OPEN THREAD conversation-starter: What should Starbucks do now to satisfy all three of these groups: investors, customers and employees

Sure, it's easy to sit back and criticize a CEO for his/her actions, but try coming up with solutions that satisfy everyone. Put yourself in the CEO chair and give us three (or more) things that should be done now to put Starbucks on track -- moves that will increase revenue while keeping customers and workers happy. Give us your ideas, or discuss anything self Starbucks-related in the open thread.

Comments

[DB]

YouknowwhoIam (and I don't)

If all of the origins are dark and shiny, they are all roasted the same, or at least there is not enough difference between the roasts to matter. I've never seen anything from SBUX that didn't go pretty far beyond 2nd crack. Quite a few origins have optimal flavor well before 2nd crack.

[Woodson]

We need to focus on the 3rd place. The only way to get customers to come in is to make them feel welcome. At our store(Kittery, Maine)no one creates the 3rd place better than our own Miss Kitty...no relation to the Kitty who posts here... at least I think not...This Miss Kitty goes by the name Kim. Kim is everything a Starbucks partner should be: Friendly, courteous, gregarious, genuine, kind-hearted, standardized, approachable, willing to give and accept feedback...and so much more. She has a heart of gold...and will go out of her way for customers and partners alike. She has such an endearing personality that once you meet her you are affected...She creates the 3rd place for EVERY customer. She gives her all every time she works...Starbucks needs more Miss Kitty's across the board. I am sure there are Miss Kitty's in many stores across the USA from Antioch, TN to Zanesville, OH. But I think we all need to be Miss Kitty's. Baristas, Shift supervisors, ASM's and SM's, District Managers, and RDO's and everyone else in this company. She inspires me to be the best Miss Kitty I could be...and I am a male. So I will adopt the nickname she uses for me as the male version of Miss Kitty...Mr.Woodson...Kim/Miss Kitty you are an extraordinary partner. I have so much respect for you in everything you do. You are to customer service what Ann Wilson is to the rock group Heart...you are the integral part...you are the superior voice...you are inspirational...you are Miss Kitty... love ya Kim

"No way! Anyone who knows ANYTHING about international markets knows that, right now, that's where the cash is! Not opening up stores in Berlin, Munich, Geneva, Athens, Moscow, etc. would be a huge opportunity loss! This would be such a disservice to investors everywhere! You need to go where the money is, and right now it's not the US (or Australia, apparently)."

Starbucks has lost control of their current operations and needs to slow down a bit. Current management has shown they are just not capable of handling that much expansion at this time. No point in expanding at the detriment of their current markets and also not being able to handle the new markets. They need to get a better handle on their current operations and what the future Starbucks will be. No point in again repeating the past mistakes by expanding faster then they have the expertise in place to control the business. Controlled expansion is good but some times business expansion is no more then a greed motive pushed by investors.

[BooneInGA]

1) Can Pike Place Roast. It stinks. As a shift interacting with our customers, I find that many of them were in favor of the coffee rotation we used to be on. We need to bring back the bold, mild, and decaf all day. I've had customers walk out of the store empty handed because they did not want the Pike Place when that is all we had. Get back to the roots and serve coffee like we used to, 3 coffees all day, every day.

2) New Mastrena's in all the stores by summer 2009. Wasn't the Espresso Excellence training all about delivering the perfect espresso beverage? I'm sure that extended to the perfect cup of brewed coffee too. Improve on the espresso and whole bean we have. Cut back on the Vivanno, cut back on the fancy-shmancy beverages and focus on the coffee. Afterall, this is Starbucks COFFEE Company. Side note on this, I offered a Vivanno sample to a customer in the drive-thru a week or so ago. The response was, "I don't want any of that fruity bulls**t. I came here for coffee." True story.

3) Kill the drive-thru. I know that the drive thru is a convenience tool for the morning commute. I just feel that we lose that customer connectivity in the drive-thru. It almost feels like you are a machine when working the DT, spitting out drinks left and right. I think that has almost lead to us losing a little bit of customer focus. Get them in the store. Connect, discover, and respond. I know very many people will probably disagree with this last point I'm making, but I feel it's legitimate.

4) Don't expand so fast! We have a Starbucks two miles in each direction from our store. And from those stores, there are two more within 2 miles of those ones! A Starbucks on EVERY street corner isn't necessary, and having all that extra cost for building, utilities, etc. is a cash cow I would imagine. I'm sure the baristas at those excess stores could be utilized at the surrounding stores.

I think that's all for now. I'll add more if I think of it.

[anon]

do you know why the music is turned up so loud? it is because they dont put speakers or at least a speaker behind the counter where the partners can hear it. so it has to get turned up really high so that it can be heard. and it is not always apparent how loud it is to the customers. partners need the music to get through the day. please put at least a speaker where partners can hear too then problem solved. duh.

