All Posts Tagged With: "espresso"

Yesterday, around 5:30 EST, Starbucks closed its 7,100 US stores for three hours so it could “retrain” its teammates on the art of making espresso drinks.

(Thankfully, I was not in need of a latte at that time.)

It’s amazing how far this company has fallen, in that it needed to do something this dramatic to revive its fortunes.

CEO Howard Schultz encouraged all of his teammates on a video message by proclaiming “This is not about training. This is about the love and compassion and commitment that we all need to have for the customer”

That’s vintage Howard – the Howard I praised and admired when I reviewed his book “Pour Your Heart Into It”. The “Starbucks experience” was something he originally treasured and nurtured. And it paid huge dividends – Starbucks became a welcoming “third place” that people could visit and linger, savoring the intoxicating smell of the roasted beans and nestling down in comfy chairs with their triple lattes, hand made by smiling baristas.

But alas, something appeared to happen somewhere along the way that fundamentally changed this equation – it seemed that the focus on growth and profit eclipsed the focus on the customer.

Or was there something else going on as well that hastened this almost desperate effort to reclaim the higher ground?

I’ve been going to Starbucks regularly for over 15 years – I too was originally attracted by that “third place” vibe, as well as the boldness of the brew. It didn’t take me long to be hooked. But as every year has gone by, I’ve been less and less focused on it as a “place” and more focused on it as simply a means get my morning latte, and as quickly as possible.

It’s like you discover something that is really best enjoyed in a leisurely and “fuller” way, but reality sets in because you just don’t have the time and so you narrow it down to its bare essential – hot espresso with steamed milk.

Perhaps Howard sensed this same change in his customers as the Starbucks empire expanded – that certainly would explain their switch to automated espresso machines. If you’ve read Howard’s book you’d be hard pressed to believe that would be something he would ever allow to happen.

But it did.

They needed to push more customers through the store. “Need more growth”, the investors and analysts said. “I need my latte quicker” said Terry Starbucker (and most likely many, many more folks like me).

It was a lethal combination. The vibe is long gone, and now Starbucks is just a coffee commodity competing with the McDonald’s and the Dunkin Donuts of the world. Espresso has been “McDonaldized” (see my recent post on that).

From a personal standpoint, I guess I’m getting from Howard what I evolved to ask for – I do indeed get my daily latte quite quickly each morning (and it still tastes pretty darn good). And so I look at this recent action quite ambivalently, since I’m long past sitting in those comfy chairs and reveling in the espresso making experience.

So be careful Howard- I certainly don’t mind a few more smiles and a great deal more competence in your staff, but it’s going to be much, much harder to “retrain” your most loyal customers like me - I still need to get in and get out of your store in 3 minutes.

It’s just too little, too late when it comes to turning the clock back 15 years. The ship has sailed.