Tuesday, February 12, 2008
Starbucks to close all stores, including those in Dallas, for three hours on evening of February 26
Starbucks announced that it will close 7,100 stores across the country on February 26, from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m., for a training session of its 135,000 employees.
A spokeswoman said that the training will cover new standards, including creating "the perfect shot", steaming the milk, and the various other ingredients that go into a perfect espresso-based drink.
This is for company-owned stores only; workers at the 4,000 licensed stores (in supermarkets, airports, SuperTarget, etcetera) will be retrained, oh they'll be retrained, but not on the same day.
Other changes since the return of chairman Howard Schultz last month: They're ditching the experimental warmed sandwiches (which Dallas never saw) and switching wireless Internet providers. More changes TBA at the annual company meeting March 19.
Posted by T.G.
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Spamboy says:
I think it has something to do with their sinister Phase 2:
http://www.theonion.com/content/node/...
Anonymous
1 year, 9 months agoLink to this comment | Suggest removal
Pavel Lishin says:
I expect to see a throng of zombies scratching at the doors for the entire three hours.
Verified
1 year, 9 months agoLink to this comment | Suggest removal
Scott Doyle says:
Sorry TG, but here's a huge
<b><big>WHO F-ING CARES?</big></b>
Verified
1 year, 9 months agoLink to this comment | Suggest removal
Teresa Gubbins says:
scott, if i didn't know better, i'd say you had a bias against starbucks. which is probably a good antidote to my predilection in favor. but starbucks or not, you don't find it interesting that a company is shutting down all of its branches in the middle of a busine$$ day for 3 hours?
meanwhile, i'm just trying to help out the reader who might've gone to a starbucks that day and found the doors locked and had a breakdown. this way, they can hit the store at 5 p.m. and stock up
Staff
1 year, 9 months agoLink to this comment | Suggest removal
Scott Doyle says:
Sorry TG, but from my desk, 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. isn't during the business day (well, technically I'm usually still at work...but only b/c I hate my life).
A wee bias, but like I said - only b/c I didn't think of it first. On the flip-side, <a href="http://www.pegasusnews.com/news/2008/feb/10/blackland-coffee-stresses-fresh-roasted-coffee/">that cat</a> in Royse City seems to be making some monies off the whole "let's pay way too much for coffee" bandwagon. I commend him.
Verified
1 year, 9 months agoLink to this comment | Suggest removal
Kevin Kunreuther says:
I will be outside the Greenville Ave/ Caruth Haven location reselling the canned stuff at exorbitant prices that only Steve Jobs could appreciate and renting the use of lawn furniture to recline in parking lot. You want WiFi? I'll be renting Etch-A-Sketches out, too.
Verified
1 year, 9 months agoLink to this comment | Suggest removal
Pavel Lishin says:
<i>WHO F-ING CARES?</i>
The throng of zombies. Zombucks?
To be fair, if I wanted coffee and they were closed so they could teach the drones inside not to spit into the customers' drinks or whatever, I'd be pretty pissed. Do that on your own time.
It's like Chick Fil A being closed on sunday. It enrages me.
Verified
1 year, 9 months agoLink to this comment | Suggest removal
Scott Doyle says:
Are you slow? It's not at all like Chic-Fil-A being closed on Sundays - it's 3 hours, once, for training. And considering they're open all but the 8-9 hours each day when most people sleep (some 24 hours), when the hell else are they gonna do it?
I'm sure they ran the numbers and determined that to be the slowest time-frame of the day. Dinner hours, mang.
Verified
1 year, 9 months agoLink to this comment | Suggest removal
Brad LaRock says:
The power of the consumer...choice. Don't like Starbucks? I am sure there are several other places in Dallas Fort Worth such as Dunn Bros or White Rock Coffee or many other non-corporate coffee houses that pour a better product that would appreciate your patronage. I have given up the Mighty Mogul for Dunn Bros. I saw someone in a Starbucks dusting off bags of coffee and at Dunn Bros I got a bag right out of the roaster. There is a difference between the stuff that is unloaded off the trucks and the stuff that is roasted in house. Going to Starbucks is like going to McDonalds. I haven't been to either in a long while. I have a choice and I choose to vote with my dollar.
Verified
1 year, 9 months agoLink to this comment | Suggest removal
Mike Orren says:
Pipes, here's your choices:
http://www.pegasusnews.com/places/cof...