[Melody]

BooneInGa:
Great post!! I think the Vivanno helped freshen up the menu, but the advertising on the door is too much! Starbucks should re-emphasize COFFEE.
And I agree about the Mastrenas! Hurry up and get them in the store. I have yet to EVER talked to a barista who said he or she couldn't tell an improvement in the shot quality right away. Granted, it's not a La Marzocco, but part of Starbucks being a premier brand means that the espresso has got to be higher quality than what they're offering now!

[TinyTim]

To "We want other choices besides PPR" people:

Ask them to brew something else. It's either we waste money brewing EVERYTHING we have 17/7 or compromise. If you can't wait 4 minutes for your personalized and specific taste of a cup of brewed coffee that you MUST have above all others, you don't really want the personalized and specific taste of a cup of brewed coffee you say you want.

[buxy]

Mark,

All stores had new tasks and calculations put into ALS for Vivvanno, they should be earning you more then blended beverages

DB,

IMHO most coffees that aren't roasted as dark at starbuck's tastes like brewed boiled peanuts instead of a cup of joe.

cafe vs. dt,

I hated the ideas of having drive-thru stores when they begain coming to my area (I was working in retail for the company on the east coast at the time) and now ... at this point ... I think it'd be mean to take them away from customers but someone once mentioned to me the idea of having DT only and Cafe only stores ... I think the partners would be a lot less stressed out since they aren't having to manage 2 different businesses and customers could just go to the store that's probably across the street ...

[WaShift]

I don't need music to get through the day and the partners I work with don't need music to get through the day.

If you need music to get through the day, maybe you need to find a job where you are happier

[Melody]

TinyTim,
All great things in life require a little patience. I tell baristas over and over again: "I'm in no hurry. Please don't bother pulling my cup before it's done brewing. I can wait. I can wait until the pot has completely finished brewing. I can wait a full 5 minutes."

It's amazing but unless you say that, you'll often get your coffee before the post has finished brewing. I can see that there is still water going in.

Again, great things do often require some patience and waiting.

[buxy]

I mean to say most coffees not roasted as dark AS starbuck's taste like peanut water

[Cali ASM]

1. Go back to one hour hold times for brewed coffee
2. Go back to three types of coffee available all day
3. More admin time for "responsible" managers
4. Get rid of the ovens
5. Get rid of drive-thrus
6. More partner coffee knowledge/passion (more coffee tastings, seminars, etc.)
7. More whole bean available in stores (wall bays, coffee counter, coffee floor stands, etc.)
8. I agree with Kitty that we need out of store training at least for the first week of a new hires employment. Both learning coach and new hire should be non-coverage together.
9. Design every store differently. Make each store unique to its own neighborhood, town, city, state, etc. No more cookie-cutter designs.
10. Better coaching on proper deployment and customer connections
11. Allow shift supervisors to actually run the shift so managers can actually be managers (this goes back to #3)
12. Get rid of tips and pay ALL partners better

P.S. Is it true that you still can't pull single shots on the Mastrena espresso machines? If so, why not, aren't they supposed to produce better shots? To those who have worked with them, why is this?

[Big Dave]

Well....I just finished roaster operator training for the last two months and I will tell you this.SBUX has several roasting curves and recipes. I don't like the way I was treated by that bunch,but I understand the importance of something that is private and belongs to them so I won't comment futher. We tasted several coffees each day and I really don't understand how someone couldn't tell the difference in them. I believe the stores don't carry a very big variety of beans or they shelve them back behind the counter where people don't see anything but the same looking bags. I don't like the way I was treated at SBUX plant training and I believe their new roasting plant will be a miserable failure,BUT I do think they have good beans and they know how to roast them. The problem I see is that half the people in the stores want chocolate syrup and God only knows what else dumped on top of a half cup of coffee then sprayed with whiped cream. You might as well just put some instant Sanka in the bottom of the cup. I like my coffeee black and plain. On a daring day I will put one packet of raw sugar in it. How many of the complainers have had a straight black cup of anything SBUX lately? It's still great coffee....everything else around it is screwed up,but the coffee is still great.

[kim]

I commented a couple of weeks ago that I was having trouble getting a Vivanno sample in Pittsburgh. Since then I have been to eight more locations, in three states. Still no samples. Are they selling so well that samples aren't necessary? A cashier saying "you'll love it" just doesn't do it for me.

[Big Dave]

.....And another thing.....LAY OFF OF WEST VIRGINIA!!!! The greatest coffee roaster in the history of SBUX (94% OEE) came from West Virginia.

[espressoblend]

Regarding:

espressoblend,
I'm not remotely complaining about my pay. I'm a store manager who's making a decent living. What I was saying is that in my market, barista pay has been stagnant at $7.00/hour since 2001. That was fine then; The rest of the cutomer service industry was at $5.15 and we could get the best candidates. That was part of what made us different and great.
Try to know what you're talking about.

