The Starbucks Insider

I thought these things were already being done at Starbucks, but I guess people get lazy over the years and that’s exactly what last nights training was about.

According to Valleywag.com:

1. Richer espresso mix. Starbucks espresso machines have been recalibrated to mix a stronger dose. It’s not as powerful as Peet’s, but it’s more in that direction. My daily triple-shot tastes a lot thicker.
2. Shot glasses. Instead of pouring directly into your cup, all shots are now dispensed into clear glass shot glasses. The barista must visually approve the shot before pouring it into a cup. This not only checks the mix, it prevents stale, crema-free shots from being served after lying around too long.
3. Smaller steamer pitchers. No more giant tub-o-foam, but rather smaller batches of steamed milk and foam more tailored and fresh to each order.

Glad to hear that these things are being worked on as the large pitchers and stale shots are my two HUGE pet peaves of a bad drink at Starbucks.

Think these will make a difference? I do.

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Some “improv” pranksters in New York decided that laptops were just to convenient to take into your local Starbucks. They decided to take their full sized desktop PC’s with wifi into Starbucks and setup shop. Seems like the partners didn’t do anything since they were paying customers.

Hopefully this doesn’t become the norm with the new 2 hours of free wi-fi rolling out soon.

Hat tip: Gizmodo

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Here comes the new hit book of the season, “Beautiful Boy: A Father’s Journey through His Son’s Addiction.” Since it will be heavily promoted by Starbucks it should be shooting up the best sellers lists and topics of conversation quickly.

I personally think that books are the best media tie-in promotion that Starbucks runs. Movies and music I am sure work, but the books seem to just take the nation by storm when promoted by Starbucks.

Also, Juno will be arriving in Starbucks stores in Mid April as a heavily promoted movie. A good fit in my opinion.

Do you like the books that Starbucks promotes? Are they that good that they shoot up the charts on their own, or is it because of Starbucks promoting them.

Seattle PI Story

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I went to the Upper Queen Anne Starbucks tonight and tried to get a decaf “black and tan.” A new drink that is being tested in two Seattle stores that is double strength Italian Roast coffee with velvety foam. However, for some reason you can’t ask to have them make a decaf Italian, or any other roast in the drink. I asked why, and the basica response was because it would take to long (even though there was nobody else in line) and when pressed further I got the response that they were just testing out the black and tan at that at this point they won’t make it with any other beans. Interesting.

Was I told no by Starbucks? Sure seems like I was.

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From the 3rd to the 17th of February all employees at the two stores that sells the most whole bean coffee during that time. This seems like a pretty big promotion if they will be giving away probably 40 or so $250 iPod Touches. I know I’d be working hard as a barista to try to get a free iPod touch.

So will it be annoying, or will they go about it in some unique ways. Corporate sales anyone?

The promotion comes from a “leaked memo” that Howard sent out to all employees earlier today. The entire memo is after the jump

Continue Reading »

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Jim Donald is being let go with a fairly small severance package as far as major publicly traded companies go. With a salary of $1M a year, and then further stock options Jim Donald will get $1.25 over the coure of the rest of the year for his severance package.

Again, I think it’s a reasonable level for the work that he did. Not saying he did a great job in the last year, but at least he isn’t being given a bloated severance package.

Seattle PI Story

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Are these new cheaper and not as well designed lids being rolled out everywhere? I just got my morning drink and am not to happy with the new lids. They feel like they would be hard for the baristas to put on without smashing, and they just dont’ feel sturdy like a Starbucks to-go cup should feel.

Anybody else have these lids? Am I the only one that thinks they look and feel way to cheap for Starbucks? I guess they’re having to compete with McDonalds across the board now huh?

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I was at the Upper Queen Anne Starbucks in Seattle yesterday and noticed a new seperate group of machines with special branding around them. I asked what one of the machines that I had never seen before was and I was told it was a “Clover,” a coffee press. That it makes a french press cup of coffee in about 40 seconds rather than 4 minutes.

The person I was there with and myself tried two different flavors (Arabian Mocha Sanani and Aged Sumatra) and were very impressed. They measure out the beans, grind the beans, put it into the machine, which has some cool features while it’s pressing the coffee, and then served up delicious roasted coffee. It was pretty close to a french press, and I could definitely see myself ordering it again.

The whole process definitely took a few minutes though, so I think this is something that Howard is a bigger fan of than Jim Donald would have been. It’s getting back to delicious fresh coffee, but the inefficiency of the whole store would be hurt if these were ordered during a rush. It also cost more than $3 for a grande, which seems steep for roasted coffee, but they have to make up for the time it takes and the new machine somehow.

They’re testing them in the Upper Queen Anne Starbucks as well as the one downtown at 6th and Union in Seattle. Have you had a Clover? What were your thoughts? Would you buy it consistently at the price?

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Looks like Hershey’s is looking for a way to boost their sales and that Starbucks is of course looking for the same with some good chocolate. Starting in March Hershey’s and Starbucks are partnering on a line of chocolate which I guess could bring together the best of both worlds.

What I wonder is, will this be a Starbucks chocolate bar or will it be a set of chocolates sold inside Starbucks. If it is a line of chocolate to be sold inside of Starbucks stores I am very surprised by this move. With Starbucks trying to create a much better experience I would be surprised if they had branded chocolate inside their store that was not from a small botique chocolate maker. I know of two chocolate companies just in Seattle that I think would be the perfect fit for selling at the register in a Starbucks. However, a Hershey’s and Starbucks branded chocolate bar being sold at your local grocery store makes alot of sense to me, and I really hope that is the direction this partnership is going.

Reuters Article

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It’s good to see a large company like Starbucks keeping their bonuses in check. Howard, Jim Donald, and Jim Alling didn’t recieve their stock bonuses last year becasue of the poor performance Starbucks had in 2007.

I’m really happy to see something like this with a large publicly traded company. I feel that these execs deserve the huge paycheck they receive, as long as they are delivering to the shareholders. In an age where Robert Nardelli drives Home Depot’s stock into the ground and he’s rewarded with a $210M severance package as well as many other similar examples, it good to see that Starbucks execs compensation is actually tied to their performance.

Seattle Times Article

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