Staff
1 year, 9 months agoLink to this comment | Suggest removal
Pavel Lishin says:
I vote with my feet. Starbucks is closest, so they get my bidnez. I also used to have access to a T-Mobile account, which was nice.
Verified
1 year, 9 months agoLink to this comment | Suggest removal
John McClelland says:
All I can picture are the underpants gnomes from South Park now.
"Step 1. Steal Underpants. Step 2. ? Step 3. Profit!"
Verified
1 year, 9 months agoLink to this comment | Suggest removal
twisteddog says:
Good to see Howard Schultz kicking some barista ass.
Anonymous
1 year, 9 months agoLink to this comment | Suggest removal
Teresa Gubbins says:
i hope he makes a personal visit to the branch in front of the Central Market in plano. i got a dose of passive-aggressiveness from the staff there last weekend that made me want to brandish my fist or something. boy i was mad. yeah
Staff
1 year, 9 months agoLink to this comment | Suggest removal
Kirbside says:
@ Pipes
Neither of the situation's you described is really best for your latte. Coffee is at it's peak 7 days from when it is roasted, at 14 days it is about half as good as peak. Quality starts to decline sharply after that. This is all assuming that you are still dealing with whole beans. Once ground, coffee loses it's peak in a matter of hours. So yes, as we all know, Starbucks coffee is most definitely sub-par.
What most people don't know is that coffee has a degassing time, when the carbon dioxide from the coffee is being released. This process requires (usually) 1 day for regular coffees, 2 days for espress. During this period of time, coffee is well below sub-par as well. So it seems that both Dunn and Starbucks are a bit misinformed.
Anonymous
1 year, 9 months agoLink to this comment | Suggest removal
Pavel Lishin says:
What do you mean by "coffee", in regards to degassing? You mean the brewed stuff?
Verified
1 year, 9 months agoLink to this comment | Suggest removal
Kirbside says:
No, sorry for the confusion, I was referring to the beans.
Anonymous
1 year, 9 months agoLink to this comment | Suggest removal
OpusthePoet says:
I can usually get a decent cup from Warbucks (hey if you're going to name you're establishment after a fictitious character you might as well use the funny pages, none of that "high literature" stuff) actual stores, but except for the one at the Barnes and Nobles non of the "in store" place are worth a dang. I hope thr retraining goes well and thanks for the warning...
Opus
Anonymous
1 year, 9 months agoLink to this comment | Suggest removal
pnewsgal says:
I'm so glad to know that someone else gets teed off from Chik-fil-A being closed on Sundays...
Anonymous
1 year, 9 months agoLink to this comment | Suggest removal
Alex Bentley says:
Okay, the official report is that we Starbuckians (and by "we" I mean employees, not customers) are expected to go back to basics in order to craft the best drinks that we can possibly make.
CEO Howard Schultz, who just recently rejoined the company, is disappointed that Starbucks has focused so much on expansion, other projects, and the bottom line that we've gotten away from what people liked about us in the first place -- great coffee.
So, we were retaught to make sure that espresso shots are coming out at just the right consistency and that milk is being steamed so it has that perfect sweet taste. We were also reminded to <del>roll our eyes</del> <del>curse you under our breath</del> treat every customer with the utmost respect and try to make sure that Starbucks is a place they want to come back to time and again.
Now, I can't speak for other Starbucks employees, but I didn't really learn much I didn't already know yesterday. Maybe others needed these reminders more than me, but I've always tried to do everything we were "retaught" last night, so not much is going to change on my end. For you customers, you may see a slight slowdown in service as baristas get used to the "new" standards, and that's actually what Schultz wants. Better to take a little longer to get the drink just right then get it out fast and have you walk away with a substandard cup of coffee (or latte or cappuccino or mocha...)
On a side note, I took a little guilty pleasure in watching the stream of customers come to the front door, try to open it, and then be incredulous that the doors were locked. More than one person kept trying to open the door, as if that first pull was a mistake. And, yes, there was a sign telling why the doors were locked, but it was obvious most did not want to believe their eyes.
Staff
1 year, 9 months agoLink to this comment | Suggest removal
EdWeirdness says:
Personally, I find the affectation and use of "Barista", and the needlessly complicated jargon of Starbucks offensive.
I would surmise that to the average joe who just wants a cup of same, Starbucks has made a seemingly simple transaction too much of a "social event" or reflection of a lifestyle choice.
