OPEN THREAD conversation-starter: Are Starbucks stores well-stocked with chocolate chips again?

Yes, it's a lame discussion topic, but I have nothing else and found this reader e-mail sitting in my in-box: "Starbucks in my office building (59th and Lex in NYC) has been out of chocolate chips for the mocha chip frap for two weeks. Barrista sez that it's a nationwide thing...none of the Starbucks have them. If true, is it a cost-cutting measure? A cash restriction? A credit crunch? Inquiring minds want to know." Please, take care of that inquiring mind ... and, of course, you're invited to discuss anything else Starbucks-related in the open thread.

Comments

[CD]

I have a benefits question: What is with the rumor that benefits are changing for part time employees? Will you still be able to get health insurance if you work 20 hours? Is it going to be harder than ever to get those 20 hours a week? What exactly is changing?

[Thinksdifferent]

A nationwode problem? That's pretty strange because I order that drink fairly frequently at the starbucks near my house in Alexandria, VA and I've never had any trouble with them bring out..... I could see some of the more rural stores having supply chain issues, but manhattan???

[secretsquare]

We've got them again. But why would someone think not having something to sell would help us financially? We just ran out. It happens.

[tdotsm]

Probably just a blip...they tend to melt and have to be discarded! We've been fine inToronto and we order from a U.S roasting plant too.

[BroylingWater]

My store has always had them..We haven't run out, and they are available to order. They don't melt if you store them properly, out of direct light, in a proper container, and in a controlled temperature environment. The person was most likely lying about the nationwide issues with the chips, failing to admit that whomever was doing the order was dropping the ball...

[Nerfebarista]

Actually, our area wide shortage/outage in the seattle area is energy. We have been out in our district for almost a month and arent slotted to get more until the end of august. These things happen all the time with certain products. My favorite line from the upset customer is "but that store down the street has them!" To which I reply, no I'm sorry, they don't. I don't know what they are putting in your drink but it's not energy. I can show you the email stating that the warehouse hasn't and won't have it until the end of the month. Funny the stuff people will say to see if they can change your mind! Trust me, if I had it, I wouldn't have told you i didn't =D

[Venti Urnex Latte]

If it's a slow Starbux weekend, I would like to ask again my question that got buried in last week's open thread:

So you know how they give us T-shirts every now and again, for holidays, new spring drinks, etc?

HOW MUCH DOES THE COMPANY SPEND ON THESE?

Say 100,000 baristas in the U.S. get two or three T-shirts a year each. That is 200,000 or 300,000 T-shirts at a cost of....what? A million dollars a year maybe?

Does anyone else think that Starbucks should not be spending its money on these promotional T-shirts that we wear for only a few days?

[Nerfebarista]

I do remember one time the ac went out in my store during the 100+ degree weather in VA. We didn't notice until very late in the day that the chips were now a chocolate clump.. we tried to refrigerate them, but it turned into a cold clump of chocolate... Then came the ice picks...

[Nerfebarista]

Venti Urnex Latte,

Perhaps your question got buried because it's not relavent? Or maybe, no one had an answer to give.. either way, both are the same answer, no one cares. The t-shirts for the partners are not causing the decline of the brand, nor would they make up even one person's salary, were we to stop making them, so what's your point? IF we didn't spend it on the shirts, it would be on another marketing ploy, not hiring or keeping on another member of staff. I'm sure there's some sort of reasoning behind this, though I don't know it =

[Nerfebarista]

P.S. I like your name! Someone told me once, that urnex tastes 'salty'

[Sheik]

"Venti Urnex Latte" -- ha ha thats hilarious

[BAYAREABUX]

Benefits eligibility isn't changing. Deductibles are going up A LOT and at least for my health plan, specialty care is going to be unaffordable. Premiums are still much better than national average, but what you actually get for that premium is declining a lot in value.

Anyone else with an opinion on the 2009 changes?

[StLouieDrip]

Nerfebarista My favorite line from the upset customer is "but that store down the street has them!" ... Funny the stuff people will say to see if they can change your mind!

