Basically, the backlines of stores are being completely re-arranged and the processes for labor deployment plus customer drink crafting are being re-engineered to:
- Increase efficiency/speed of service
- Maximize lower labor levels
- Save the company money/resources
- Follow the “Shared Planet” platform (environmentally friendly)
- Prevent workplace injuries
I can only speak from my experience working in my local store, so I realize that some of the individual practices being implemented may already be in place on an informal level at other stores across the country; however this is the first time that they are all being collectively, standardized and employed in all stores across a market.
SMs under the guidance of their DMs and RD are executing the transformations, plus they all are required to purchase and read the book "Managing to Learn: Using the A3 Management Process to Solve Problems, Gain Agreement, Mentor, and Lead" by John Shook to know theories of:
- Continuous Improvement
- Everything in Place/A Place for Everything organization
- Repeatable Routines
SSC is closely watching the results of this “experiment” and Cliff Burrows will be visiting these stores in late March/early April to observe/report. If successful, these stores will become the model that is implemented for all U.S. stores.
Has anyone noticed that people who request a no-foam drink do so because too many a time they have been given a free-poured latte which weighed almost like a wet cappuccino because the barista didn't separate milk and foam enough. Those customers probably thought this WAS the recipe and thus started requesting a no-foam (a non-cappuccino) drink. A true no-foam latte can thus weigh as much as 1.5-1.7 times more than a drink poured carelessly due to time constraints/general negligence.
Posted by: LEGENDARY OR BUST | March 07, 2009 at 05:37 PM
"Hey, quick question -- can anyone here hold a pitcher steaming for a cappuccino in one hand and use the other hand to punch in orders on the register? The question implies an answer."
(in jest) Maybe with lean re-organization the Mastrena/Verissimo is placed directly next to the register to allow for such excellence!
Posted by: TORONTOWYLD | March 07, 2009 at 06:05 PM
There are some truly neat things coming with the move towards lean. Unfortunately with a website such as this information is given out in a way in which will allow many to form opinions prior to their own usage of them. Each store will tailor things directly to their store with the new lean process. It is actually a lot of fun working with my partners to find the best way to do things. The brewed coffee change is something I was leary about, however with the new way you almost NEVER run out of coffee and cut your daily waste by over 50%. Just wait and see.... please keep an open mind going into who.... who knows you might actually like it. :-D
Posted by: Why Not | March 07, 2009 at 06:16 PM
so... if I have a line of 6 drinks with nonfat milk, I'll steam each individually... to save time.
Got it. LEAN is gonna be a hit.
Posted by: anon | March 07, 2009 at 06:56 PM
Some of the info for lean bar is incorrect.
You start the milk steaming first then start the shots, label the cup from the label printer if a DT store (Cafe cups are still hand marked), add syrups and by the time you do these two steps you have just enough time to pop the cup under the spout for the shots. Total time from starting to steam to the end of pulling shots is 33 seconds. The Milk stops a few seconds before the shots allowing time to clean the steam wands.
Thermometers are still required (at least they are in my store). If you have more than one drink waiting, once you place the cup to collect the shots you then get your second pitcher and fill it for the next drink, grab the next cup, attach the label, add any needed syrups and place it next to the cup on the machine. By this time your milk will be finished and you wipe & blow out the steam wand pour the milk. Start the next pitcher and shot. You then complete the first drink with any needed toppings lid pass it off rinse and are ready for the next drink in the line to be completed. During the process you are only focused on 2 drinks at a time.
It is not difficult at all to do and there is no special dexterity needed to make drinks this way. You are doing the same thing as before just in a different order than before.
My drink times went from 1:15-1:30 p/d to 35.2 seconds p/d and my time has decreased even more the longer I have worked this system to where when we are tested again in a few weeks I fully expect to drop to 33 seconds per drink. I can't go any lower than that as the machine can only produce shots and milk at that speed.
The only thing I do not like about lean bar is that there is not enough counter space in our store thanks the "W" bar configuration to have a good place to place Cafe cups.
Posted by: J. H. | March 07, 2009 at 08:31 PM
J.H.,
I don't mean to sound egotistic, but that's the way I bar all the time, and I constantly hear other partners saying how they "don't know how I do it". Well, I guess everyone will know how soon enough...
Posted by: Crema_the_crop | March 07, 2009 at 11:30 PM
crema,
Thanks for your post, as I was just sitting here thinking I am doing that entire drink process already. I am in a busy drive thru store and we have already had to come up with ways to crank out 40 plus cars in a half hour....