Now that Dunkin D's on the rebound and expanding, standing in line at Starbucks or waiting in a drive thru to struggle with the language barrier, are no longer the only options for all those caffeine monkeys.
So who does one complain to at Starbucks, the store manager (this is America, titles and nametags matter!) or the "barista"?
Anonymous
1 year, 9 months agoLink to this comment | Suggest removal
Pavel Lishin says:
I used to hate Starbucks' terms for all their stuff, but then again I also used to loathe hot topic and "the popular kids". Then I realized that it doesn't matter, that coffee is coffee.
Are you mad that McDonald's serves "Big Macs", and not just "burgers"?
Verified
1 year, 9 months agoLink to this comment | Suggest removal
David Gouldin says:
A little more <a href="http://valleywag.com/361607/whats-new-at-starbucks-3-changes">insight</a> as to what is different after the training. I can't say I could taste much of a difference. Then again, shot glass or not, they're still push-button shots.
And Ed, nobody's stopping you from walking up to the counter and ordering a medium coffee. Do you really find their jargon that much more complicated than, say, <a href="http://www.pegasusnews.com/places/white-rock-coffee/">White Rock Coffee</a>?
Staff
1 year, 9 months agoLink to this comment | Suggest removal
Mike Orren says:
I absolutely refuse to use Starbucks sizing terminology, and about 20% of the time I order there, the barista gives me a hard time about it.
"I want a large coffee"
"Our sizes are small, tall and venti. Which do you want?"
"The largest."
I wish you could get good coffee somewhere in gas-n-sip sizes.
<img src="http://img2.timeinc.net/people/i/2006/startracks/060501/mischa_barton2.jpg">
Staff
1 year, 9 months agoLink to this comment | Suggest removal
Elizabeth Eshelman says:
I remember getting a little thrill in highschool when ordering my mocha with "extra whip." I don't know - I'll admit it, I felt cool drinking coffee (I wasn't allowed) and skipping first period to hang out at Starbucks. Ordering my mocha with the "extra whip," just seemed to validate that I was cool enough to be hanging out in a coffee shop at 16. Man. I was lame ten years ago.
...off to order my "triple tall very wet cappucino with one pump of mocha"....
Verified
1 year, 9 months agoLink to this comment | Suggest removal
Alex Bentley says:
Mike, any barista who gives you a hard time about not knowing (or not caring about) the names of the sizes is an idiot. 999 times out of 1,000, I know exactly what size you're asking for without having to ask what Starbucks size you mean.
I couldn't care less if you call it small, medium, or large, or ask for 6 shots and 15 Splendas (yes, that's happened) -- my job is to take care of the customer and that's what I do. And no, not being an a-hole about people using or not using the "correct" terms for the sizes was not part of the retraining, but I think it should've been.
Staff
1 year, 9 months agoLink to this comment | Suggest removal
Pavel Lishin says:
Elizabeth, were you a Mormon? Or did your parents just not want you chewing up all the couch cushions on a caffeine rush?
Verified
1 year, 9 months agoLink to this comment | Suggest removal
Elizabeth Eshelman says:
Haha - no, I was an honorary Opus Dei Catholic - I wasn't allowed to have soda either ... or watch most PG movies ... or Saved By the Bell ... or eat sugar cereal ...
Verified
1 year, 8 months agoLink to this comment | Suggest removal
Pavel Lishin says:
So you were abused as a child. Gotcha.
Verified
1 year, 8 months agoLink to this comment | Suggest removal
David Gouldin says:
or saved from abuse, depending on your opinion of Saved by the Bell
Staff
1 year, 8 months agoLink to this comment | Suggest removal
Elizabeth Eshelman says:
I watched it anyway (thank you "recall" button!") but only remember the "don't do drugs episode" when Jesse took caffeine pills to study for her exams. I think my mom just assumed that if teenagers were on a show or movie, they were having sex.
Verified
1 year, 8 months agoLink to this comment | Suggest removal
Ashley Lyell says:
I'm so excited....I'm so scared. Man that was a good episode.
Verified
1 year, 8 months agoLink to this comment | Suggest removal
Elizabeth Eshelman says:
Extremely dramatic - I also remember being disappointed that she never did go to the dance.
Verified
1 year, 8 months agoLink to this comment | Suggest removal
Pavel Lishin says:
Pretty glad I missed out on all that.
Verified
1 year, 8 months agoLink to this comment | Suggest removal