Silly Corporation.
I'm sure many of you know this, but I'll say it again-I am an employee of The Starbucks Corporation. By this I mean that I run around at ungodly hours of the morning making sure that the inhabitants of my little quadrant of town get caffeinated, or fructosed... most of the time, both. I've been at this job since arriving back in Cleveland in February of 2006. Like any food service gig, it has served its purpose as far as providing a pittance of an income, interactions with people (if that's what they are when they're not consuming with reckless abandon), and giving me something to do while I go to school and get my life together. Hell, for a couple years, at about 15 bucks a week, the company "provided" me with health benefits so that if I was to impale myself with a steam wand, I would only have to pay 5,000 bucks for the emergency surgery instead of the standard 20,000 a puncture wound operation costs these days. Obviously, that never happened, but I almost tried a couple of times.
Anyhow, I'm what they call a "shift supervisor"- which means that I get paid .0000573 percent more than the other "partners" (aka "baristas") do. It also means that, at my store at least, I get to handle almost the entirety of the blame from customers, my boss, and my unders for whatever the fuck might go wrong throughout the operation of the store. As most of my retail brethren know, companies like this one are big into piling on more responsibilities/tasks/grunt work for us low level employees without increased compensation, staffing, or time. This has always come with the territory. I try to keep my head up because I have a life outside my ridiculously demanding and pathetic role as a coffee slinging upper-range peon... I'm a grad student, a music dude who still gets to party occasionally, a friend, a family member, and for the most part, a fairly popular guy with my co-workers ('scuse me, partners) and customers ('scuse me, blood sucking consumers). Everyone at work even calls me a nickname- "Ace"- a name that, if you know me, doesn't fit at all. However, due to the fact that my boss shares my first name and from the get go I've been a pretty radical dude at my job... it stuck.
Now, if you've ever talked to me or know me in the context of my role at the 'bux... you know that I have a firmly held belief that I am indeed, a semi-sellout. Why a semi-sellout? Well... being a "sell out" often implies that someone benefits greatly (i.e. makes a ton of cash, gets a ton of power, etc...) from turning on their values. Obviously, I am neither rich or powerful... but I do work for a corporation that has gotten further and further away from anything resembling social or fiscal responsibility. In fact, a big part of working at the bux required me to slowly but surely acknowledge that the "romance" and "integrity" of the "old" Starbucks are things that might never have truly existed in the first place.... which brings us to what's going on...
So, if you've been paying attention...
-Our "brain" and fearless leaderHoward Schultz, has been back at the CEO and Presidential helm for 6 months....
-We've taken a solid year of serious hits to our stock (part of the reason Howard has returned)... -We've forced Pike Place, a mild,inoffensive and all around boring roast of coffee down our loyal customer's throats. Offering the crap day and night, we continue to alienate our bold variety loving base despite company claims that we will return to our rotation "one of these days"
-We have introduced banana smoothie things called vivannos that contain about 3 heaping tablespoons of low quality whey protien/fiber powder made from chicory root (a product about 35% of the population have averse digestive reactions to)
-Oh yeah, we're closing 600 stores
-We're closing most of the stores in Australia
-They're firing like....everyone who isn't a yes man/woman at corporate
-They're going to great lengths to limit benefits
-They're tightening the squeeze on labor quotients, which already blew goats for anyone working a busy store
... alright... that catches us up.
So what do I write all of this for? I'm not entirely certain. In the last few years I've gotten to experience a company that has all of the problems of major retailers, food service, and corporations rolled up into one. I've found it fascinating on multiple levels. I feel like I've seen and experienced so many things that my liberal indoctrination have pondered in action these days:
-Fair weather behavior:
In the 90's, when this company was as profitable as razorblades and oil... it was easy for people from the bottom up to the top to talk about how awesome it is to have "guiding principles" that make for a good working environment and an ethical company. Saying that "our people make us great" is easy when the money rolls in and spending a bunch on benefits for part timers and progressive thinking directives (child care for farmers, etc...) aren't an economic strain. How quickly the tone changes when the wallet gets lighter... Layoffs, reduction of benefits, reduction of stores, questionable labor practices...
Hypocrisy/Doublespeak/groupthink/Conformity:
Many of the same people who have bought into the merits and the greatness of the "principles" are now being given pathetic severance packages. Moreover, partners who still want to do right by their customers (which ,at least on paper, is still the MI of the company), are often punished for doing so. Not charging for that extra shot or brewing a coffee that doesn't taste like dirt can often land you a lecture on profitability- or worse, a corrective action. The various rollouts of the last year and our CEO's soundbites are testament to the nature of the hypocrisy. The claim that we were focusing attention back to our "core" (i.e. coffee) gave way only to the introduction of the mass roasted, homogenous aforementioned Pike Place- which is unlike any other coffee we've ever served only in that it is especially unspecial. Furthermore, the "smoothie"-esque vivanno may conform to the company's version of health-conscious product development... but the quality of the drink, and the use of the aforementioned "fart-powder" hardly count as an overhaul of the company's thinking about responsibility in the "healthy options" department.... and again, it's not coffee. Another note...those breakfast sandwiches (which my store does not carry), were going to be done away with on direct "orders" from Schultz... After what I am sure was a lot of shrugging and "market analysis" the Buckmuffin with Bacon and Cheese is staying...