Posted by: buxgirl | March 08, 2009 at 06:05 AM
This will be good for partners that have been here less than a year. Like Crema and Buxgirl said, I too have been making drinks like this for 5 years now. This will be nothing new.
The only thing I don't like is the bit about only steaming enough for one drink, even if there are two talls next to each other.
Posted by: Andrew | March 08, 2009 at 09:19 AM
Re: Brewed Coffee
We have been employing the 4 urns in rotation since the start of our Pike Place launch. We rarely run out of coffee unless the SS isn't on top of some of the baristas. Some partners haven't bought into the 4 urn system...still.
Being that we are a smaller store we have been running our store like this for awhile. Especially with the reduction in customer flow. We can still crank out 55 customers/half hr though! I like to beat my previous half hour sales. Does that make me a dork? I think it does. But that is part of my charm ;)
Posted by: Pet | March 08, 2009 at 11:35 AM
I am the man when it comes to running a bar by myself. However, I don't think anyone else in my store could do this lean style. I'm not saying it to be egotistical, but seriously, this takes quite a bit of skill. Everyone thinks this stuff is supposed to be easy but I see people struggle with even the 2-person bar for months sometimes! Heck, I know people who've worked in my store for over a year and still can't get it together enough to be on milk during a big morning rush.
Good luck.
Posted by: worldsfastestarista | March 08, 2009 at 03:08 PM
But doesn't it seem that grinding coffee on for each batch would be more time consuming? It seems like it would be faster to be able to spoodle coffee that has already been ground as part of morning prep. I can understand grinding as needed in the afternoon so as to reduce waste... when it is slower (in general).
I think that the urn rotation also seems time consuming. Wouldn't it be more efficient to go back to hour hold times for brewed coffee? That way there is plenty of time to brew a new batch in between brewing an old batch and when that batch expires.
...I don't know. Maybe I am reading through these posts too quickly, but my general impression is that lean procedures are excessive in certain areas. I'm sure that could do well for drive-thru stores, though. Efficiency is great, but it seems as though we're losing customer connection. That's still so important to me!
Posted by: Corbo | March 08, 2009 at 05:47 PM
If Starbucks is going to figure out "lean" especially on bar then they need hold a Starbucks Olympics of somesort. There is no way upper management can figure this out with just pen and paper and have little to no experience on bar. Heck, those people don't even work in stores, what would they know? For example if you're in a rush, you're gonna steam as much milk as possible while multitasking with other drinks. Not individually for each drink to prevent waste. Grind for each brew? So you have to weigh it? grind it? THEN brew? Whereas I can just grind a like half or more of a cube full of coffee and just spoodle it till its either empty or thrown out? Don't even get me started on the shot glasses.
Posted by: Mysticboi | March 09, 2009 at 12:30 AM
I recently visited Starbucks in Lexington and Louisville. Both experiences made me think "why do I go to Starbucks?"
BTW - when a barista runs out of non fat milk in her pitcher and thus decides to leave about an inch of room in a tall latte that it doesn't need and the customer NICELY asks if you could please fill the cup with steamed milk, just say "sure!" and do it. Don't cop some attitude, complain to the customer about your job, then say in a snarky voice "well if you really want some extra milk you'll have to wait until I finish these other orders." Um excuse me? If you had my drink correctly to begin with it would have been a non-issue.
Posted by: Annoyed with Bucks cause I used to really like going there | March 09, 2009 at 08:43 AM
Hmm...Negative sales comps, negative transaction comps, nonexistent marketing &/or advertising(still haven't exactly figured out what Michelle Gass's job capacities/duties are to earn her hefty 6-figure salary)& the co is test marketing LEAN?! More operations crap! Do they focus on that cause it costs them the least amt of $$ or are they that ignorant towards the customers, stores, & Partners?! Here's a concept; how bout test marketing some type of program that focuses on capturing that new Sbux customer that has the mentality that we're too expensive or our products are no different than the local McDonald's or convenience store!! Hello?!
Posted by: THANKSALATTE! | March 09, 2009 at 05:23 PM
THANKSAJATTE:
To answer your question; yes, they are that ignorant.
Posted by: the truth hurts | March 09, 2009 at 05:42 PM
I find most of this extremely funny.
cactusmush: A year ago on April 7th, all the stores in my area had to start grinding all of the brewed coffee. Before we only ground decaf and bold/mild were pre ground in bags.
