Starbucks Employees Take Espresso 101

With Sales Sagging, Coffee Chain Shuts U.S. Stores For 3 Hours To Retrain Baristas

(AP)  A day after shutting down most of its U.S. shops for three hours to retrain baristas on espresso basics, Starbucks is welcoming customers back Wednesday with a new promise posted in stores: "Your drink should be perfect, every time. If not, let us know and we'll make it right."

Starbucks Chairman and Chief Executive Howard Schultz said the 135,000 baristas who got the refresher course pledged to uphold "the uncompromising standards and quality that have made Starbucks the world's coffee leader."

Nearly 7,100 company-operated Starbucks stores across the U.S. - all except the licensed shops in supermarkets, airports, malls, hotels and the like - closed at 5:30 p.m. local time Tuesday for a teach-in that was part espresso tutorial, part pep rally.

Instead of dumping shots straight into the paper cups they'll serve to customers, Starbucks baristas are getting back to pouring espresso into shot glasses first. "You get to see if it's a quality shot of espresso," store manager Justin Chapple, 25, said during a training session at a New York City store.

Starbucks switched to automatic espresso machines years ago, but it still takes skill to work them. Baristas have to adjust the grind to make sure a shot doesn't pour too quickly, making it watery, or too slowly, making it bitter.

"It's not as simple as pushing a button," said Ann-Marie Kurtz, Starbucks' manager of global coffee and tea education.

Starbucks wouldn't disclose how much revenue it stands to lose during the shutdown, but analysts say the financial impact will be negligible compared to charges the company will take as it closes about 100 poorly performing U.S. stores this year and pays severance to more than 200 corporate support staff it laid off last week.

U.S. stores make up the bulk of Starbucks' revenue, which totaled $9.4 billion in fiscal 2007, when the company earned more than $672 million.

Robert Toomey, an analyst with E.K. Riley Investments, said he didn't expect a surly backlash from customers getting turned away. "It's a low-traffic time of day," he said. "The risk of ticking off customers is pretty minimal."

It makes sense to tackle the training in one fell swoop, and it shows the company - which has seen its stock slide about 50 percent since late 2006 - is committed to turning itself around, Toomey said.

"They know they've fallen short," Toomey said. "The quality of the product has deteriorated a bit over the last few years, and they know they've got to improve it."

Christina Mallozzy, a pharmaceutical saleswoman, looked miffed when she walked up to a Starbucks on Manhattan's Upper East Side only to find out it was closed. "I'm not furious. My life's not going to end," said Mallozzy, 25. She was, however, annoyed because she had she had gone to the trouble of snagging a parking space.

Meanwhile in Seattle, a line a dozen people deep snaked outside one of Caffe Vita Coffee Roasting Co.'s Seattle shops at dusk Tuesday, as the local chain gave away free espresso drinks while the world's largest gourmet coffee retailer shut its doors.

"Free-market economy, baby! You've got to take advantage of what the competition throws at you," squealed Amy Grooms, a 29-year-old accountant who said she quit going to Starbucks once she moved to Seattle, because she thinks independents here brew better-tasting coffee.

Other rivals offered similar deals. Dunkin' Donuts slashed the price of its small lattes, cappuccinos and other coffee drinks for 99 cents for most of the day. Yet spokeswoman Michelle King demurred when asked if it was a competitive jab at Starbucks Corp.

"We are offering this promotion today because there is an opportunity to reach a large number of coffee drinkers, as well as provide our own loyal customers with a great deal," King said in an e-mail to The Associated Press.

McDonald's Corp., which has been trying to steal Starbucks customers by revamping its coffee menu, declined to comment on Starbucks' training effort and offered no special deals Tuesday.Starbucks plans to train its international employees over the next month, as well as baristas at more than who work at the company's more than 4,000 licensed shops.

[ladycascadia]

It''s nice to see Starbucks is getting that "passion for coffee" back (and I''m referring to a 1995 book of theirs with the same title)...even if it meant closing the store for a few hours to do it. A bit of inconvenience today for long term satisfaction...works for me!

Shame on all the elitist snobs here slamming on Starbucks and their employees. Are they NOT part of what has been the American dream? A success story? To take an opportunity and maximize it? What is so wrong with that!

No, I''m not a Starbucks employee but I''ve never had any complaints and I''ve been to MANY of the Starbucks establishments on the West Coast from Seattle, WA on down to Malibu, CA! Looking forward to my next cup. You go, Starbucks Coffee Co!

[bobmiglani]

While I''ve never been a fan of the coffee at Starbucks (prefer Dunkin Donuts), I really applaud their effort to re-focus their employees on making a quality product and enhancing the customer experience. As we say in the Dairy Queen business: Don''t Serve Rotten Bananas...