Now, you know what they say.... Rome wasn't destroyed in a day. There was never a figurative A-Bomb dropped on this company. This is one of the real lessons I have learned and continue to learn from this job. At every step and every level, there is enough blame to go around... From all of my ranting and from your own knowledge of how "publicly traded" coporations typically go, there is an endless list of nastiness on the high end of the totem pole: Misinformation-Propaganda, Bad and Frivolous Buisiness Ventures (Kenny G cd anyone?), Market Saturation, etc...
These are, of course, very important when you see this company for what is it... a silly corporation trying to make more money... but not the entirety of the picture...
The Customer-
Starbucks, in one of it's best PR tactics, painted always painted the customer as a good willed member of a free society making a concious choice to purchase a quality beverage that they could feel good about. After all, they see the picture of the smiling Guatemalan who picks the coffee with a blurb underneath about Starbuck's version of fair trading (known as CAFE practices)... they've read about the multitude of benefits offered to the lowly part-time worker.... they've been "informed" about coffee and how starbucks has the good stuff because it's roasting (burning) practices are trademarked. They see that even us lowly baristas are happy to help you decipher the fritalian bullshit sizes when they just want as much fucking beverage as they can possibly consume. For a while there, the consumers were exactly where we wanted them... and some of them, to some extent, still are.
The saturation of our "markets" (read: places where people live) with these retail outlets and the addition of drive-thrus gave the consumer just cause to stop appreciating "the romance" of the 20x40 foot machiatto utopia, and start seeing it as the place where they get their fix in any and every way they see fit. Yup, these customers, in droves, started seeing their convenient location as a store where they spend money for a product... nuts, huh? It turns out, our "high volume" stores, like the one where I work (whose numbers make the company very happy), are much less likely to project the humanitarian image that Starbucks has built it's empire upon. Yeah, at stores like these, customers get about 10 times as nuts as they would if say, their taco bell order was off by a dollop of chalupa sauce...
In turn, the pressure to grind out seven different frappucinos correctly for an unappreciative and untipping van of cheerleaders with mom's credit card amidst the already insane line out the door is astounding for job thats hourly wage barely even pays for a starbucks beverage. And how could we forget about that omnipresent, semi-aware customer that somewhat correctly perceives the work force at Starbucks to be decreasingly intelligent as the "company has grown". Yup, these and the increasingly pissed off average joe that must wait behind the sweet valley high drill team for 12 ounces of black coffee are our beloved "regulars".
My contempt for these customers may be misdirected though... as they are simply part of the consumerist-capitalist symbiosis that has dominated and contributed to the "downfall" of this company. Why wouldn't the masses come to buy fat and sugar laden milkshakes? The company has spent the last 15 years introducing and marketing new ones. And is the average long time customer that out of line for believing that the "baristas"(whose turnaround rate is astoundingly high) don't know exactly what they are serving or doing? Not three years ago did we make our espresso machines "super automatic"... we push buttons to pull your shots and steam your milk... It is not the handcrafted skill of espresso past. Symbiosis...Feedback loop... call it what you will.
And how about those stores that DO still give off that fuzzy, "I'm on the set of Friends", feeling? Well, alot of them aren't profitable... and they're closing this year.
Now, the capitalist in all of us says, "If customers are THAT displeased, they will go somewhere else." And I would say, "That is true, if the nature of this brand of consumer,corporation and society was different than it is." What do I mean by that?
- If you're in a typical American "market", Starbucks is your most convenient stop or your only "choice" for caffiene that isn't Shell Gas Station that won't take a while. Often, your other choice is another Starbucks, and you "just don't like the feel of 'that one' "
- Only Starbucks has what you "need"/"want". We're creatures of habit, and changing our route or routine or expectation is too far fetched an idea for us folks in this land of opportunity and freedom.
- You feel like if you alter your behavior, like, say, scream your order, throw your money on the counter, throw a shit fit, or insult the "help", your Starbucks will learn to do things right. (Unfortunately, this works.)
- You will never ever ever brew at home because this does not give you the kind of immediate gratification you expect, nor does it "fit in your schedule" (though waiting in line for 10 minutes does).
