In an effort to make your stay at Starbucks as long as possible, the company is telling baristas to slow down and make no more than two drinks at a time, reports the Wall Street Journal.
The Journal, which says it has reviewed company documents detailing the need for the slow-down, says that the policy is a reaction to customer complaints about so-so quality and taste inconsistencies. To that end, Starbucks isn’t just asking baristas to make fewer drinks at a time.
Writes the paper:
Baristas are also supposed to steam milk for each drink rather than steaming an entire pitcher to be used for several beverages. Other instructions include rinsing pitchers after each use; staying at the espresso bar instead of moving around; and using only one espresso machine instead of two, according to the documents.
The policy changes are expected to roll out to all North American Starbucks by next month. But some of those who have already begun working under the new regulations say it’s only slowed down the workflow.
One barista in Minnesota tells the Journal that the new policies have “doubled the amount of time it takes to make drinks in some cases.”
Starbucks tut-tuts these concerns, saying, “As with any new behavior, it will take time for baristas to become comfortable with the new method.”
The company says the new single-serve steaming policy “ensures the quality of the beverage in taste, temperature and appearance,” while its two drink at a time limit “reduces possibility for errors.”
However, Starbucks does confess that some drinks will take longer to make because of the new policies. In such cases, employees are to “let the customer know their beverage will take a little longer and may be out of order due to the time it takes the milk to settle and the foam to rise to the top (approximately 60 seconds).”
Do you think this will cause a long-lasting slowdown in beverage service at Starbucks? Or will baristas eventually catch up to where the time difference is negligible.
At Starbucks, Baristas Told No More Than Two Drinks [WSJ]
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I stopped patronizing Starbucks in the US when their penny-pinching resulted in only half a cupful of coffee. Whatever size you ordered, you got half a cupful of contents, plus 1/4 cupful foam and 1/4 cupful free space. It is even worse at the airport outlets – you are lucky to get 1/3 cupful.
Now I make my own coffee, I have discovered how great the taste of real espresso latte can be. Even using Starbucks’ own coffee beans, I can make a better cup of coffee than the local Starbucks coffee-house.
In contrast, Costas in the UK are really great. Wonderful tasting coffee, full (large) servings, and helpful, friendly service …
if you are really in a hurry then go to McDonalds.
This doesn’t sound like a bad thing to me. . . a leisurely experience at a coffeeshop sounds like a good thing. Why so much QQ from everyone about this?
I patronized the independant coffee shop across the street from Starbucks near my house twice…once when they first opened and again a few months later. They took so long both times that I’ve never been back. If Starbucks is going to start taking just as long, I’ll start going back there again.
Really as long as you pour the milk in before 10 seconds the espresso shot should be fine. If you have competent baristas they should be able to do this no problem.
When I worked at SB I was on the bar and could make upwards of 6 drinks at once without sacrificing quality or accuracy. SB is also terrible at training properly so maybe they should focus on training/retraining.
It’s the damn frozen drinks that really slow the lines down. :/
This isn’t a bad thing. I would rather they take an extra minute to make the drink right the first time.
If you live in a large overcrowded city expect long waits for nearly every service one would have to wait in line for. I NEVER have to wait more than 2 minutes for my coffee at our local Starbucks. This policy change is NOT designed to make higher volume (which equals higher profit) but rather higher quality control on their product, which equals higher customer satisfaction therefore more likely to have repeat business. ME LIKEY THIS APPROACH. ME GO TO STARBUCKS, ORDER EXPENSIVE DRINK, ENJOY AND CHILLAX :^))