Bob Miglani
Author, Treat Your Customers: Thirty Lessons on Service and Sales That I Learned at My Family''s Dairy Queen Store
www.bobmiglani.com

[puzzler125]

I think it sends a terrific message that Starbucks was willing to close all those stores for three hours for training! For a national, multi-million dollar a year corporation to do it, and we all know that it garnered a great deal of attention too, shows other companies that one company is willing to try hard to keep their standards high.

P.S. I don''t drink coffee and rarely go to Starbucks in case anyone thinks I''m shilling for the company.

[billorights]

So, Starbucks promises "Your drink should be perfect, every time. If not, let us know and we''ll make it right."

Great! How about you send out for some anything-but-Starbucks coffee, instead of the swill you serve every day. And for $4 you can afford to pour it into a REAL CUP, not a paper cup. And finally...Baristas? Give me a break! Another soon-to-be extinct species.

[anonyme2-2009]

who proof-read this article?!?! Good grief. Go back to school and pay attention to details before publishing anything for public consumption. This isn''t a high school newsletter.

[muhri]

I''m a 22 year old full time student at UT living in Austin, TX - the city that loves local business. One of my jobs is being a barista at Starbucks. I admit I was pretty skeptical about working THERE, but in the end I was just a person, trying to make some money and get insurance. I know I''m being hypocritical; I''m working at a company I don''t fully agree with, but things can%u2019t always be perfect. Big or small companies %u2013 they can all make mistakes%u2026but as people to people...we can do great things%u2026even if it%u2019s making someone a cup of coffee with a smile%u2026

I know your comments aren''t attacking me personally, or my co-workers (whom I think take great pride in their work), and I''m not standing up for Starbucks...I''m just hoping that one comment, from one person, could change the way someone thought...even if it was just for a second.

%u2026I apologize for taking out my frustrations on this blog%u2026but isn%u2019t that what this is for?!

[muhri]

I''m a 22 year old full time student at UT living in Austin, TX - the city that loves local business. One of my jobs is being a barista at Starbucks. I admit I was pretty skeptical about working THERE, but in the end I was just a person, trying to make some money and get insurance. I know I''m being hypocritical; I''m working at a company I don''t fully agree with, but things can%u2019t always be perfect. Big or small companies %u2013 they can all make mistakes%u2026but as people to people...we can do great things%u2026even if it%u2019s making someone a cup of coffee with a smile%u2026

I know your comments aren''t attacking me personally, or my co-workers (whom I think take great pride in their work), and I''m not standing up for Starbucks...I''m just hoping that one comment, from one person, could change the way someone thought...even if it was just for a second.

%u2026I apologize for taking out my frustrations on this blog%u2026but isn%u2019t that what this is for?!

[kofiananimus]

Wow, more free marketing for Starbucks. I would question whether CBS and Starbucks are owned by the same parent company, but I saw NBC covering this "major news story" too... oh wait, with all the media consolidation the repugnantcons have allowed, maybe CBS and NBC are owned by the same parent company now!

[andor3]

Cannot believe this is being treated as news, just recycling a press release and marketing stunt.

My thought: avoid Starbucks

[ponco seno]

The only nice thing about starbucks is the store.

[Syndicate]

I''ve been complaining about this for years. That and the lids that split and dump your drink all over you. Their is absolutley no consistancy in thier pruduct. Thier isn''t much as upsetting as anticipating your favorite drink paying nearly $4, waiting 15 minutes and having some minimum wage flunky screw it up. I used to get these everyday. Sometimes several times a day but it became so frustrating I stopped buying them. Now I drink the black coffe at the office. At least its consistent.

[ponco seno]

$3.50 - $4 for a cup of water with 1.5oz of coffee powder and milk... ARE YOU KIDDING ME!!!

[shanev137]

It doesn''t sound anyone at Starbucks knows much about espresso.


If the machine is "automatic" and the "barista" pours the same old bags of burnt stale beans into the hopper everyday (where the bitterness comes from), you don''t have to readjust the grind every time you pull a shot. If you do, it means it''s a cheap grinder that can''t hold it''s setting, or the burrs are cheap and wearing out too fast.

The golden crema (flavor) that forms on top of a perfectly pulled espresso shot is mostly about the freshness of the beans. Sure you can have the water temperature, grind, dosing, and tamp pressure all dialed in perfectly, but if your beans are old, stale, burnt, and dried out like Starbucks, your shot will still suck and come out tasting like an ashtray...especially if it isn''t served into a clean, pre-heated shot cup (which they also don''t do).

Espresso is actually best consumed hot, not cold, not lukewarm, and not coming out of a milkshake machine three weeks later with preservatives added to it.

But anyway, no matter how they try to make it, shot for shot, Starbucks espresso will never be as good as anyone who locally roasts their own beans and serves it up fresh the correct way.

[shanev137]

Publicity stunt.

[piercetheval]

There''s no pride of ownership. Where''s the personal service? [with apologies to "American Gangster"]

[republic1776]

Starbucks coffee cost more per gallon than gas.
Evil Bush loving Big time coffee companies.