Posted by: optimistic | August 02, 2008 at 03:20 PM

Well, now we know where the cash was going. In 2001-2007, SBUX was overpaying their work staffs. If the industry average is now only what SBUX has been paying since the beginning of the decade, then that just means SBUX is now competitive instead of ahead of the industry. I'd say your pay is in line, and will direct you to my original comment regarding better education to get into a better paying field.

Starbucks has lost control of their current operations and needs to slow down a bit. Current management has shown they are just not capable of handling that much expansion at this time. No point in expanding at the detriment of their current markets and also not being able to handle the new markets. They need to get a better handle on their current operations and what the future Starbucks will be. No point in again repeating the past mistakes by expanding faster then they have the expertise in place to control the business. Controlled expansion is good but some times business expansion is no more then a greed motive pushed by investors.

Posted by: | August 02, 2008 at 04:36 PM

Why should investors be completely penalized because executive management cannot control growth properly? Why should they not see their investments increase year over year because the one's making the decisions cannot embrace a perfect opportunity? They shouldn't. It seems that, as many have said, a shake-up needs to happen in the C-suites. Investors have a funny way of holding companies accountable in bad times. As well, it's not the investors fault this cannot happen... we'll still see growth in overseas markets, regardless, I'm sure.

Finally:
Drive-throughs should NOT be killed. This is an excellent money-making tool. Why would you want to kill a big revenue stream? Especially now? If I were a barista, I'd be thinking of every single way to keep my sales up so my store didn't close. Oh well, I guess that touchy-feely "third place" concept still has some of you all brainwashed. It's all about the sales right now (as it should have always been)! Learn this! The investors are TOP PRIORITY right now...

I'd recommend all SBUX workers get in line immediately, understand that the customer and investor are KEY TO YOUR BUSINESS and you're there to SERVE **THEM** (and not yourselves), or else you might be the next to be fired. This company will see a turn around in profitability... the only question is whether you'll still be on staff to see that happen or not.

[Dave]

I would say get rid of vivannos, creme frappucinos, frappucino lites, heating, and drive-thrus, but those are too obvious.

So here's my suggestions:

Quit calling down the line! It puts the customer at the register in an uncomfortable position because then they feel they have to get out asap, and it puts the barista that's doing it in an uncomfortable position for the same reason. Also, you're not supposed to be forced to have decided what you want until you're actually at register.

I'm probably going to take heat for this, but we need to get OUT of the "people business serving coffee" and INTO the "coffee business serving people!" I'm not saying we should have bad service, but what's really important is the coffee! I can't tell you how many times I've been to a Starbucks (or other store for that matter) and the baristas has been very nice but the drink has been horrible. I rarely go back to those stores. I don't go to a coffee shop to get sucked up to, I go there to get good coffee. As long as the barista isn't rude, ok service and exceptional coffee will be WAY more likely to keep people coming back than ok coffee and exceptional service. And I feel they've been focusing on service so much that their coffee's taking a backseat.

The bottom line is: you can get good service anywhere but Starbucks is supposed to be the finest purveyor of coffee.

This goes along the same lines, but focus on hiring partners that are passionate about coffee and don't focus so much on customer service experience!! If you truly love what you do (as I do), then the customers will KNOW, not to mention you'll be happy to share it with others. Being polite to the customer doesn't require experience either as long as you have common sense, and on the same token, if you don't have common sense, previous experience won't help much. I can't tell you how many people I know that have been hired that don't even like coffee.

Finally, get rid of 'just say yes!' In the early days, it was fine because it was generally used to clear up ambiguity or to do something the customer genuinely thought was fair or correct something when the customer made an honest mistake. It promoted a good balance of trust between the customers and employees. Now the only thing it promotes is self-entitlement. It's lost its shine and people try to take advantage of us through 'just say yes' multiple times a DAY.

[Cali ASM]

Dave:
What you say regarding calling down the line makes perfect sense. If I were a customer I probably would feel the same way. I just want the person behind the counter to be polite, professional, and helpful and the item I'm ordering to be a quality product.

Even as a Starbucks employee I sometimes feel like I'm being overly friendly. Today I didn't feel good so I was just what you were suggesting: polite and helpful. This actually worked quite well. The customers got treated good, and they got through the line pretty quick (not that I'm a motormouth to begin with).

I was on register by myself with a line and the two baristas on bar didn't even have to call down the line because I was getting through it pretty quickly (of course, it probably helped that I've worked there for a while so I know all the little tricks of getting the transactions done fast without sacrificing legendary service).

I think this all boils down to the fact that employees forget what it's like to be a customer.

Melody: Thanks for the info on the website. What are your thoughts on this topic of calling down the line?