For the sake of not losing my mind... I will continue this later. I'm on vacation.
Anyhow, I'm what they call a "shift supervisor"- which means that I get paid .0000573 percent more than the other "partners" (aka "baristas") do. It also means that, at my store at least, I get to handle almost the entirety of the blame from customers, my boss, and my unders for whatever the fuck might go wrong throughout the operation of the store. As most of my retail brethren know, companies like this one are big into piling on more responsibilities/tasks/grunt work for us low level employees without increased compensation, staffing, or time. This has always come with the territory. I try to keep my head up because I have a life outside my ridiculously demanding and pathetic role as a coffee slinging upper-range peon... I'm a grad student, a music dude who still gets to party occasionally, a friend, a family member, and for the most part, a fairly popular guy with my co-workers ('scuse me, partners) and customers ('scuse me, blood sucking consumers). Everyone at work even calls me a nickname- "Ace"- a name that, if you know me, doesn't fit at all. However, due to the fact that my boss shares my first name and from the get go I've been a pretty radical dude at my job... it stuck.
Now, if you've ever talked to me or know me in the context of my role at the 'bux... you know that I have a firmly held belief that I am indeed, a semi-sellout. Why a semi-sellout? Well... being a "sell out" often implies that someone benefits greatly (i.e. makes a ton of cash, gets a ton of power, etc...) from turning on their values. Obviously, I am neither rich or powerful... but I do work for a corporation that has gotten further and further away from anything resembling social or fiscal responsibility. In fact, a big part of working at the bux required me to slowly but surely acknowledge that the "romance" and "integrity" of the "old" Starbucks are things that might never have truly existed in the first place.... which brings us to what's going on...
So, if you've been paying attention...
-Our "brain" and fearless leaderHoward Schultz, has been back at the CEO and Presidential helm for 6 months....
-We've taken a solid year of serious hits to our stock (part of the reason Howard has returned)... -We've forced Pike Place, a mild,inoffensive and all around boring roast of coffee down our loyal customer's throats. Offering the crap day and night, we continue to alienate our bold variety loving base despite company claims that we will return to our rotation "one of these days"
-We have introduced banana smoothie things called vivannos that contain about 3 heaping tablespoons of low quality whey protien/fiber powder made from chicory root (a product about 35% of the population have averse digestive reactions to)
-Oh yeah, we're closing 600 stores
-We're closing most of the stores in Australia
-They're firing like....everyone who isn't a yes man/woman at corporate
-They're going to great lengths to limit benefits
-They're tightening the squeeze on labor quotients, which already blew goats for anyone working a busy store
... alright... that catches us up.
So what do I write all of this for? I'm not entirely certain. In the last few years I've gotten to experience a company that has all of the problems of major retailers, food service, and corporations rolled up into one. I've found it fascinating on multiple levels. I feel like I've seen and experienced so many things that my liberal indoctrination have pondered in action these days:
-Fair weather behavior:
In the 90's, when this company was as profitable as razorblades and oil... it was easy for people from the bottom up to the top to talk about how awesome it is to have "guiding principles" that make for a good working environment and an ethical company. Saying that "our people make us great" is easy when the money rolls in and spending a bunch on benefits for part timers and progressive thinking directives (child care for farmers, etc...) aren't an economic strain. How quickly the tone changes when the wallet gets lighter... Layoffs, reduction of benefits, reduction of stores, questionable labor practices...
Hypocrisy/Doublespeak/groupthink/Conformity:
Many of the same people who have bought into the merits and the greatness of the "principles" are now being given pathetic severance packages. Moreover, partners who still want to do right by their customers (which ,at least on paper, is still the MI of the company), are often punished for doing so. Not charging for that extra shot or brewing a coffee that doesn't taste like dirt can often land you a lecture on profitability- or worse, a corrective action. The various rollouts of the last year and our CEO's soundbites are testament to the nature of the hypocrisy. The claim that we were focusing attention back to our "core" (i.e. coffee) gave way only to the introduction of the mass roasted, homogenous aforementioned Pike Place- which is unlike any other coffee we've ever served only in that it is especially unspecial. Furthermore, the "smoothie"-esque vivanno may conform to the company's version of health-conscious product development... but the quality of the drink, and the use of the aforementioned "fart-powder" hardly count as an overhaul of the company's thinking about responsibility in the "healthy options" department.... and again, it's not coffee. Another note...those breakfast sandwiches (which my store does not carry), were going to be done away with on direct "orders" from Schultz... After what I am sure was a lot of shrugging and "market analysis" the Buckmuffin with Bacon and Cheese is staying...