It's really all part of the grief process... denial. They just need a moment to process and work through that denial period before they can move on to acceptance, (which in this case is TheChocolateChipDeprivationRealization). :P

[Nerfebarista]

LOL nice!

[Nerfebarista]

can i buy stock in black market chocolate chips?

[Stacy]

Chips are not in a national shortage right now. Energy, yes; chips, no.

It is possible that the barista was mistaken and that it was just an area outage. That happened in my area at the beginning of the summer. Just like nearly every store in my city recently got shorted on CBB. I'm sorry you can't get your first choice Frappuccino, but it happens. It has nothing to do with cutting costs or anything of the like. The area is just out. It happens.

And just because "the store down the street" has something in stock that another store doesn't, it doesn't mean that a barista is lying to you. There are a lot of factors that go into ordering and there is always a number of explanations for why a store might be out of something . I know it sucks when we run out of something, but it's not necessarily the fault of the guy/girl making your coffee. Just something to keep in mind the next time you go into any place of business and they are out of something.

[Beth]

For those of you who work in stores with a Drive-Thru, do you wait to make drinks until the customer reaches the window and pays? Is there a specific policy about it?

[Nerfebarista]

no waiting unless there is a personal cup involved.. we actually want you to be out of our lane as fast as possible.. 3 mins is the standard for which we strive

[Nerfebarista]

unless of course, you have an accent we can't understand.. then we will ask you to drive up so we can figure out what ya like

[P.R.I.D.E.]

Venti Urnex Latte- prior to about 2006, we had promotional shirts that were given out several times a year. Suddenly, we did go through "cost saving measures" and for several promotions in a row, no t-shirts. Guess what? There was an uproar from field ops regarding massive quantities of feedback about how promotional shirts were appreciated- it gave us something else to wear besides black and white, and most of the time, the tees were cool so we liked them.

So, there is your answer. I guess there are cycles to what people want/don't want. Also, I think if the tees were bitchin', then no one would be complaining that they must be costly. You would think that we would have SOMEONE out of over 100,000 who actually had taste and could design a cool tee. But no. At least not lately.

[maineasm]

I think its awesome how dramatic everyone can be and quick to jump down a stores throat because you "know all". As a matter fact the york roasting plant in Penn which would supply to the store in NY being discussed is experiencing an outage in choc chips and most stores have not received a shipment in over a wk.

[Zipy]

I kinda like the sorbetto shirt. It's colorful. That being said, it's kinda... not Starbucks, in my opinion. Feels more like, well, Jamba Juice wear.

[newengland]

the York roasting plant which would supply the NY store being talked about has been out of chips for over a wk

[closed stores]

Question - how come in July they released the first 50 stores closing, but not have done so for August? What stores are closing in August?

[Gord]

For the benefits question...

I've heard rumours that the benefits will be applied to everyone soon (no more 20 hours a week needed). Also, you'll get them from day one.

I've also heard that the store bonus is going to be changing and people will actually be able to bonus again. :)

[Gord]

"Question - how come in July they released the first 50 stores closing, but not have done so for August? What stores are closing in August?"

Perhaps there aren't any closing in August. :)

[The Maine Event]

I work at a store in Maine, and we hadnt been shorted on chocolate chips.

Off-topic but the mastrena machines look awesome

[DT Partner]

RE: DT stores

No we don't wait till the customer gets to the window. The only exception is with Frappuccinos, we have it prepared in the blender ready to get blended. But we dont blend it until the customers get to the window so that we can maintain the 10 second rule and the Frappuccino isn't nasty and melted looking.

Unfortunately even with personal mugs, if its during a busy period, we still make the drink in a to-go cup, and pour it into the customers mug when they can give it to us. Its just to maintain speed of service and be respectful to the customers waited behind them.

[onethreethree]

sign of the times: a partner at my store forgot her vivanno shirt today and came in with a black polo. she was written up and sent home.

