Howard Schultz is $24.7 million richer this week. How did you fare?

Howard Schultz still owns or has options on 29.7 million shares, reports Melissa Allison. Discuss executive/barista compensation or anything else Starbucks-related in the OPEN THREAD. || Jump to the second page of comments.

Comments

[otterinthewater]

Let me peer into my crystal ball and see how this discussion will go....

There will be some that are disgusted and frustrated by this announcement (including myself) and wonder how when and if there will be any significant (beyond an insulting 3%ish) raise for front lune employees.

The response will be to stop whining and get a new job.

There! That's done! Let's talk about other stuff now.

[atleastyouhavewater]

you forgot to mention the response from THE REST OF THE WORLD that most of us are on salary freezes (2 years running), being furloughed, or are out of work.

Which leads me to the response that SB partners are the most sniveling, out of touch crybabies ever!

[(former) NJ_newbie]

As a former Sbux employee, and current 'rest of the worlder' with a salary freeze, I understand the barista frustration. Working for the 'bux isn't always bad, in fact, I kinda liked it. Sure, some customers are rude, people at the DT are ridiculous, my manager was atrocious to most of my coworkers, and when it was busy, we were asked to do an insane amount of work. For all that, baristas who have worked there for more than 6 months, or maybe a year, should get a respectable increase.

At the same time, I agree, a 3% raise is better than the salary freeze I'm experiencing at my new 'real person' job, or the paycut my coworker was forced to take.

It's a hard time for everyone.

And let's be serious people, the rich will always get richer while the rest of us struggle to keep up.

[The RICH rule (literally)]

Remember, it's the rich people who provide you with a job, not the government. Or how would you like ONE salami sausage in s grocery store and bread lines wrapped around the block?

[tall guy]

Doesn't he deserve the rewards? Look back almost 25 years ago at what he has built when he joined the company. Do you forget the benefits he started sharing with partners, i.e. health insurance, stock options, 401(k), etc... before he could even really pay for them. There were times he didn't know how he would even make payroll but he refused to cut partner benefits.

On top of what he has done for partners, he works 24/7 and while, yes, he can afford very nice vacations, his level of commitment, passion and dedication can rarely be found in other leaders of large corporations.

He built the company, he is entitled to the riches of all his hard work.

[Sheik]

How come Sbux employees aren't required to wear nametags?

[Is Pike a Bold?]

Sheik, it's one of the hallmarks of Starbucks. A customer and employee 'know' each other after a few visits so a name tag in not necessary. You establish a relationship and it becomes very semi-formal.

[calibarista]

tall guy: Your name wouldn't happen to be Howard Schultz, would it? ;)

My district manager came in during the morning rush today to give me a five-year appreciation pin and to have his picture taken with me. Nice thought, but I'd prefer a bonus over a pin for my five years of dedication any day. Or a decent hourly rate that doesn't make me feel degraded for making so little after 5 years.

[drive]

Well, Howard no longer has any qualms about cutting partner benefits.

[Is Pike a Bold?]

Drive, 'cutting benefits' is couched in much more gentle terms, however. Let's not use such harsh language.

[Gabbo]

I am happy that the salted caramel hot chocolate is back. It is made with toffee nut syrup. When this drink was available two winters ago, was it made with that syrup? It tastes different to me now.

[Christinschu]

name tags are tacky.

some partners will embroider their name on to their apron, however.

[Iced Girl]

To answer your question Gabbo about the salted caramel hot chocolate. The difference is we use to make it with a special hot chocolate mix called signature hot chocolate. Exact same ingredients otherwise.

[JustAsking]

"Hello Partner" - how many times have I heard that on my voice mail? Not lately but when Howard first "came back". Well, "Partner" the 2% to 3% raises I've received the last three years along with the hugh jump in health care costs (higher rate each paycheck, less benefits) has me making LESS than I did three years ago without even factoring in yearly inflation. Like with everything involving Starbucks, they talk the talk but do not walk the walk. I can more easily handle this type of news if Starbucks would just tell the truth. "We are cutting jobs, cutting labor, sending more jobs off shore and bringing more "cheap" labor from other countries to replace you so that we can give our "CEO partner" $25 million dollars this year. Stop calling me partner and be honest about how you really view me, someone to take advantage of to fatten your wallet. Hey Howard, check out the CEO of CostCo who ties his salary into that of the lowest paid empoyee at CostCo. Now that is a partnership!

