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I know through personal experience with local Starbucks around the greater Houston area, as well as employment at a local location and in Galveston, plus trips to others around the nation that the quality of the company's coffee has been on a downfall for a while now. Other coffee shops around the city (and nation, I presume) are beginning to compete with Starbucks. Although this is hardly a novel idea, this is the first time the other companies are seeing real success in taking the big boy's customers. To make up for their shortcomings, Starbucks has begun to offer a $1 cup of coffee with free refills.
Starbucks is still trying to grow, as impossible as that may seem, and the company cannot be blamed for trying to do all it can to maximize its profits. But what happened to the charitable, customer-friendly, partner loving organization I worked for? When I was an employee, the company stressed the idea of being the "third place" for customers. Home being number one, work being number two, and Starbucks being number three, where customers go to get away, hang out with friends, and all the things that people do at their regular "hangouts."
Starbucks began as a company with a big heart and a big dream, but as of late, it would seem that only the dream remains and it has been perverted into screwing over the little guy. I never would have thought Starbucks would become a Wal-Mart kind of association, but gradually it seems to be heading in that direction, intent more on a quick sale and a quick fix (cup of coffee) rather than dedicated employees, happy customers, and competent managers.
Starbucks’ stock dropped nearly 50% in 2007 and, so far in 2008, it has dropped about 15%. Howard Schultz, the founder who resigned eight years ago, has reclaimed the CEO position for the company. His thoughts on why the company has not been doing well (as well as what he plans to do about it) shed some light on how Starbucks may manage to cast off its current negative image and shine the way it used to – through exceeding customer expectations and increasing the quality of its product. The recent implementation of Pike Place Coffee, the coffee for the everyday man, is only the first of many changes soon to be put into place.
Lucky fucking Starbucks... Schultz is back to save the day.
And by day, I mean the company's future.
In a recent interview, Schultz expressed his own disappointment in the company, but insisted that extenuating circumstances were present. When asked why people were buying less four dollar lattes, he responded that “[Starbucks’] research suggests [potential customers are] not going anywhere else; they're just coming to us less frequently. So we have to do everything we can to demonstrate to our customers that Starbucks is an affordable luxury. We have to surprise and delight them. And this launch of Pike Place Roast in reinventing brewed coffee is just the beginning.”
Schultz’s positive attitude combined with his optimistic (but achievable) goals for the company’s future are exactly what Starbucks needs. Although keeping the details under wraps, the future of Starbucks should be “exciting and innovative,” like nothing we have seen since Starbucks first appeared in the industry. Starbucks’ goal, however, is clear. To quote their new cups, “…Since 1971. The best cup then. The best cup now."
We'll see about that.
xO