Everyone Else: All the sbux store I used to work at had pretty much everything streamlined almost 2 years ago to make everything more efficient.
I have a question about not using a thermometer. Sometimes the automatic button on the machine does act up and won't turn off at the right time. So if you aren't watching what you are doing hot milk is all over you and the floor.
Shots before milk has always been a big no no. Unless it changed since espresso excellence training, which I taught. Like LEGENDARY OR BUST said you have to have the foam separation...well unless you are doing a cappuccino.
Posted by: Erin | March 09, 2009 at 10:25 PM
Erin: You mean the espresso excellence training that taught us to pour shots into shot glasses ONLY because it was ABSOLUTELY necessary to visually inspect each shot before it was used in a drink? You need to learn something about Starbucks: the rules (and philosophies) only apply until something cheaper is found.
Posted by: FLA SM | March 10, 2009 at 06:25 AM
FLA SM: Yeah, that always bothered me. But other than when your hopper is empty (which you can usually hear before the shots start pouring anyway), the machine is going to spit out good shots anyway. Seems like a waste of time to inspect them. Plus, I find that not having to re-pour the espresso improves taste (that may be all in my head).
Foam separation is key. I always sacrifice time for foam separation, and that's not going to change, especially when customers continuously comment on the quality of the lattes that come from those of us who practice this.
Quality should never be sacrificed for time. You should be able to get a quality beverage from Starbucks. If you want to save time by getting a caffeinated abortion go somewhere else.
Posted by: Kris Merrells | March 10, 2009 at 07:47 PM
Erin - thanks.
I can only hope Toronto Sbux return to fresh grinding the drip.
Cheers
Posted by: cactusmush | March 10, 2009 at 07:50 PM
I can honestly say that despite loving the people I work with and defending *$ over the past year, lean has made me hate my job. I have never left a company on bad terms before in my 10 yr employment history, but on the second day of implementing lean I had to physically stop myself from walking out on my partners.
We have been using lean for about a month now and while I am no longer on the verge of quitting, I am seriously frustrated. I brought up several concerns to my DM and another from a different district and the response was generally "trust us blindly, we know this will work." I mentioned several day-to-day scenarios such as "what happens when we get 10 frappuccinos in a row, and the bar partner is now bouncing around like a pinball instead of following the flow of old cold bar?"
"well, I mean, come on, how often does that even happen?" "well, every day... and it's still cold outside." I dread the beginning of summer when we will get true frap rushes.
But none of that is even the point. The point is, nobody is listening to ANYTHING the store partners have to say. I feel like a better idea would be for partners who have to actually work on bar, brew the coffee, warm the sandwiches/pastries etc, to actually have some input into how we can improve. Lean does have some good points, don't get me wrong. But some of the changes just don't make any sense, and our drink times are suffering for it (not to mention the "Starbucks Experience").
Posted by: what would I know about it? | March 11, 2009 at 02:00 PM
I just want to say...I hate the labeler. Hate it. Detest it. Loathe it with every fiber of my being.
I used to work in a store with one.
Nightmare.
Noone learns how to write cups properly. (Big problem if you then pick up shifts at a non-labeler store) Not everyone knows how to fix the darn thing when something goes wrong with it. A bunch of the stickers might get jammed up and then you are behind a few drinks, which is a nightmare during a rush.
Oh!
The biggest thing I hate about it is the freaking teeeeensy tiny print. So if you have your drinks lined up on the bar, you can't even read them to plan ahead on your milk steaming. Grrrr! That makes me crazy!
Posted by: Moiraine | March 13, 2009 at 03:06 AM
The lean process at my store has been underway for about 3 weeks now. It seems pretty silly to me. Concept is great, but having it actually work is a different story. I think it actually takes more steps to make a blended drink. But what do I know... I just make drinks all day long.
Posted by: Beanhopper | March 13, 2009 at 04:20 PM
The starbuck position is a crock unless your in a store that actually has a 4th person. We have a DT store which is most of the time ran with only 2 people.....and now the manager only wants one person to wear a headset... so much for speed or anything for that matter....