[SoCalRocks!]

This entire thread is proving my point wholeheartedly- we need to stop listening and responding (hold on before you freak out, let me prove my point), and start creating and delighting, before a customer/partner/investor has to tell us what to do because their pissed/frustrated/venting.

Many of the posts here are in direct conflict with each other.

Get rid of drive thrus! (partner)
WHAT?!?!? Keep drive thrus (investor)

Customer #1- Your service is horrible. I come for the coffee but am disgusted when your baristas who are rude and unfriendly.

Customer #2- Your product is horrible. I come for the friendly service which is great, but your product is horrible.

We need to STOP thinking we will be all things to all people. We need to STOP believing that we can do it all, because when we use this approach, we do it all at 80%, and a world class brand will be seen as failing at 80% by partners, by customers, and by investors.

You know, the thread the other day regarding the "audacity" of that mom-and-pop coffee shop that refused to compromise its standards...at the time I was surprised...but I am now concluding that maybe we can begin to integrate a balanced approach to just accepting who we are (and who were not) and just do it well. We won't be the finest purveyor of coffee in the world. We'll be damn good though, and you'll find us everywhere.

Are any other monkeys going insane, or is it just me?

[GlenFelizRegular]

I had a Sorbetto at the free tasting on Thursday. It was pretty good, and there were a lot of people getting free ones and Vivannos. It was better than I thought it would be (comparing to Jamba Juice)

[Equalamongequals]

EspresssoBlend,
"Please remember that you, as the worker, are there to serve the customer. It's not your choice. You're actually being PAID to serve the customer. You also have this great policy called Just Say Yes. It's a pretty well-known policy, both to customers and employees. You may have heard about it. It says that if the customer asks for something within reason, you're obligated to Just Say Yes. I can promise you, too, that if I complain to your manager he or she will always take the paying customer's side. Every time. Especially now, where every dollar the customer spends in a SBUX store is cherished like it was a gift from god. Please remember your place. Thanks!"

Frankly, this is not true. First, if as in the example you had referenced, a partner is asked to violate ringing procedure, that is NOT a just say yes scenario. In fact, that would be at least a written corrective action and perhaps termination. Part of our (every partner, from barista up to CEO) job is corporate asset protection. That means (among many other things) ensuring that people are charged appropriately and not abusing the system. If you want a CM, you pay for a CM. Period. If I ring you for a vanilla latte with caramel sauce, you will get that - but that is NOT a CM. If you say "I want a vanilla latte, with one less pump of vanilla, the shots poured on top, and caramel drizzle." it is my job to translate that to CM and charge appropriately. Second, I have NEVER seen a manager side with a customer over a barista in any type of conflict situation. A good manager knows that by keeping their people happy they will keep their customers happy, and can mediate any problems that arise between a barista and a customer without making either feel slighted in any way.

[anon]

Washift. wow. its not the job, its that dead silence makes time go by very slowly. music is a real mood enhancer, dont ya know? maybe you should go listen to some good tunes and calm down a little. jeeesh.

[John]

I don't believe Starbucks closed its Australian stores because of high rent and wages. Prices were higher here to cover that.

I think it's the fact that Starbucks (like many American companies) thinks that if it works in the USA it will work everywhere. Globalisation may be great, but one size does not fit all.

Starbucks brought with it a rather bland tasting coffee with bland looking stores. Australia already had great places for coffee, with better atmosphere/ambience than Starbucks could ever provide.

Australian's generally like much stronger coffee than Starbucks makes, even with a 'double shot'. There was no allowance made for Australian's tastes in coffee or the type of place they like to go.

Some localisation of the product and the Starbucks decor/venue etc would have gone a long way to ensuring their success here.

In short, there was nothing that made them 'special'. Indeed, many of the single independent coffee places make better coffee, and have better food, and do it cheaper. Why would you go to Starbucks?

If I was CEO, I'd implement these changes. Surely if the average person out there can see this, and the CEO of the company can't, he should go now!

Thanks!
John

[YouKnowwhoIam]

I think DB is correct about the roasts being the same on all beans. Except for Espresso, Italian, French, and Breakfast Blend, they are all roasted the same--the Starbucks Roast.
Posted by: it's brunt not grunt | August 02, 2008 at 03:17 PM
_______________________________________
YouknowwhoIam (and I don't)
If all of the origins are dark and shiny, they are all roasted the same, or at least there is not enough difference between the roasts to matter. I've never seen anything from SBUX that didn't go pretty far beyond 2nd crack. Quite a few origins have optimal flavor well before 2nd crack.
Posted by: DB | August 02, 2008 at 03:57 PM
_______________________________________

wrong and wrong
there is a Starbucks curve, yes, but each coffee has it's OWN time and temperature guideline. Take a look at House Blend beans vs. Cafe Estima. These two have very different time and temperature requirements. Unless you have worked in the Green Coffee Department or had regular access to roasting and daily production cuppings you would not know for a fact otherwise.

