Why not just filter the coffee thru a dirty sock…
Are they kidding me!?
From 5:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. yesterday, Starbucks shut down 7000 plus stores in the United States to “energize” its work force.
OK, at that time, they probably will have to pour a lot of serious espresso into their workers to get them moving, since that’s about the time employees are saying “see ya later buddy” and heading home to their loved ones.
I love how management at major companies think all they have to do is take three hours and then, suddenly, the downturn will head for an upturn. And, it’s all about those lazy, unenthusiastic workers. All we have to do is “energize” them and suddenly Wall Street will throw bails of money at us.
I think it’s an interesting stunt but getting workers motivated is about treating them right and getting them excited about how great a company is. Starbucks sort of had that, until they got so big it was like taming a global octopus. Have you been to a Starbucks on the New Jersey turnpike lately…it’s like the Wild West of hack baristas. My mom paid for a nearly $5 latte with $20 bucks and she got back $5 as change. When she asked for the rest of the cash, she was practically run out of the place.
An email to Starbucks got her a $10 certificate to Starbucks and an explanation that the company didn’t really own those Starbucks on the Pike. A third party supposedly managed those coffee shops and Starbucks just sold them its name.
OKAY, this is the problem folks. A company getting too big for itself.
Workers don’t know what storyline to follow because there really isn’t a storyline anymore.
The CEO Howard Schultz thinks a three-hour, almost bedtime story will help reinvigorate the caffeine giant but he may be dillusional:
“We are passionate about our coffee. And we will revisit our standards of quality that are the foundation for the trust that our customers have in our coffee and in all of us,” Schultz wrote in a memo titled “Howard Schultz Transformation Agenda Communication #8.”
You want passion from your workers, earn it. Unfortunately, committing three hours to the effort is like Starbucks coffee lately — weak, cold and limp on the foam.
February 27th, 2008 at 9:25 am
It is rare that I defend companies, but I will on this one.
Howard Schulz removed the CEO of Starbucks because he thought the company was moving too far away from what Starbucks should be about — all those things that you mention here on the blog. He is cutting back on expansion, cutting back on items offered in the stores, and trying to simplify what Starbucks is about.
The three hours was to help explain all this and get the work force, much of which is part time (with full time benefits — a huge rarity in corporations), to all at least hear what page the company was going to be on going forward. Not only is it late for full time people, but part-time people who work the 4:30 AM to 8:30 AM shift had to come back for the training that night.
Now, will three hours turn the company around? Of course not. But, will the three hours help lay the groundwork communication to help employees understand the direction of the company? It depends upon the execution and follow-through, but at least everyone is hearing the same message at the same time.
Companies don’t shut their businesses down for three hours without exceptionally good reasons. This looks like one of them — and you’d agree it’s needed, successful or not, based upon what you’ve written here.
The proof, of course, is in the coffee, one cup at a time. We shall see.
(A Starbucks coffee drinker, not a Starbucks apologist)
February 27th, 2008 at 9:38 am
I do hope they turn is around Scot. I have always been a fan of Starbucks. But I am skeptical that this three-hour reindoctrination will do the trick.
I will keep my fingers crossed and hope again to sip what was once a great Starbucks latte from the baristas of old.
February 27th, 2008 at 10:36 am
I like the Starbucks brand, but don’t drink coffee. Shutting down 7,000 stores to energize a workforce is silly. If you want to energize them, fly them to an exotic location on a weekend and pay for it. Do it with a certain amount of employee’s over a specific period of time and hold special activities to get them working together.
The larger a company gets the harder it is to have a consistent brand, especially a global brand.
Good topic.
February 27th, 2008 at 12:19 pm
Maybe they should just send all their employees out for breaks at Caribou?
February 27th, 2008 at 1:42 pm
Dan, they didn’t shut the doors down to energize the workforce, they shut them down so they could get retraining.
For example, one of the things that Starbucks is going back to is putting the expresso into a shot glass (to make sure of the consistency and amount) and then into the cup. Baristas were simply putting the expresso directly into the paper cup resulting in inconsistent coffee to the customer (and hurting their brand in the process). That was part of the training.
I also don’t think flying employees to exotic places (paid for or not) would energize a workforce. People want their time as their time and going off to someplace with the rest of your coworkers is still a business trip.
I think employees want to deliver well to the customer. This training, I’m sure, isn’t the end of the work to get back to basics, but it is a (dramatic) start.
February 29th, 2008 at 3:57 pm
Oh come on….it is a cup of coffee. You want sweet with whipped cream, get a milkshake. I f you are a serious Starbucks customer, you do nothing to help your business. I have tried to sit and ‘drink’ in the atmosphere. All you have is kids and their little world and a bunch of old farts with nothing to sale. It should be 21 and under, if you are an adult with a tough day of trying in this world, take of shot of whiskey if you are adult enough,
February 29th, 2008 at 4:04 pm
hey robert,
nice to see the lighter side of you.
and you’re right! we should all be taking a shot of whiskey at the end of the day, or at least a martini in a fancy glass.
we’re all too uptight these days. all the lattes we drink aren’t helping.