Posted by: Beanhopper | March 13, 2009 at 04:25 PM
So once this is in place country wide they will cut more labor right? Meanwhile, we still get expensive marketing materials we put up for a day and then throw out, cases of product we pull from shelves, and food and cleaning supplies in case packs larger than we need (not to mention paying the same price for paper supplies that now come in smaller case packs) , just so we can get charged more, or so we have to throw out food only to get a large case pack the next day. Want to really save money? Here's an idea, do like other companies and force all non-store partners from dm up to work one day a week in stores. This will save on payroll since they are salaried anyway, and they will be forced to see what we are put through on a daily basis. They will be put back in touch with our (and the customers') reality. Other retail companies (such as Sak's), have been doing this FOR DECADES.
Posted by: bean there done that | March 14, 2009 at 08:17 AM
Lean is NOTHING more than Managers sharing best practices with each other.
We could have done that... without all of the investment.
I am a former sbux manager, just telling the truth.
Posted by: slicer | March 19, 2009 at 01:14 AM
we are leaning in my store and its been kind of a big disaster. our store was built to have 2 machines: one in dt, one up front, a dedicated cold bar behind the front espresso and a brewing station where the front partner can turn around and do it up. our cold bar has been moved onto the small counter by dt so you're always in their way, where there is no ice bin within 2 steps, no room for any syrup other than wm, mocha and caramel, the blender pitchers drain from a rack onto the counter once you've walked four steps to rinse them and the one sure shot which is on the front bar has the frap mix on one side so you can always be in the hot bar persons way when you get frap and then again to get ice and then again to hand out the drink. in order to save steps for the front bar they've also conveniently located a trash can right in front of the handoff area. yesterday i made fraps for 15 minutes straight and i was about to pull my hair out. this is arkansas and its only march. july is going to be a trip.
the only good thing about working agains t the design of our store and doing lean, the absolute only good thing: a pitcher of water by the iced teas.
Posted by: arbarist | March 19, 2009 at 01:40 PM
arbarist:
LMAO That cracks me up. As a SM I usually let my partners decide what's best for work flow... They are the ones who actually have to do the job... They come up with the best ideas... As long as standards aren't compromised, it's a go...
I just remember being at a district meeting (after we all got warming ovens and lost a H2o spout by brewers) and everyone was complaining about having to walk to bar to get water for every tea. They were literally STUMPED.
I sheepishly raised my hand and said "my partners have started keeping H2o in a pitcher by the teas"
You would have thought I just turned water into wine!
BTW I really HATE the "one size fits all" mentality... EVERY store is different... In set up, customer base, partner experience... etc.
This "Lean Thinking" sounds like some overpaid person's way of saving their ass.
Want to save money? Stop printing all the promo stuff for BOH in four color... who needs drink recipie cards with cute little illustrations? The Siren's Eye gets thrown away after basically being used once for the set up for crying out loud...
Posted by: casm | March 24, 2009 at 02:46 PM
I have a feeling that the lean we are seeing is coming in the form of layoffs, not the daily operations of drink making. They got rid of the ASM position and now they are going after people whom they have to pay part time benefits. Uncle Howie officially is on record promising that he will never let these benefits be taken away. This is a good cover for him because he doesn't have to get rid of benefits totally and yet the company scrapes up the rest of the 500 million in savings from its boots in the form of hard working college students. After you maximize operations you slim down the herd. There is a big, sweeping wave coming. Trust me, I thought I would never say this but I think it is time to get a union for protection.
Posted by: Buck Star | March 25, 2009 at 03:34 PM
SMs were issued an Action Item this week "Intro to Starbucks Lean Thinking & Better Ways" with more to come in the months ahead. Their first assignment, occuring in the month of April, is to obeserve the opening of the food case on an opening shift, then complete activity/lesson (provided by RD & second future action item),finally teach opening & closing partners new routine for food case.
Posted by: Lexie Littleton | March 25, 2009 at 09:57 PM
The Action Item describes Lean as a way of looking differently at store ops to gain real efficiencies & time to support & ease the pressure of stores current labor status.
Posted by: Lexie Littleton | March 25, 2009 at 10:00 PM
If SMs were scheduling themselves to work an opening shift at least 1x a week they way they should, wouldn't they already know how the food case is opened & not need to spend $ on training time to observe?
In the Lean stores I've seen to date (frozen markets) the food case routine has remained the same- closers pull, tray & wrap AM pastries, plus clean case at nite, all openers do is unwrap & serve.
Anyone in a Lean store do it different or have any idea what changes could be comming to improve the food case routine?