I'm just sayin'... I know these things for a FACT. Yes we normally roast to the second pop, but some coffees roast longer after that pop and some not.

PPR has a different curve by the way...

[Spork]

I dream of a day when all of us partners will be able to ignore the bags of douche that Troll on this website looking for an internet fight. The next time a person writes something about how it's our job to be treated like shit and "just say yes" to others treating us like 2-day old chantico, let's try to ignore it shall we?

[GRTL]

I've only been with the company for about 2 years and even in that time it has changed so much that I hardly recognize it anymore...Starbucks used to have this almost mystical quality to it. When you were going to Starbucks it used to be an unique experience, an experience no longer really possible because of the shifting priorities there. Today they are hammering home sales like never before!

Now that I work here, its depressing to see a line of 20 people in the morning and your running around with your head cut off trying to do too much by yourself.

Here's my thoughts on improving Starbucks image and quality.

1) Get rid of the ovens. People were complaining heavily about their smell yesterday. Removing a piece of cheese is not working. When they brought in breakfast sandwiches was one of the worst ideas ever. I know all stores don't have them but those that do, yuck! This made us fast food and not a coffee house! And it was a very sad day when we got the ovens. :-(

2) Go back to loving coffee. Coffee! I cannot tell you how nice it is to go into a real coffee house sometimes. Simple espresso drinks and real coffee. More varieties of coffee. Doing PPR made us Dunkin Donuts. Talk about coffee. Don't make the coffee master something "old school" baristas, shifts etc hold over new employees heads that they are more knowledgible and you aren't. Seriously it's like that at some stores. Get everyone excited about coffee again. To me PPR was nothing more than a cost cutting measure, not about a blend everyone can enjoy. It's cheaper to have one kind of coffee everyday!

3) Coffee Houses that don't have Fraps, Vivannos and the noise of a wirring blender....OMG what a nice concept. Nothing slows me down in the morning now like a Vivanno when I have a line of 15 cups on the bar and I'm the only one there cause we don't have the labor. An OMB with matcha has so many scoops and steps its ridiculous. Why didn't they give us a more volumetric scoop so that one scoop of the powder equals three spoon scoops...That would have made it so much easier! That being said.

4) Labor Labor Labor. More labor. Vivannos = no extra labor. 30 minute brew time....here's some extra at first...oh your used to working that much harder you don't need it anymore we'll take it back. All of the labor reduction = bitchslap to the overworked underpaid baristas.

5) Clean out the pastry case and start fresh. Our mass produced pastries look frankly very unappealing, especially when they are so cramped into the cases. They fall apart, crumbs everywhere. It looks really sad and gross. There is no consistency to these and it shows and reflects very poorly on the company. Lets lower the amount of pastry selection but make it look great. Great looking and Great tasting scones, danishes, loaves and coffee cakes. Pretzels??? Donuts??? Brownies???...heaven forbid we don't put 1/2 cooked breakfast sandwiches in our pastry case...GET rid of those from the pastry case!!!!

Show coffee beans in the store. Not just bags! Be a coffee house again...not a fast food restaurant. We seriously are very close to dunkin donuts in being the fast food of coffee and that is sad. Very sad!

[lower it]

How about just lowering your prices. Starbucks cost too much!!!! People would come back in droves. Your prices are insulting.

[DB]

YouknowhoIam,

Blends are irrelevant, especially if you're roasting all of the origins within a particular blend together. When I blend I roast the origins separately and then I blend.

Tossing various origins in a roaster together just distorts the origin character.

In the interests of clarity here is what I am talking about:

1)Brewed coffee. This excludes all espresso and other so-called specialty drinks.

2)Single origin coffees. This excludes any blends.

Having roasted hundreds of pounds of coffee myself (in very small increments) in my own home, I can recognize a coffee that has been roasted to 2nd crack visually. I have been doing this for 9 years.

I stand by my assertion that SBUX destroys origin character by roasting all origins beyond 2nd crack. It seems that the "green beans department" does not consider a coffee roasted until it has hit 2nd crack. There is such a huge difference between a coffee between 1st and 2nd crack as to make the apparently vast spectrum of time and temperature guidelines of SBUX of little consequence to me as a consumer.

This philosophy is not unique to SBUX but can be found in quite a few chains and independents. It's sad to me because I have had the pleasure of tasting quite a few origins and the richness and variety is astounding. I just wish more people could experience this.

I get sad when people equate SBUX with quality coffee. SBUX may pull the occasional good shot of espresso or really froth milk in that perfect way, but quality brewed coffee cannot be found there in my experience. It is a very rare commodity generally. If you've read this far thanks. Coffee evangelism is over.