[Is Pike a Bold?]

Isn't Howard SALARY a dollar ?

[usorthem3]

@Is Pike a Bold
#1 When Pike Place Roast was introduced, it was a Bold on the coffee sticker and the Promo t-shirts(which you cannot wear any longer)
#2 He took a $10,000 a year salary last year to maintain insurance, Not that it matters with what his other compensations were.
#3 Anyone seen any memos about the employee survey that was 6 months ago?

[Hirayuki]

Is the metro Detroit market not getting the maple oat pecan scone this season? I haven't seen it yet, and I miss it. The pumpkin stuff doesn't really do it for me.

[Spazzy Starbucks Student]

Quick question from a customer. How long is it "socially appropriate" to sit in Starbucks with the same drink? (If it helps any, I'm a generous tipper.) I have an good relationship with the people at my regular store, but I feel bad when I hang around doing work for a "long" period of time...

[yukonluvr]

sooo... the new flavored via tastes awful. i like colombia, italian roast and iced via, but i can't even fathom selling the flavored via to people. it's disgusting in water. it's disgusting in milk. bad choice.

[(former) NJ_newbie]

Spazzy,

I would say that if the cafe is busy and other people with fresh drinks can't find a seat and you are done with your beverage, it's kind of just common courtesy to get up so they can sit. But if the cafe is empty, and you aren't keeping the baristas there late by staying until they have to tell you the store is closed, stay as long as you like. Never bothered me any.

[ms barista]

usorthem3, there was a memo a few months ago about the survey. Everyone in my store complained about the impact of lean scheduling and the effect it had on the customers. that seems to be ongoing complaint here so i imagine it was pretty high up on the list to corporate. the memo made it sound like any problems were the fault of "partners." the solution to everything seemed to be that "partners" needed to shape up. It was, of course, worded in more positive terms but the meaning was clear.

[Doppio con karma]

So anyone have ideas as to exactly what "the year of the partner" will entail?

[.]

@ms barista

Definite vibe I got...my RVP was asked about the status of the partner experience survey results.. He said there were a few main themes, Via being one of them. His response to this? "Well, we've always had targets, why were store managers pushing baristas so hard to hit this one?"

I almost fell out of my seat.

[latteteadah]

How are people liking the new fall drinkware? I got the venti-size steel tumbler today, got it filled with bold at 8 a.m. - no joke - it was STILL warm and palatable (not hot, but warm) at 9 p.m. and I enjoyed it all day at work. Only ever known one other tumbler that was capable of it, and I got that one from a competitor chain.

Got the tea infuser/tumbler the other day - there's a similar tumbler that a national tea chain's sold for years, but $10 more expensive. Was really glad to see the SB version had a plastic bottom rim - the other chain's tumbler was 100% glass and I went through several of them after dropping my totebag and having it crack.

SB marketing might be 2-3 years behind the competition, nothing new, but the price point is nice this time.

[latteteadah]

When is the flavored Via set to launch or is it a test market thing? Any new Via drinkware/storage being discussed as they're ramping up for Holiday or same-same?

I know it's either love/hate, but I'm part of the crowd that finds Via ok - though I don't dig flavored beans usually.

[Christinschu]

the flavored via is a fall 2 launch.

It's delicious, I think!

[Krog]

I had a woman come in and ask for Casa Cielo. We don't have it because it's a seasonal coffee, but I recommended Guatemala because it's a similar growing region and both have hints of cocoa. She said that she couldn't drink flavored coffees. I tried to explain to her that our whole bean coffee is not flavored, it just has subtle flavors depending on the growing region, but she left without buying anything. Last year I could have said that we do not sell flavored coffee, but I can't do that anymore. I expect many more confused customers who don't realize that Via is flavored with synthetic crap while the whole bean coffee is just coffee beans. Unfortunately I can't tell the customers that Via is shit at work. Ugh. I should just trade in my black apron right now.

[Starbucks Barista 2005-2008]

I had heard they got rid of salted caramel hot chocolate because it was loaded with saturated and trans fats.