Posted by: Lexie Littleton | March 25, 2009 at 10:06 PM
Re: Lexies post -
So basically what we are looking at is what you would have if you had a competent, well trained, and well coached team of people that want to do good work. All that stuff is incredibly fundamental.
As far as the Starback having no direct interation w/ customers - bad idea.
Posted by: Concussion | March 29, 2009 at 04:33 PM
It will be interesting to see if this has an impact only on efficiency, or if it contributes to consistency of quality as well. I patronize many different Starbucks in the NY/NJ area weekly, but am completely unable to predict whether I will get a good drink or a terrible one. I can't even predict the quality at one store vs. another. As Starbucks tries to compete with Dunkin Donuts locally, I would think the issue of consistent quality would be high on their list of "failure modes" that need some "control". Thoughts?
Posted by: Marc Monplaisir | March 30, 2009 at 01:34 PM
one thing to keep in mind is that the stores (in the NE at least) are being told that all of these lean processes (called better ways) are to be adapted individually to each store. so it may not look the same from store to store, meaning that if some aspect doesn't work in the store, it won't be there. so we have the chance of having a lot of great new ways that will make life under reduced labor easier (if you haven't been forced to make these up already to survive). of course, we are assuming you have a competent, experienced, intelligent manager. if you don't, then good luck!
Posted by: jethro | March 31, 2009 at 07:29 PM
As a Lean Enterprise expert and long-time Starbucks customer, I am very pleased to see the company rollout this Lean Initiative.
Interestingly, I often thought that a lot of the Standard Work principles of Lean were being applied in the way the drinks are prepared by the baristas. Yet, there are obviously need of improvements in most locations.
Recently, I found many of the customer common areas in several stores to be in dire need of attention and cleanup. While, I am unsure what Starbucks standard of Workplace Organization and cleanliness is I am sure that it has definitely fallen below my expectations.
I look forward to seeing the continuous improvements as a result of the Lean Initiative at Starbucks.
Thanks for sharing!
Posted by: G Bose | April 06, 2009 at 05:25 PM
@jethro- sadly, it seems most SMs these days are just blindly following whatever the higher ups demand- even if against rational thinking & refusing to allow individual adaptability - too scared about keeping their jobs to show best interests & respect for their store/partners/customers.
I truly doubt SSC's sincerity of wanting these processes/practices customized on the store level. Sure there will always be slight modifications from store to store based on storage space design or type (drive thru vs cafe only) but SMs have been told before that's o.k. to run your store like your own small business, then to turn around & have their hands slapped for it. Like many things, leadership doesn't walk the talk on this one, perhaps I suspect because deep down they realize that have developed a current culture- in opposite to its founding- that discourages & dismisses many (but not all) of the few competent, experienced, intelligent, innovative partners left at store level.
To me, if SSC was committed to customizing stores & being lean to maximize profits, profile, etc. on a store level- they would look at merchandising & community too.
Instead of Siren's Eye being based on store size (design/sales), center it on customer base- with stores in a downtown district (business workers), highway drive thru (travelers) and suburb mall (shoppers) for example having product mix better appealing to each audience, in addition to the consistent brand signage for each promotion.
Instead of bland "for the troops" donations to win bean wars (please note-I support troops & sending them our coffee- however, unless you're in an area with a high concentration of customers connected to the military, this comes across as generic & impersonal), actually having DMs with support from Starbucks CSR dept match their areas with local charities- the ones in our "neighborhoods" that our customers can really relate with and tangibily see results.
But, I think "Lean" will become an all or nothing approach, with no individualization- except of course for stores who only half-ass implement because of laziness, etc.- and how will those stores be punished? It will be interesting to see if it lasts longer than the recession.
Posted by: Lexie Littleton | April 06, 2009 at 07:37 PM
Sbux has gotten short sited and indiscriminately lean....they're laying off the people actually doing the work, but there is a manager in every pocket of every person......I had never worked for an organization that distrusted the individual employee more to do what they were hired to do and I've worked for 4 fortune 500's in my 20 years. And by the way..........they have no more project managers so they won't be re-installing or executing the back lines in any significant way. I was asked to pour my heart into it........like a schmuck I did......then when it was convenient anymore they let the entire team go, kept the least experienced, least paid, and easiest to abuse employee.....we went from 9 to 1 persons and the one has the business acumen of a sea lion! Good luck BUCKS - I spend mine at PETES now.
Posted by: regazzo | April 14, 2009 at 10:37 PM
Java Jane - get a grip - if you cant recognize a posting from corporate using this site to create its own serving gossip you are really clueless.........the article above was not written by a barista at all. This is a corporate lackies doing if I ever saw so.
