Howard Schultz pockets his biggest bonus ever -- $3.5 million

The higher reward -- he got $1 million the year before -- reflected the company's performance last fiscal year, says Starbucks spokesman Alan Hilowitz. Discuss this or anything else Starbucks-related in this weekend's OPEN THREAD. || Read "Executive Bonuses Bounce Back" || Jump to the second page of comments.

Comments

[SBUX Alum Bill]

Wow! It must be a great time to be Howie! He gets to keep a great job & pocket a record pay raise and bonus as a reward for laying off thousands of his "partners" and making sure that his remaining "partners" didn't get big pay raises and bonuses. Then he gets to publish another book telling everyone what a great guy he is!

[the javalady]

nice all this while we are having a district freeze

[ncsm]

Schultz is sure one greedy SOB. I don't really begrudge him that--let him rake in millions on the backs of the partners that he professes to care so much about. Just please Howard--lay off the concerned, caring leader shtick. It's gotten very old and very few believe you anymore.

[hearbutloud]

Who really NEEDS this much money? Let him have it and let it corrupt his soul. I'm okay with being a wage-earner who keeps hers.

[Sad Barista]

Anybody else in the vicious new hire cycle? Last year it took 21 "trainees" before we found 2 that would stick around and could do the job. Now we have a new group processing through and one looked like they were going to pass out from the physical exertion last nite!

Nice to see Uncle Howie raking it in off my blood, sweat and tears.

[Partner]

I'll say it. I think he deserves a bonus this big. The past couple of years have been extremely tough economically, yet Starbucks has increased its profit. With another leader in charge, who knows if Starbucks would even be around anymore...

[TiredofThis]

SBUX Alum Bill: You just expressed exactly how I feel about this guy. Well done.

[lattelady]

@ncsm I could not agree with you more! As a 7 year partner I have seen the moral decline as Howard gets richer. SS are asked to do the work that used to go to ASM's and for the same silly pay. we are given a paultry 15 cent raise and asked to schlep more and more products/merchandise for Howard.

There is not a soul left in this company that cares for the partner anymore. You are lucky to find any good ones! We are asked to bust our butts during the rushes, on machines that are constantly broke down, and with MUCH less labor. People are worked to the bone.

Happy to hear about your awesome raise Howard! When I get my free copy of your book, I am sure it will end up at a thrift store like so many others.

[Coffee Soldier]

Well deserved bonus to Howard...do your jobs and be thankful you have one...because someone else will gladly do it for the less then the measly 15 cent raise you got and by the way a 15 cent raise must been you are on the verge of needs improvement...Without Howard and the transformation there would be no Starbucks today. I'm an 8 year partner and this company is completely different then it was but I've got some pretty valuable stock options, invested in SIP when things were down, had a broken leg and our valuable insurance payed about 90% of that and I've used the tuition reimbursement to get in about 1/2 of an MBA now, oh and I got an enhanced match on my 401k. Try finding another company that still does this and at least tries to care about the people working in it.

[NotSurprised]

@ coffee soldier

You're giving Howie way to much credit. Do you see Howie busting is ass behind the counter?? Do you see him working the register when there is a line of 10 deep?
I hate to tell you this but even without the "transformation" starbucks would still be around. It's the employees that keep this company running. Any good owner would know this. Keep the faith coffee soldier but it's not going to get any better. No need to fall in love with Howie, I think he's married.

[Coffee Soldier]

I'm definitely not in love with Howard...there have been numerous rough spots along the way that I have considered if this is the company I want to be with but he is the captain that has kept the ship sailing in the direction of profit. I miss hundreds of dollar dinners with Starbucks footing the bill for wine and 6 course meals after meetings, having and extra partner on the floor daily to do coffee tastings all day, 32 hours of non coverage as a store manager to do hour 1 on 1's with every partner a month but that is not fiscally responsible. No, I don't see him running behind the counter but I do see him investing the company into k-cups to grow our brand, time and study into LEAN to trim the fat in the stores, and having the Starbucks Foundation donate 1 million dollars to Japan. Whether bitter partners like it or not Howard has navigated us through the storm of the economic turn down along with the rest of the leadership team of this company. He doesn't need to be behind the line making lattes to prove that to partners who understand business...in fact if he was behind the line making beverages half the people on here would bitch that he if getting paid 1,987.30 (not a real amount) per an hour to make lattes and be madder then anything. So if understanding that it is Howard's responsibility to run a profitable company for the sake of our partners and investors alike makes me in love with Howard big deal...I also love Bill Gates then haha!