[Herman M]

CaliASM:
Let me take on the single shot on Mastrena question for you. The answer is the same as why we are at long last no longer pulling them on the Verismo. We are putting less espresso in the same sized brew chamber. The shot then takes proportionally less time to pull. And as we all know (or should know) from our training, one of the key variables in any brewing method is the time water and coffee are in contact. If the single shot only takes 10 seconds to pull (that's about right. Even on the current machine) it will be weak and flavorless.

You can do a single shot on a semiauto like the old La Maz because there was a single portafilter. It was smaller to account for the lesser quantity of espresso. Unfortunately, that's not possible with the superautos we now have.

As an aside, for years before it became policy, I would insist that my drinks not be made with singles, nor would I make a customer's drink with singles because I could taste the difference. Unfortunately, there are not enough of our partners at this point who have enough of a palette developed to make that distinction.

So there is my one thing to change Starbucks for the better: get back to a point where all our partners are passionate about coffee. Or at least care enough about it to be able to identify "good" from "bad". Everyone should be able to taste a shot or drip cup and know that it is correctly prepared or poorly prepared. How else can we ensure the customer is getting a beverage prepared to the highest standards?

And yes, while that might be the expectation, I think we can all point out at least one (usually more) partner in any store you wish to choose who "hates" or "doesn't drink" coffee. You know, the person that when you corner them and trick them into a tasting gives you the bitter beer face and says, uncreatively, "It tastes like dirt" or "it tastes like coffee" then runs off to get the bad taste out of their mouth with an extra caramel, whip blended into it, just dump the bag of sauce in the cup Caramel Frapucinno.

Yeah, you know someone like that. Used to be that someone who couldn't stand coffee wouldn't be hired. I remember my first interview years ago. I was offered a drink. Took a cup of Harrar. The other person being interviewed said "no thanks. I don't drink coffee". One of us got hired.

[Melody]

How about just lowering your prices. Starbucks cost too much!!!! People would come back in droves. Your prices are insulting.

Posted by: lower it | August 03, 2008 at 05:59 AM

Starbucks will never please everyone and some people simply will not have the discretionary income to make Starbucks a part of their routine. There always will be a few people who can't afford it at all.

But more importantly, there are such strong tensions here at this board, and at MSI that are in direction competion with each other. Mystarbucksidea.com gets flooded with people who think that ALL of Starbucks coffee needs to be Fair Trade Certified. We could go round and round about that. I've taken a lot of time to look at the csr report that Starbucks puts out, and I'm pretty impressed with what Starbucks is doing.

But my point is that "lower your prices" and "have more organic coffee" or "have more fair trade coffee" are strongly competing ideas. Seriously, if ALL of Starbucks coffee carried the Fair Trade Certification, we'd probably all be paying a lot more than we are now. And this completely dismisses the important work of CAFE practices.

Am I the only one who sees that the "lower your prices" group of folks (there are a lot of them) and "have more fair trade and organic coffee" are in tension with each other? One group will lose out.

When you pay lower prices for products, someone else carries a burden somewhere for you ... If you shop at Old Navy you will get clothes made in developing nations at very low cost, and if you shop at Wal-Mart prices are partly controlled by the low wages that a Wal-Mart employee gets paid.

/rant over

[Pat Nerr]

1) Great a set of yearly goals (just 3 or 4) that revolve around the stores. Sales targets, labor % targets, and a promotional target (could be increasing rewards card sales), Attract and retain quality partners.
2) MAKE SURE that every dept. in the SSC knows these goals and report weekly on their progress by region. You can also incorporate a Top 10 and Bottom 10 stores report (by store)
3) MAKE SURE that each department's goals align and contribute to making these goals. Nothing is for fun unless it ties up to those...
4) Scrap Bean Stock and put a performance based (annually for the SSC and bi-annually for the stores) profit sharing bonus program. No goals met, no bonus... simple and effective.
5) Put an F'ing gag on Howie unless you need to rally the troops... he can also be used for reporting progress weekly via e-mail and VM.
6) Simplify the store offerings. Drip coffee and espresso yield the highest margins. Simplify food. A 50-50 balance of fatty goodness and healthy options.
7)Utilize other "top end" brands for unique drink offerings. (i.e. Holiday Mocha made with Lindor Chocolate or high-end Belgian chocolate
8)Automated machine... done deal, no way to fix it at this point, but you can go back and invest in the coffee training of newbies. Make it classroom... make int important.
9) Store Manager pipeline (Boost RMT program by having them do expereincial learning in the store centered around a project (like an area of the store that they see needs improvement) and then once they complete that, give them a learning event in Seattle for a week.
10) Have ongoing development for SMs to learn and go beyond the store... Outllok, Word, Excell training would be good as well.
11) Stop building DTs... You have no skills as evidenced by the poor ingress/egress designs, poor layouts, labor staffing. If you JUST HAVE to do them, make them the size of a large PhotoMat... no need for a lobby.
12) Build a company-run online space for partners to talk with each other. Give the stores video capabilities to see each other... give them a moderated forum. Start communicating to them via those means. Rid yourselves of snail mail and that anitquated e-mail system. It's not working... shoot it and move on to another animal that will work for you.
13) Rid yourself of guys like Mike Stafford and Chet... get some people that care about partners and are willing to stand up as their leader and not cower behind policy. Thay are dead weight bent on making themselves money and being "yes" men... Like whrn Chet sat on the Manager's bonus program until the last minute and threw one of his folks under the bus to take the heat for it's failure.