Posted by: regazzo | April 14, 2009 at 10:41 PM
@ J.H.
I am so happy that someone out there understands the physics of bar. Thirty three seconds is about right...endurance wise...like making more than 100 hot drinks and taking the average time of all those drinks. If its just for one drink such as a plain latte...mmm 25 seconds should be about right. Five seconds to grind, 15 second pull, takes about 20 seconds to steam milk...pull the shots 3 seconds into the steam. If done right, milk and shots should finish the same time. That leaves about 1 second to slap it together and 1 second to lid. If its a normal vanilla latte or toffee nut latte. Same thing except while waiting for the milk and shots, you can spike the cup. The time to spike a cup should be included within that 25 seconds. I can't help to stress this enough when people spike my cups...ITS NOT FASTER...its still 25 seconds.
Posted by: Mysticboi | April 14, 2009 at 11:34 PM
"Lean" is turning Baristas into robots... The changes taking place in the Lexington Kentucky area are overwhelming... I used to love my job and the people I work with, but now the group morale and workplace is tainted by the garbage DM's are shoving down our throats.. I believe Starbucks is losing sight of integrity and values... I wont be surprised if every manager in Lexington quits because of what we are being subjected to by the high ups in our district.
Posted by: AngryBarista. | May 22, 2009 at 12:07 AM
How do people feel about the new brewing system/4-urn rotation?
We have recently implemented this in my store and although I think this is a good idea in theory, in actuality, it doesn't seem to work. We're a high drip-coffee store and even on slower mornings, we're running out of coffee because we're going through full batches in less time than it takes to brew and finish funnel lock. As a SS, I feel like all I do now is brew coffee. I can't float so other partners are moving around, defeating the purpose of deployment. I'm spending more time at the grinder than I am interacting with customers.
Posted by: annoyed | June 19, 2009 at 02:13 PM
"Whip Cream canisters, plus mocha & caramel drizzle bottles are kept introverted..."
Really? I'm an INTJ, myself...
Posted by: Seattle1971 | August 21, 2009 at 06:58 PM
I am not a Starbucks employee just a big fan of Starbucks coffee. Based on what has been described above, it sounds like the stores in Kentucky and Ohio are only focused on improving the flow of customers at the front-end of the process (ordering & service) without any consideration for the impact of improved flow on the back-end of the process (condiment bar). In my region, the condiment bar has thermoses of milk (low fat & whole) and cream on the right hand side, and a container of raw sugar on the left-hand side. As a result, a customer on the left hand side of the condiment bar has to either reach over the customer on the right hand side of the condiment bar or has to wait until the other person has completely made their coffee and left the bar before they are able to get milk or cream for their coffee. From a lean standpoint, this design creates two types of waste: waiting and motion (reaching). The situation would get even worse with the new design since you would have customers flowing more smoothly through the front-end of the process just to have to wait longer times at the back-end of the process due to the build-up of customers (another type of waste - inventory) at the condiment bar which was not originally designed for maximum flow of customers. The simple change of having a symmetrically designed condiment bar (e.g. same items on the left side and right side) would allow customers to be able to self-serve without delay or excessive movement, which translates to faster self-service and happier customers; a true win-win situation. It is something that could be implemented in all 17,000+ stores today and would be low-cost & high-impact. Just some food for thought. I like simple but powerful solutions but maybe there is something I am not taking into consideration here since it seems too logical and simple for it to not have been done already. Any reasons not to do the suggested change in all stores or at least the stores in KY and OH? Does anyone know if the layout of the condiment bar has changed for the stores in KY and OH? or for stores in other areas?
Posted by: David Marshall | September 13, 2010 at 07:19 PM
I just quit starbucks two weeks ago after 18 years of sevice.
The new Playbook deployment or lean system or what ever the upper mangement want to call it may sound like a good idea on paper but when implemented it's pretty much the dumbest think I had witnessd in my tenure with the company.
Human Interaction cannot be contained or micromanaged into a formula. We are not Robots. One of the greatest things about working for a coffee shop is the human interaction.
Each store is made differently. In my opinion the manger is the one who comes up with a strategy for maximum efficency according to the setting in his or her store.
It saddens me that this is the has become the way for a company I once bragged about.
Posted by: Rebel Barista | September 29, 2011 at 03:09 PM