulling shots , I'm sure we'll see that, too. Also, don't forget a lack of significant raises (3%? Bleh.) and a vociferous stance against unionizing and even employee critique.

Hello, McStarbuck.

I'd let it upset me more, but it's more saddening than anything else. Money will win over core values, anytime, anywhere.

[James Connolly]

A bit late to this, but holy shit does anyone actually believe the garbage that comes out of Howard's mouth?

Armtwisting the SMs to volunteer in New Orleans was the turn-around point for the company? So the hour cuts, wage cuts, the backdoor layoff that got called Optimal Scheduling, et cetera et cetera never happened?

I don't know whether to laugh or be insulted.

[bean barrage]

too many I did this and I drove that's. The only time he really mentions what "we" did is when it was a mistake or has yet to be proven successful. Howard still is making one of the oldest and most basic mistakes as a leader. He thinks the place is only able to run with him, which if it is true, means he has not done a good job building and leading. I highly doubt he has his hands in everything to the extent that it is only successful because of him. Still riding on a cloud of Hubris, which Ironically he addresses in the comment about letting McDonald's, Dunkin and others take market share as "we" had too much hubris. In fact, You have too much hubris and your humility is just rehearsed for the media, and still easy to pick out of your statements and actions. A company led by a leader with a thousand helpers is doomed one day. Wise up face who you truly are Mr. Schultz, then if you still think the company cannot run without you, bust your butt finding a way to change that. Your a mere mortal.

[Spider Jerusalem]

@Spork
Howard does not have a Partner Number. He has a Gold Card, plated in actual gold, with an unlimited balance.
I've served him his triple-short extra-dry soy Cappuccino before (don't you dare call it a macchiato) (it's a macchiato). He never tips and he's rude as hell.
His wife is really nice, though.

Also, that entire interview is just such horrendous bullshit that I want to pull my face off.

[cheap chanel bags]

Our health care costs over the past 12 months were approximately $300 million. The thought that we would cut that benefit -- I couldn’t do it."

[Coffeegirl01]

I'm a little over a year late to comment on this ... But I can say that I DO KNOW Howie's numbers, and you're all FAR off!! ; )