That should give them some work to do for the next 2 years...

[maggie]

1. spend money wisely, things such as:
*mastrenas for all stores
*enough labor to properly train employees
*raise barista-level pay to be better than our competitors-but-aren't-our-competitors; higher pay attracts better candidates
*letting each store manager decorate their store as they see fit; individuality is a GREAT thing with something ubiquitous as starbucks
*clovers in stores with high whole bean and drip sales; these have the customers to support coffee sales
*labor to ensure that the sales floors are staffed by competent baristas who want to be there; happy baristas who are not overwhelmed by too many expectations and responsibilities make customers happy; happy customers spend money

2. stop spending money wastefully; such as:
*pike place roast
*freshly bagged pike place roast every day
*the requirement for THREE separate stickers on each bag of ppr
*changing the review standards multiple times a year (i have been with the company for just shy of two years, and with every single review i've had the standards have not been the same. it's entirely wasteful to print the same information in a different order just because you can)
*printing updated training materials multiple times a year, especially when the update is in something silly like punctuation or phrasing -- AND SPEAKING OF, seriously, with all the changes and reviews that happen, has no one bothered to READ and EDIT for spelling errors? sheesh.
*precious new cups just for the vivanno

3. return to the old coffee rotation, or at least a modified version of it. keep the ppr within the rotation, but this all day every day business is getting tired.

[JC]

Pat,
When was the delay on the SM bonus program and who was thrown under the bus?

[pdxy]

I believe the customer who wanted crazy freebies in her caramel macc, probably ordered like this:

"I want an ice venti extra caramel, caramel macchiato. But I want you to ring it in as an ice venti extra vanilla vanilla latte with caramel sauce."

At which point the barista, rightly, refused. I don't walk into a steak house, order a filet mignon and tell them to charge me for a burger...I mean its all the same right? Just prepared differently.

The real problem is the shift superceeding the barista. I always, always, have my baristas back. If they make a poor judgment call, I will side with them to the customer, and then discuss privately what should/could have been done better. (I refuse to have "coaching conversations"). Your partners are your team. They have to believe that you are there for them.

[saving grace]

Basically:
Its Starbucks COFFEE Company...
not Starbucks Vivanno Company.
Not Starbucks Blended Lemonade Company.
Starbucks Coffee Company...
with "guiding principles"
Mission statements
and Green Apron Behaviors...

We all need to go back to the Barista 101
especially those at SSC, and anyone hired for upper level positions from the outside...
The answers lie within. All we need to do is adhear to our own rules and policies.

[Edgar Estima]

WHOLE BEAN CHANGES

Decaf Breakfast Blend, Decaf Komodo Dragon Blend, Decaf Shade Grown Mexico, and Yukon Blend are being discontinued.

Arabian Mocha Sanani, Brazil Ipanema Bourbon, Colombia Narino Supremo, and Sulawesi are being withdrawn from the core lineup. They are being reserved as promotional coffees.

[Torontodude]

Re: Pricing

Whatever happened to smart shopping? Shouldn't customers accept some responsibility?

I agree that Starbucks has many overpriced items. But no one is forced to buy them. Yesterday, I asked how much a Vivanno with a shot of matcha tea would cost. The answer was close to six dollars. So I didn't order it

These days, I usually order a Venti bold for $2.26. And I get a free refill. That's cheaper than Tim Horton's. Or I order a full French press. That's $4.10 for more than two Venti-sized cups. So my cost per cup ranges from $1.13 to $2.05.
That's perfectly reasonable.

In effect, the people ordering the expensive, sugar-laden, and unhealthy frou-frou drinks are subsidizing me. This makes me smile.

But I get my americanos and machiatos from indy shops that do a better job on these drinks. And I buy beans from an indie micro roaster.

[YouKnowwhoIam]

DB while I do appreciate your knowledge and passion for coffee you are still wrong. YES we roast to the second pop, that you have correctly, but you do not know and could not know what we actually do prior to making a blend. You can not say 100% that all blends with different origins are roasted together because that would be a very false statement.

