- Starbucks has been struggling, and hired a new leader to help it recover.
- CEO Brian Niccol pointed to some of the issues baristas have faced at its cafés.
- Niccol mentioned staffing and making sure mobile orders don’t “overwhelm the café experience.”
Some of Starbucks‘ baristas’ biggest problems could be addressed as part of new CEO Brian Niccol’s corporate turnaround plan for the chain.
Niccol addressed a series of issues in a Tuesday pre-recorded message to shareholders, which came alongside an early press release showing Starbucks’ fourth-quarter sales slumped both in the US and internationally. The message included a rough outline of a revitalization plan for the coffee chain and repeatedly referenced Starbucks’ store employees, whom the company calls “partners.”
“Our green-apron partners want to provide exceptional service to our customers,” Niccol said. “And as leaders, we need to remove those things that might stop them from doing that.”
Starbucks store workers have recently told Business Insider about specific issues at their stores.
Some partners have said that there aren’t enough workers to fill orders in a reasonable time during the busiest times of the day, such as after-school rushes. Customers can wait nearly half an hour for their orders as a result, the partners told BI.
Mobile orders, especially those that include multiple drinks as part of a promotion, have also contributed to the backup, according to employees.
On Tuesday, Niccol said that Starbucks needs to improve staffing and change its mobile ordering system “so it doesn’t overwhelm the café experience.”
Niccol hasn’t offered many specifics yet but is expected to say more about his turnaround plan for Starbucks next Wednesday, when the company had originally planned to report its results. He took the helm at the coffee chain in early September.
“The thorniest issue is how to bolster Starbucks’ operations to improve speed of service and throughput, particularly in the key time-sensitive morning,” William Blair analyst Sharon Zackfia wrote in a research note on Tuesday. Starbucks and Niccol are likely to consider adding hours to stores and finding new ways to get customers to order besides limited-time promotions, Zackfia wrote. Starbucks has indicated that it’s already working on the latter.
Starbucks reported fewer transactions at its US stores for the fourth quarter than a year earlier, a sign that foot traffic was down even as it offered promotions such as four drinks for $20.
Niccol said that making changes for baristas will help win customers back.
“We know how to make these improvements, and when we do, we know customers will visit more often,” he said on Tuesday.
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