[nycstoremanager]

Ok, let's clear up the chip thing-

I'm a NYC store manager and in NYC we receive consolidated deliveries (Bartlett delivers all pastries, milk, sandwiches, hi-volume skus and starting this week paper products to us on a daily basis). During the summer, Bartlett also delivers chips becuase they won't melt in the refrigerated trucks. About two months ago, an alert was posted on Bartletts portal page that chips were out of stock until further notice. For a few weeks there, almost all stores in NYC were out of chips and the ones who had tons weren't transfering any. However, they began to deliver chips again about 1-2 weeks ago so...

And i'm surprised the fiasco that's happening in NYC right now isn't all over this site...the transition to Bartlett delivering paper products has been the most disorganized project I have ever had the non-pleasure of participating in...Example:

When Bartlett tried to begin delivering product on Monday they realized that they didn't have enough room on the trucks for paper product and milk/food (yes!!! the day deliveries began they realized this!!!). The scramble to correct this has resulted in a citywide shortage of all paper products, late deliveries of milk and pastries (on Tues. I didn't get my delivery 'til 2pm) and sometimes no delivery of anything at all...

Onward...

[Lolalatte]

Just keep in mind it's the customers who make it possible for employees to have a job at all...if enough customers get sick of the poor attitudes toward regulars, Starbucks is done. Yes, people miss their chocolate chips-it's a routine for them and nobody likes their routine messed up, do they? So, how about a smile or a wink and a little understanding to the customer who wants their chips?

[Nerfebarista]

Lolalatte, yes we are pleasant when dropping the hammer about product not in stock. It's the poeple who react rudely afterwards that i was refering to. Incidentally, those are the customers we can all live without. You say I wouldnt have a job if not for each and every customer, I say everyone has a customer to answer to, but some poeple need to stop thinking they are more important than everyone else.

[coffeekitty]

Oh god nycstoremanager, don't get me started on Bartlett!

Yeah, we had the chip shortage here in CT as well. And with the new paper ordering they just seem to drop whatever they want to as opposed to what was ordered so we've been trading around to other stores what we got extra of for what we need. Maybe this is some covert way to build bonds between stores?

I'm just glad chips are back. We did end up getting fans for chocolate creme Frappucinnos though!

[bc barista]

Regarding the chips...um, we've run out of them more than once and we just grab the company credit card, hop on over to the local grocery store and buy some. Same with any other product we might run out of, except of course, obvious things that can't be replaced. Is this not the norm?

[flusteredsupervisor]

A word of advice, I saw a store who bought some nestle chocolate chips in an attempt to salvage their chip-frapp sales (I worked there but I claim no involvement, the manager was a mental case) and it doesn't work.

I don't know if anyone else has tried this, but the chips don't blend, and in effect, the flavor is lost and once you're done there's a nice (irritating!) pile of chocolate chips at the bottom. We were told to sell them anyway but I started advising people on this issue once I realized it- lol.

So no matter how bad it gets, I say just don't go there.

[omg]

Hello people! york was out of chips it wasnt bartlett it was york. from time to time the roasting plant runs out of product because we run a promotion ie. Mint Mocha Chip Frappuccino. the roasting plant doesnt always account for all of our samples, coupons, $2 grande drinks, people who just want a frappuccino today instead of the latte.
Get over it!

[sample cup]

RE: getting written up/sent home for not wearing a promo tee.

That sucks hardcore - what's the exact requirement for your store/district as far as wearing them? We had to wear them on launch day if we worked and now get to wear them on weekends and today (which was partner appreciation day, so we also got to wear jeans).

[Stacy]

lolalatte-
No one here has said anything like "oh well too bad for you." We understand more than anyone how much it sucks when we're out of something. We're the ones who have to deliver the bad news upwards of 100+ times in a shift and, sometimes, to some not so understanding people. We're consumers at our stores as well, not to mention other places of business. So we understand that it sucks. But it happens and it's not necessarily the fault of the person serving you. That's the point I (and I think nerfebarista) was trying to make.

bc barista-
No, it is not the norm. Reason being: quality control.