If salted caramel hot chocolate is coming back, did they take the bad crap out of it? Cause I loved it! I just won't drink it if it's got trans fat out the wazoo in it.

[thecurtis]

The new salted caramel hot chocolate isn't made with signature hot chocolate anymore. So now its just like a regular HC with toffee nut and the salt on top. (didnt see if this was already answered)

Is IMS rolling out to all the stores soon? And to stores that already have it, was it a smoothish transition?

[BOSTON STARBUCKS REBEL]

MESSAGE FROM STARBUCKS REBEL ALLIANCE TO HOWARD SCHULTZ

Never was and never will be
You don't know how you've betrayed me
And somehow you've got everybody fooled

Without the mask, where will you hide?
Can't find yourself lost in your lie

I know the truth now
I know who you are
And I don't love you anymore

[News]

Howard Shultz seriously needs to learn what a "green" company is. How about implement or take the initiative as a CEO have your executive administrator write a memorandum or correspondence to every Starbucks around the globe to put recycling bins for plastic and cardboard cups outside of every single Starbucks store then give yourself an awesome pat on the back for making your profits as well as improving the environment by being a green company being from the evergreen state.

[Noah]

News - sorry Charlie, but recycle bins outside food establishments don't do much to improve the environment without a municipality or trash firm that actually recycles.

Even if the municipality actually recycles, public recycle bins often get filled with un-recycleable trash.

Now that you've fixed Shultz's shit, you can go on to the public and towns and cities around the world.

[tall guy]

@News: Starbucks can put recycle & compost inside every store but believe it or not, most business communities do not have recycle & compost pickup services. This is why Starbucks has "grounds for your garden" as a way to compost grounds in the local community instead of having the grounds disposed in a landfill.

Also, most waste management companies will not recycle paper cups because they virtually all have a liner inside that must be removed before the cup can be recycled. (The liner is made from an oil product and prevents the cup from leaking.) This costs money and most waste management companies rather say NO because there is plenty of regular paper and cardboard they can recycle at a much lower cost.

Metro Seattle does have pick up and ALL stores in that pick up area have both recycle & compost bins. Metro Seattle is also one of the very few cities that accept paper cups!

Instead of getting upset with Starbucks, you should focus your passion for recycling options at your city government & local waste management companies/utilities. They are the ones who dictate who can & cannot recycle & compost based on what they will pickup.

[ash_sk8s]

@Starbucks Barista 2005-2008

It wasn't so much the salted caramel hot chocolate that was taken away, but the signature hot chocolate that it was made with. That was what was full of crap. Now it is made with regular hc.

[Michael]

Here is my thought. Companies should take care of their employees first and foremost. Great benefits, pay, etc, etc. Then make sure you take care of the customers with a great product, when you do, they will come back for more. Then after that, executives and shareholders make their money.

[is it so hard to be civil]

@ Krog

All coffee masters have to be re-certified. Now that we don't have time for training I doubt there will be many black aprons around.

[Noah]

Michael - your thought is unemployment looking for a place to happen. The stockholders own the company because they put their money at risk to start and grow the business. No stockholders is no employees.

[ViaYum]

Noah - Michael makes sense. If the stock holders take care of the employees, the employees will take care them. I quit a company because they had no clue as to how hard they were making it to do the job I was hired to do. Not everyone is going to keep a job just to have a job. It's not easy, but there are always choices when it comes to making a living.

[Hipsterdufus]

Random Open Thread Items:

Select stores in NYC are now recyling hot cups. Well, trying to anyway. Customers have yet to catch on to the concept of seperate trash bins.

Brand New LEED store in NYC just opened. It's very very pretty.

Anyone have any experience with either topic?

[News]

Tall guy-Thank you for responding. I totally support Starbucks, It's just I think there could be something done about the waste, the reason is their trash bins are full of plastic cups/ cardboard cups. I think there could be a way for Starbucks to reduce this waste by having three trash cans localized outside, one for plastic, one for cardboard and one for regular trash. I understand it is through the cities recycling center as we'll as the cities local government as to whether the state will reimburse Starbucks for recycling. You are right about checking with local officials that have programs or initiatives to support local businesses such as Starbucks to reduce waste and support recycling methods.