[Jeff Tom]

Starbucks rasing prices on packaged coffee (grocery).

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2014534517_apusstarbuckscoffeeprices.html

[javagirl666]

Wow!!! A line of 10 deep?? Are you on the floor by yourself?

[Michael]

Wow! I'm so glad I was laid off a few years ago. I loved Starbucks. But now it doesn't have the allure it once did. I was proud to talk Starbucks up to anyone who would listen. Good luck!

[frapatte]

"in fact if he was behind the line making beverages half the people on here would bitch that he if getting paid 1,987.30 (not a real amount) per an hour to make lattes and be madder then anything."

Well that's a pretty silly assertion to make. Most people here as far as I've seen have repeatedly expressed interest in seeing Howie being put behind the line for a few hours for that "Secret Boss" show or whatever the hell it's called.

[Done]

He is underpaid. $3.5 million is only around $190 per person laid off. After being with Sbux for 13 years, I was hoping that my soul would go for more on the open market.

[Denise]

The Starbucks I go to has a different black iced tea. Their bag says it's a test, they tell me. I do not prefer the new one. Why are they messing with it?

[spence]

A line 10 deep happens way too often at my store. 2 man deployment sucks.

[Waltie]

"Anybody else in the vicious new hire cycle? Last year it took 21 "trainees" before we found 2 that would stick around and could do the job. Now we have a new group processing through and one looked like they were going to pass out from the physical exertion last nite!

Nice to see Uncle Howie raking it in off my blood, sweat and tears."

Don't blame Howard because your store doesn't know how to hire people. Is your SM actually interviewing people or just throwing darts against a wall covered with applications?

[sbuxlady]

@javagirl666-my drive thru often has cars up to 15 on any given morning. the cafe during peak easily goes over that with counting the other day there were 18 in line and that did not include customers waiting at handoff. it happens. and there are NEVER enough people.

[T in Texas]

@coffee soldier..I am a former partner. I now work for a major insurance company. I get amazing benefits for both myself and my partner at a very low price. My 401(k) is rockin right along. I was out for 2 weeks with deep vein thrombosis (blood clot in my leg). My generous amount of PTO covered these days and I also used FMLA (yes...a federal right). I also get tuition reimbursement that I am using for a business management degree at the ripe age of 39. If I did not have a kid leaving the house in 5 months for college and my partner and I wanted to adopt, they'd pay for part of that, too. I also have a pension plan. I found a job that is just as good (if not better) as Starbucks in the realm of benefits. Plus, 40 hours a week at a desk job not worrying about broken equipment, irate customers, and selling pressures. YAY! And I still love going to Starbucks and having an iced coffee and doing my homework. There IS life after Starbucks!

[Northwest]

Good lord, a line 10 people deep.....the sky is falling! The sky is falling! Get real! We serve upwards of 800 customers a day, sometimes we break a grand on Saturday. And that's just trans, not actual body count mind you.

A line 10 deep is slow.

PS we serve a line of ten really well with two folks frequently because we understand the principles of the job.

If you all hate Howard so much, why do you work for him????

[SBUX Alum Bill]

@ Waltie:

I used to be just as vociferous in my defense of Howie & SBUX as you are now. Then I was invited to participate in the downsizing of the company in 2008. Shortly thereafter, one of my closest associates at the SSC was ordered by managment to fire one of his top performing employees one day because she was in a department that was being cut back, and SBUX did not want to pay a severance package. This associate was then fired by his gutless manager later that same afternoon, without notice. The reality of SBUX is radically different from the image that's conveyed. The hypocrisy is what I now despise the most about the company that I was once so loyal to - Howie goes on and on about how generous and enlightened he is, but he knows it's a lie.