I do agree with you that some coffees probably don't need to go to second pop, but I am certain starbucks does not sell those coffees in the end.

[wholahay]

Does anyone ever think that some of the problem in the stores now are due to the attitude difference in the Generation Y workers, versus the Generation X workers who have mostly moved on from Starbucks to other careers...?

Kind of a weird question but I attended a seminar on how to best recruit and manage Generation Y employees.

I remember back when I first started at Starbucks, it was new to my area and people who worked there really got the whole culture because we all felt we were doing something special. But, these days, the kids I end up having to hire have pretty much ALWAYS had Starbucks so it's not a big deal to them. Just another paycheck, plus they have no work ethic or sense of urgency. Not saying that all members of Gen Y are like that but I've experienced a lot more of this kind of behavior as time moves on and we have a different generation working in the stores as baristas.

[Jacqueline]

Starbucks is a coffee house. We should serve coffee, (including espresso drinks) and A FEW pastries.

This idea of having all the food, all the muffins, and the Vivanos are killing the vibe. If it doesn't have coffee in it, get rid of it.

And I agree with the drive through. If you want a decent cup of coffee, you should be able to get out of your car, and appreciate the atmosphere of Starbucks. Nothing says a delicious cup of coffee more than ordering your drink through a giant billboard thing... not.

[GRTL]

Nooooo...they are getting rid of Yukon? One of my coworkers will be upset. She drinks that all the time. What is wrong with Starbucks? We are no longer a coffee company at all. We are totally a fast food restaurant. Perhaps it is time to look into working for a coffee company and not a breakfast, frilly beverage company.

[Rose]

before you say we should get rid of frapps, why not consider the percentage of profit frapps are responsible for?

[espressoblend]

Does anyone ever think that some of the problem in the stores now are due to the attitude difference in the Generation Y workers, versus the Generation X workers who have mostly moved on from Starbucks to other careers...?

Kind of a weird question but I attended a seminar on how to best recruit and manage Generation Y employees.

I remember back when I first started at Starbucks, it was new to my area and people who worked there really got the whole culture because we all felt we were doing something special. But, these days, the kids I end up having to hire have pretty much ALWAYS had Starbucks so it's not a big deal to them. Just another paycheck, plus they have no work ethic or sense of urgency. Not saying that all members of Gen Y are like that but I've experienced a lot more of this kind of behavior as time moves on and we have a different generation working in the stores as baristas.

Posted by: wholahay | August 03, 2008 at 11:51 AM

I'd say it's the group of workers that SBUX attracts from Gen Y, and not all Gen Y workers.

I mean, if you're truly motivated to get a career, you're interning in high school and college at law offices, finance offices, etc. and not at SBUX making $8/ hr slinging coffee.

These folks generally have more affluent parents and don't need the cash or benefits, and are set on a golden road to success. These people are motivated (or pushed, even) to achieve success.

The people who NEED to work at SBUX don't have drive because this is what they'll do for the rest of their lives. They know they have no future, so why have any drive to be better? It is just a paycheck.

[MyGiveADamnsBusted]

espressoblend...just curious but have you anything positive to say in this forum... You seem like such a jackass.
And your comment about telling someone to "please remeber your place" is downright rude and uncalled for.

[DB]

YouknowwhoIam

I inferred from your email that the blends are roasted together. If that is not true I'm sorry I jumped to that conclusion. I'll pop into a SBUX to check out the beans sometime this week. Still pretty sure they are all past 2nd crack. It has been a while, though. If you ever want to taste good origin coffee let me know. I think it would be worth sharing.

[DB]

I meant your post not email

[SBUX SS]

I honestly think it's silly that people complain about Vivanno being a bad idea because when we didn't have it people were complaining about not having healthy options. I really think the R&D department are doing what people are asking for.

Doesn't matter though, people will still find something to complain about.

[Cali ASM]

Herman M.
Thanks so much for the info. I just assumed that because the Mastrena was a new machine that it would be advanced enough to where we could pull a quality single shot instead of always pulling double shots.

I definitely can see and taste the difference between pulling singles and doubles. I actually always have double shots in my drinks even short and tall sizes.

I agree with you about liking coffee being a req for hire. We need to get back to having passion for coffee. How can one have passion for coffee if they do not even drink coffee?!?!

[StLouieDrip]

YouKnowwhoIam: PPR has a different curve by the way...

It does?
So I'm curious. Can you say more about that?

[WaShift]

Anon - All I am saying is that a good team doesn't need music to get through a day.

Splicer - Calling me a whore? Saying I bang my manager. First off you don't know me. Second, I have never had sex with any boss or any co-worker at any job I've worked at. Third, hiding behind a screen name is very cowardly.

STARBUCKS GOSSIP WEBMASTER - I find it very disturbing that you would allow Splicer to make these comments about me, especially singe there is no wat I can confront him.