Starbucks dress code or search engine gold?
I like to ocassionaly check the stats for my blog and see what I’m getting the most hits from. And usually there’s few hits from serches, but the majority of traffic comes from friends checking out my most recent post. That was until I did a post about Starbucks reviewing their dress code. Now my blog doesn’t have a day without some traffic. Well, since so many people seem to be looking to be informed about Starbucks’ dress code I figured I’d help them out. Above is a link to file with the dress code policy, enjoy.
Starbucks Dress Code “Under Review”?
The partner side of the mystarbucksidea.com site has recently marked 10 different suggestions on dress code as **UNDER REVIEW**. The suggestions vary, from suggesting uniforms to relaxing the current dress code. Several seek changes on Starbucks’ policies on tattoos, facial piercings, and different hair colors by appealing to diversity. It remains to be seen if this means there might actually be any change or if this is their way of trying to silence the topic.
*Edit: If you’re looking for the current policy look here.
Announcements from Starbucks shareholder meeting.
So, Uncle Howie unveiled “a series of innovative customer-facing initiatives” at the shareholders annual meeting. Or as I like to see it, desperate attempts to bring our stock back up. Sorry, but I tend to be a pessimist of course I also expect most people to think more rationally than they do too. So, what wonders are in store for Starbucks?
• A proprietary and revolutionary in-store Clover® brewing system that delivers the best cup of brewed coffee available anywhere;
• A complete reinvention of brewed coffee in-store, that will be brought to life by baristas across the U.S., who will scoop and grind a new unique coffee blend, connecting customers to the early days of Starbucks;
• The introduction of a new state-of-the-art espresso system that provides the perfect shot every time and helps facilitate the critical connection between barista and customer;
• The first phase of a Starbucks Card Rewards program, rewarding registered cardholders and providing unique new benefits when using their cards in Starbucks stores;
• The launch of MyStarbucksIdea.com, Starbucks first online community, that takes the Starbucks Experience outside the store and enables customers to play a role in shaping the company’s future; and,
• An expanded relationship with Conservation International that enhances Starbucks 37-year commitment to ethically sourcing the world’s finest coffees and reaffirms Starbucks leadership position in sustainable sourcing and climate preservation.
Ok, so what I’ve read of the Clover machines they sound like a good idea.
How about the second item though? Sounds nice, flowery imagery, so we won’t have ground pre-packs of coffee, but the question is “Do flavor locked bags keep roasted beans as fresh as the day they were roasted?” I guess that’s for your taste buds to decide, but not a huge change in my opinion.
Number three I think is still going to be dependent on the barista doing their job, which is how it is now. Though easier to operate machinery doesn’t aways seem to mean higher quality, it does however make it easier to replace employees.
We all know a customer reward program is overdue, but is this going to satisfy those seeking such a thing.
Wow, a website where people can submit ideas and vote/comment on other people’s suggestions. Seems to be mimicking Dell on an idea that can be useful, but doesn’t guarantee anything.
Last, but not least, we’re still dodging Fair Trade hmm…?
Of course if you want more on this press release or like to keep up on Starbucks or I always recommend checking out Starbucks Gossip.
Comments from Starbucks’ Co-founder.
Those of you who follow Starbucks Gossip may have read this a week ago, but I thought the comments from Gordon Bowker deserved repeating.
Q: What do you like about Peet’s?
A: For one thing, you can see baristas making the drinks by hand, not pushing buttons. All the coffee is roasted to order; there’s no warehouse. It’s shipped the day it’s roasted.
You can also get your coffee in porcelain. Here comes a guy who’s bringing his tea up and steeping his tea in the little pot.
Quality as a sustainable business philosophy is important to me, so the fact that Peet’s has maintained those standards is very rewarding to me.
Q: You and Jerry don’t talk about Starbucks because you’re on Peet’s board, and it’s competitive. But I’m wondering why you don’t talk about Howard Schultz?
A: You remember the movie “Bambi”? And the little rabbit Thumper? And Thumper’s mother said (animated voice), “Thumper, what did your father tell you?” And Thumper said, “If you can’t say something nice about somebody, don’t say anything at all.”
It was an interesting interview and I think definitely worth the time to read.
Starbucks co-founder talks about early days, launching Redhook and Seattle Weekly, too
Suggestions to Corporate.
The following is something I sent off to corporate as a concerned partner:
As a barista I try to ensure that my customers feel that I put them first. On several occasions, I have noticed that there is more than one way to ring in a drink, one resulting in a lower price. Since one way typically results in a lower price, I try to inform my customers of their options so that they can save money in the future. I think it is sad that I can do this; our pricing model should be set up in such a manner that no matter how I ring a drink that it should come up the same. Buttons on the register and special drink names should exist as a way to expedite ordering, not a way to make more money off the customer’s ignorance. I feel that it would be more consistent if each item put into a drink would have a component charge; then you should be able to charge by what is in that drink no matter how it’s rang in.
Examples:
The skinny cinnamon dolce latte opposed to a latte with sugar free cinnamon dolce syrup, nonfat milk, no whip, and cinnamon dolce topping.
Adding shots to an americano that’s smaller than a venti. It’s less expensive to order a venti americano in a grande cup than a quad grande americano.
Yes labor needs to be built into beverages, but if that were a concern we would charge to add whip cream. I’m just asking that you consider component pricing. This way we can build labor into things in a consistent manner, thus providing a more consistent experience for our customer and allowing the barista not to worry about ordering loopholes.
Another matter concerns the recent closing of stores for training. Why was it done in this manner? One word: publicity. While I wholeheartedly believe that our partners should be up to date on standards, when when we send people to become learning coaches do we do this? No! We spend time telling them how to talk to people. While making sure that our learning coaches are good teachers, it is also important to make sure that they are all teaching the same things. This would be a prime opportunity to review standards and to make sure those doing the teaching are on the same page. Please do not assume that the existence of a manual means that everyone is consulting it. More often than not, when someone is unsure of how to make a drink, they utilize their star skills and ask a fellow partner, and despite the latter’s good intentions, inadequate training may result in them giving out bad information. A three-hour long training session may help to correct some bad habits, but a strong training program, in which our learning coaches are grounded in the standards, will ensure that we will not need to do this again.