[Waltie]

I didn't say one word in defense of Howard. I simply pointed out that a store with high turn over needs to look at their own store-level management, and not at anything corporate is doing.

[SBUX Alum Bill]

@ Waltie:

Sorry, I stand corrected. I guess my comment would be more appropriately directed to "Coffee Soldier" & "Partner."

[Ima burn your book howard]

Waltie is just a kool aid drinker

[ncsm]

@Northwest It's not that we all hate Howard personally. What we hate is his utterly shameless hypocrisy!

[education counts]

@Not Surprised

"You're giving Howie way to much credit. Do you see Howie busting is ass behind the counter?? Do you see him working the register when there is a line of 10 deep?"

I don't know about you, but I would expect that If I went to school...and then started a multimillion dollar international corporation, I would be paid for my work.

Barista's make close to minimum wage because it's a low skill job according to the rest of the planet.

I'm a partner. I've been around for a long time. There are good managers, and bad managers...I'm fortunate enough to have a good one, and I don't have any of the problems I've read about on this site.

If you aren't happy, then change your life. Don't hate on those that worked hard to make something for themselves.

[ash_sk8s]

When I worked at the airport Starbucks, I would KILL for a line ten deep! It was often 20-30 deep!

[Beth]

The company is doing good right now. Many of is just received a small bonus before the holidays. That's millions poured into our pockets. The reason: just because. He didn't have to do that. You really think he's a heartless monster?

2008 was a bad time for the company. Howie helped turn that around while still being able to provide health care etc etc to those of us lucky enough to remain with the company.

Also it isn't about him NOT busting his ass behind the counter. Do you expect the web designers who manage the website to your drains? No. But they make way more than us at the front line. That's life.

[NowhereBoy]

The problem isn't that Howard Schultz makes millions or that he's had a nice raise increase. The problem is that wages company wide have remained stagnant on the whole. Starbucks just experienced their best quarter in their history, and I think some of that money should be reinvested in partner pay. That's not asking too much I don't think. I'm a shift and honestly, I get paid very very well, IMO but largely, most of the baristas I work with make about 8 something an hour, and that's pretty ridiculous for the amount of training and expectation on their collective shoulders.

[spence]

My only gripe with Starbucks is not enough labor. Howie does and should make millions.

[javagirl666]

Yes, Beth..he did have to do that. He knew the company moral was at an all-time low and seriously tenured partners that run his company were about to make a break for it.

[drive]

Did anyone else read this NYT piece about the sad economic situation in El Centro, California?

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/17/us/17elcentro.html

This man below was laid off as a Starbucks technician. I am sure that Howie is happy to be doing so well and does't much mind that his former employees struggle.

"Edward Castenon has kept careful notes about every job posting he has responded to. With each application, he marks a note in red on his computer calendar. Entire months are filled with red, going back to when he first lost his job as a technician for Starbucks in 2009. Because he is a military veteran, Mr. Castenon, 43, is eligible for a program that would pay half his salary in any job he receives. He sends a letter explaining the program to every potential employer. But they rarely respond.

“I’m not even overqualified,” he said one recent afternoon, sitting at his dining room table with his wife. They married two years ago, each with two teenage daughters from first marriages. As a technician, repairing coffee machines all over the area, he earned about $23 an hour. Now he applies for jobs that would pay far less."

[Shifted]

@Waltie:

"Don't blame Howard because your store doesn't know how to hire people. Is your SM actually interviewing people or just throwing darts against a wall covered with applications?"

SM's can only hire those who apply. Another part of Howie's legacy: the company is no longer thought of as a great place to work. It's not a place that cares about people, it's not "cool", robotic quantity is now valued over quality, there's no path for advancement, the pay is as bad as anywhere else, the benefits are as bad as anywhere else. So, people aren't lining up to work there. You get the quality of people you are worth.

[CoffeeJO]

@Northwest: Amen!!!

[Waltie]

I can't remember the last time I've worked where somebody hasn't asked if we're applying. Maybe not every day, but a few times a week is common. People are applying.