[livin' la VIA loca]

Zappos CEO Tony Hsieh Happy Making $36,000 A Year Working For Amazon

http://finance.yahoo.com/tech-ticker/zappos-ceo-tony-hsieh-happy-making-36000-a-year-working-for-amazon-535410.html?tickers=AMZN

[News]

Noah-Thank you for your response. You stated;

"sorry Charlie, but recycle bins outside food establishments don't do much to improve the environment without a municipality or trash firm that actually recycles." "Even if the municipality actually recycles, public recycle bins often get filled with un-recycleable trash."

-I agree with you, I found that Washington state doesn't offer much for certain plastic products to be recycled according to:

http://www.ecy.wa.gov/programs/swfa/recyclefaq.html, in which has a question and states this below;

Q. Why do plastics have a number on them if they can't be recycled.

A. The numbering system was designed so that plastics could be sorted according to a few broad categories. Once the system was adopted, recycling companies were able to identify plastic containers by type. Recycling companies could thus separate and collect the plastic types that had sufficient market value to cover the costs of collection and transportation. Since Washington is distant from most plastic manufacturing markets, there are many types of plastic that simply cannot be recycled economically in this state.

So I guess the answer is simple then, We need to get a recycling company that takes plastic cups and only accept the certain numbered plastic cups that can be recycled into state. However, what I do not understand is even if we didn't get a recycling company, why is it that recycling centers go ahead and accumulate plastics until there is a sufficient weight amount in which can be economically shipped to a recycling center that processes certain numbered plastics?

[Starbucks Barista 2005-2008]

I kind of wonder what the winter drink lineup will consist of this year. I wonder if it'll be the same usual suspects (gingerbread latte, eggnog latte) or if the Bux has something new up their sleeves.

Plus, I think it'll be time for another new coffee offering.

If they REALLY want to change it up this year, go with green menu boards and green cups! Maybe hunter green. That would be a nice surprise!

[Welshy]

@ Starbucks Barista 2005-2008

I am in the same boat of thought as you! It would be nice to have something new and exciting for the winter promo, and hunter green.. would be an awesome colour lol It was kinda boring last year :(

[CD]

While municipalities may not offer recycling services, aren't there private companies in those areas that do?

As a "green" company, Starbucks should contract with private companies to handle their recycling in areas where the municipality does not.

To me, this is a lot like "fair trade." Starbucks offers to pay "more" for beans than the going market rate to show that they care about their farmers.

To show they care about the earth, Starbucks should do the same and do something different about the waste that they generate in their stores, instead of allowing the problem to be blamed on the municipality.

Like fair trade, take the problem into your own hands.

[A Non eMoose]

Being a "green" company doesn't mean they have to be the greenest company out there. I notice you have still dodged the matter of why you believe the onus should be on Starbucks to completely overhaul the current city/private recycling companies and systems. It's kind of funny how you insist on holding personal disdain for a third party in this matter, rather than making these demands of the actual recycling companies themselves. It's akin to demanding that McDonalds should overhaul the entire meat butchering system to make it less cruel to animals, rather than attacking the meat industries themselves.

[CD]

@ A Non eMoose: The municipality is not the one promoting a "Shared Planet" and telling everyone how "green" they are.

I have no disdain for Starbucks. I do however, think they should walk the walk if they are going to talk the talk.

[livin' la VIA loca]

Interesting..in the new Beverage Repeatable Routine learning materials, as one of the reasons stated for changing to this tactic, Sbux cites research/surveys:

"Super regulars (customers) believe our coffee leadership, quality and espresso taste has declined significantly since 2008"

And of course, we all remember what happened two years ago...

Feb 26, 2008
Starbucks Espresso Training Delivers on the Promise of the Best Customer Experience
http://news.starbucks.com/article_display.cfm?article_id=62

[Hipsterdufus]

Beverage quality went UP in 2008 after expresso excellence, but we had no system for maintaining the excellence, so it declined from there.

[Hipsterdufus]

that should say "almost immediatly declined from there" the time after espresso excellence being the highest satisfaction levels, then dropping off.

Beverage Repeatable routine is a systemized routine re-enforcing espresso excellence behaviors. (not lettign shots expire, steaming milk correctly, steaming only one drink at a time ect ect.)