[sample cup]

Also, she technically wasn't out of Starbucks dress code (or was she?) - even if she was asked to wear a promo shirt and forgot, why was she sent home? Yeah, she doesn't get paid, but it hurts the other partners because they'd have to pick up the slack... Was it a repeat offense? Did she violently object to being written up? Something doesn't match up.

[espressoblend]

1) I overheard some baristas discussing potato chips are debuting soon to go with some new sandwiches, etc... something to do with a new lunch platform? Is this true? If so... wow. Chips are not classy. SBUX is not Subway, but they seem to want to be.

2) Lolalatte is *so* right. Customers come first and no one likes their routine messed up. Regardless of how "nice" you are, it still doesn't make up for the fact that someone dropped the ball...

3) How come, almost every time I'm in a SBUX there's someone explaining to a customer that they're out of drip and have to/ are in the process of making some more? It seems with (in my stores anyway) that with four urns, there ought to be enough room to keep fresh coffee all day. Just seems like bad customer service.

[Stacy]

ok well now there is that one jackass barista who said "get over it."

Also, I don't see you can be written up for wearing a black polo instead of a promo shirt. It is not a company wide policy to wear promo shirts every day. If it was me, I'd be fighting that one. It doesn't matter if your DM wants you to wear it, company policy trumps district/regional policy.

[CD]

Here's a crazy one - I was in a suburban Chicago Starbucks today and they are using their Red Christmas Cups already! How can Starbucks be pushing Christmas before Labor Day?

[Lolalatte]

CD, did Chicago store maybe run out of regular cups and bust out some left over red cups? I love red cups, but it sucks the joy out of it if they surface before Thanksgiving! Whoa!

[maggiemunkee]

bartlett. ugh. let's not talk about how awful they are. they somehow fail to order supplies for their largest customer. i'm just waiting for holiday time when they don't get enough paper products for us. "i'm sorry, we are out of venti cups. how about a tall for the same price?" ugh. effing bartlett.

rewarding incompetence with more contracts and money. ugh.

[LookingOverMyShoulder]

@ Venti Urnex Latte: my partners hate the shirts as they rub your neck raw. Also, lots of my partners have tattoos and have to wear a shirt under the tee as well to cover up. Shirts are 'cheap advertising', which SBUX is all about.

@ Nerfebarista: you think getting rid of ( your estimate ) 300,000 shirts would not "make up even one person's salary". How much do you think they cost each? I'm not suggesting that it would 'save' anyone's job....but be realistic - even in bulk they are probably at least a couple of bucks each. Check your retail detail next time.

@ CD: giving everyone benies and with no wait period? No way. We pay more in health benefits than we do in salaries every year, it is a cost that I'm sure the board has been trying to get rid of forever, and to Howard's credit, one of the few things he to this point won't negotiate. Eventually he will give in, probably after 'optimal scheduling' and make the requirement be 32+ hours ( or only for "full time available" partners - if you aren't familiar with this term you will be soon ).

Onward....into oblivion

[Cap'n Crunch]

Tried the new oatmeal today. Its awful. It does have potential though.

[Melody]

How is it both awful AND have potential? I'm really exciting about the peanut butter and hardboiled egg. :-)

[Melody]

* excited, not 'exciting'
oops

[Belle]

Just out of curiosity Cap'n--what was awful about it? Texture? Flavor? Lack of crunchberries? A more detailed review would be of interest!

[Venti Urnex Latte]

Shoulder, yes, I hate the shirts. That rubbing apron so chafes my neck that I have to hike it up with safety pins. The shirts are useful for such a short time-frame. In our district we wear them for the first few promotional days and then every Friday for maybe a month.

It's a problem getting the right sizes for everyone. We are a huge store with many partners, so we have about 8 petite girls fighting for the 2 small size T-shirts. So mostly everyone wears an ill-fitting, big, baggy T-shirt. This is independent of whether the shirts are ugly or not.