The managers at some stores just don't know how to conduct interviews and vet applicants properly.

If 99% of the people are quitting, the problem isn't with the people who are applying, but with the people who are being hired.

[Mike]

If Starbucks gave Schultz's bonus to every partner, you'd each get around $30 so you're not exactly being asked to sacrifice much. Frankly, he's done a great job turning the company around. Schultz might be the only person in America who could run the company since he created it and made it what it is today. That's worth $3.5 million when the company makes $1 billion. Most of your jobs are low skill jobs like a McDonalds and people still want to work there. Jobs are supply and demand whether you make coffee or run the company. There's only one Howard Schultz but there are thousands of people who would love to work at Starbucks.

[gc]

People are so weird.

No, Howard Schultz isn't working the barista role serving customers and doing daily store business.

The same reason the baristas aren't planning company strategy. They aren't working on moving the company forward on a macro-level, working on new products and initiatives, either.

It's two completely different jobs and Howard Schultz's job carries much, much more responsibility than a "barista's" job.

Howard Schultz seems fairly compensated.

[Doppio con karma]

No problem with the compensation, my stock options are worthwhile again, thanks in part to the changes and yes cuts he instituted.

Side note,
once again Waltie and I are on the same page, if you're getting that degree of washouts, your SM isn't interviewing properly, and asking or interpreting the right questions to vet these flakes.

[margie]

good!The sky is falling! Get real! We serve upwards of 800 customers a day, sometimes we break a grand on Saturday. And that's just trans, not actual body count mind you.
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[Melody]

$30 to each store barista might have been a meaningful amount of money to some of them?? Howard has done an enormous amount to turn the business around to more profitable than what it once was. I just finished reading Onward (book review link in my name) and it makes me incredibly impressed about what has happened over the past few years since Howard Schultz has returned as CEO.

[barista]

This is totally off topic, sorry, but has anyone else had problems at the store level with Simphony reporting? Our reports from the reports are missing data and clearly incorrect.

[WeatheredBarista]

Should we really be surprised?

[Mike]

Melody-I guess I agree that $30 could be significant to someone but not at the risk of losing Schultz even though I doubt that would happen either.

That's cool you got a copy of the book. I kind of quickly scanned through your review because I didn't want to ruin it because I'll be getting a copy. I have a great deal of respect for Schultz so I look forward to reading it. Maybe I'll stop in and check out your blog too.

[Sumatra]

I think what you guys dont understand is Starbucks is a business and a business has to make a profit.

Starbucks doesnt owe anybody employment, you get layed off Im sorry to hear that, but thats life. Find a new one.

3.5 mill isnt that big of a deal for CEO. Its about the going rate, far more less successful CEOs have made more

[Melody]

@Mike - I really don't know Howard Schultz. I want to make that really clear. I have no way to spark any kind of conversation with him. He can recognize me and put a name to a face, but I don't think he knows me either (I seriously doubt he cares to know me!).

One thing I feel sure of though is that Howard Schultz LOVES Starbucks. From all that I've read and seen and experienced, that I'm confident is true: Howard loves Starbucks. I don't think that 3.5 million dollars is really a deal-breaker for him in anyway. $30 could mean groceries for a number of partners. I'm not saying he didn't earn every single penny he gets, but I sympathize with those working so hard, and struggling to make ends meet.

As to my book review of Onward, I tried very hard not to spoil it for anyone. There are very few photos, and lots of ground that I didn't cover.(link in profile). Thanks for visiting.

[usorthem3]

@Melody I seriously like knowing you. tee hee Wondered if you saw this article, one of my customers brought it to my attention. Not a big fan of whitefish but the salmon & eggs sounded tasty. http://www.ft.com/cms/s/2/04ac1236-50e3-11e0-8931-00144feab49a.html#axzz1HBG9KYBb

[youcantbeserious]

@ T in texas, you are delusional aren't you? They were comparing an hourly job to any other, not something you are referring to. There's nothing special about what you have. No one was suggesting that starbucks should be a carrier.

[youcantbeserious]

"sometimes we break a grande on saturday"
And? That's abnormal?