Now, you know what they say.... Rome wasn't destroyed in a day. There was never a figurative A-Bomb dropped on this company. This is one of the real lessons I have learned and continue to learn from this job. At every step and every level, there is enough blame to go around... From all of my ranting and from your own knowledge of how "publicly traded" coporations typically go, there is an endless list of nastiness on the high end of the totem pole: Misinformation-Propaganda, Bad and Frivolous Buisiness Ventures (Kenny G cd anyone?), Market Saturation, etc...
These are, of course, very important when you see this company for what is it... a silly corporation trying to make more money... but not the entirety of the picture...
The Customer-
Starbucks, in one of it's best PR tactics, painted always painted the customer as a good willed member of a free society making a concious choice to purchase a quality beverage that they could feel good about. After all, they see the picture of the smiling Guatemalan who picks the coffee with a blurb underneath about Starbuck's version of fair trading (known as CAFE practices)... they've read about the multitude of benefits offered to the lowly part-time worker.... they've been "informed" about coffee and how starbucks has the good stuff because it's roasting (burning) practices are trademarked. They see that even us lowly baristas are happy to help you decipher the fritalian bullshit sizes when they just want as much fucking beverage as they can possibly consume. For a while there, the consumers were exactly where we wanted them... and some of them, to some extent, still are.
The saturation of our "markets" (read: places where people live) with these retail outlets and the addition of drive-thrus gave the consumer just cause to stop appreciating "the romance" of the 20x40 foot machiatto utopia, and start seeing it as the place where they get their fix in any and every way they see fit. Yup, these customers, in droves, started seeing their convenient location as a store where they spend money for a product... nuts, huh? It turns out, our "high volume" stores, like the one where I work (whose numbers make the company very happy), are much less likely to project the humanitarian image that Starbucks has built it's empire upon. Yeah, at stores like these, customers get about 10 times as nuts as they would if say, their taco bell order was off by a dollop of chalupa sauce...
In turn, the pressure to grind out seven different frappucinos correctly for an unappreciative and untipping van of cheerleaders with mom's credit card amidst the already insane line out the door is astounding for job thats hourly wage barely even pays for a starbucks beverage. And how could we forget about that omnipresent, semi-aware customer that somewhat correctly perceives the work force at Starbucks to be decreasingly intelligent as the "company has grown". Yup, these and the increasingly pissed off average joe that must wait behind the sweet valley high drill team for 12 ounces of black coffee are our beloved "regulars".
My contempt for these customers may be misdirected though... as they are simply part of the consumerist-capitalist symbiosis that has dominated and contributed to the "downfall" of this company. Why wouldn't the masses come to buy fat and sugar laden milkshakes? The company has spent the last 15 years introducing and marketing new ones. And is the average long time customer that out of line for believing that the "baristas"(whose turnaround rate is astoundingly high) don't know exactly what they are serving or doing? Not three years ago did we make our espresso machines "super automatic"... we push buttons to pull your shots and steam your milk... It is not the handcrafted skill of espresso past. Symbiosis...Feedback loop... call it what you will.
And how about those stores that DO still give off that fuzzy, "I'm on the set of Friends", feeling? Well, alot of them aren't profitable... and they're closing this year.
Now, the capitalist in all of us says, "If customers are THAT displeased, they will go somewhere else." And I would say, "That is true, if the nature of this brand of consumer,corporation and society was different than it is." What do I mean by that?
- If you're in a typical American "market", Starbucks is your most convenient stop or your only "choice" for caffiene that isn't Shell Gas Station that won't take a while. Often, your other choice is another Starbucks, and you "just don't like the feel of 'that one' "
- Only Starbucks has what you "need"/"want". We're creatures of habit, and changing our route or routine or expectation is too far fetched an idea for us folks in this land of opportunity and freedom.
- You feel like if you alter your behavior, like, say, scream your order, throw your money on the counter, throw a shit fit, or insult the "help", your Starbucks will learn to do things right. (Unfortunately, this works.)
- You will never ever ever brew at home because this does not give you the kind of immediate gratification you expect, nor does it "fit in your schedule" (though waiting in line for 10 minutes does).
For the sake of not losing my mind... I will continue this later. I'm on vacation.
posted by Phil G at 4:28 PM
5 comments 
5 Comments:
hey, i just wanted to say that i read this whole thing.
and smash capitalism
correct. thanks.
I read it all, too, Phil. Maybe this should be a term paper or something. Great job!
As a former employee of a "bastard bux" (licensed store in Target), I know what you mean. My friend Nate works for a low volume store right now and everyone is being moved around.
I think at least 75% of the drinks I made were fucking frappuccinos of one kind or another. It was really sad. We barely got the chance to push the buttons on our totally unfriendly automatic espresso machine.
hey, just so you know, i wasn't making fun of you. i actually want to smash our state! if you want to make plans to commit treason or something, call me 614-805-0711. stop bitching start a revolution.
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