Well, it doesn't exactly "destroy" lives, but definitely causes an inconvenience. Thinking about it, living in New York, there are more Starbucks locations than many other store chains (McDonald's?). I read an article yesterday in the Metro newspaper (cover story) of how Starbucks closed down nearly 7,100 of its U.S. stores for 3 and a half hours to "retrain" its employees.
So, yea, the article expressed how caffeine addicts get annoyed at things like this, but still "life goes on." I guess that means Starbucks hasn't exactly brainwashed its customers to absolute loyalty. Other coffee shops stayed open during that time, and places like Dunkin Donuts and such received a nice rush of customers - for 3.5 hours at least. People are saying that this was more of a marketing act rather than an actual attempt to jump the customer service and satisfaction by making the best espresso you've ever tasted in your life.
I do believe that what Starbucks did was definitely good since it boosts the excitement of its employees, and reassures customers that their coffee will be done just right. I've been to enough meetings and gatherings in the retail world to know about these kinds of things. I don't think a huge corporate like Starbucks would risk losing an ounce of business for 3.5 hours, especially with over 7 thousand stores!
"Starbucks is losing ground every minute of the day. Now they're just another store -- they're like the GAP of coffee. By closing their stores, they're trying to say, 'We're restarting!' But there's got to be a better way than that" says CEO of R.I.M Public Relations, Richard Laermer. I still like my Vanilla Bean Frapuccino, so as long as that's around, they've got my business.
This was the day that all the employes were looking forward to. Starbucks is not a regular coffee shop. Starbucks is another home for customers. The goal of al the partners what work for Starbucks is to enable a life grasping experience for the customers that enjoy our services.
Starbucks close every store in the United States that day at 5 pm. It was intended for all the partners to come in to the store and have a meeting. This meeting discussed a more innovative way to interest the customers in our coffee. This meeting was based on customer views. Things discussed:
To make the quality of coffee and espresso better.
Espresso shots are not to be puled only by 2, and they take longer to be made. It went fom 13 to 17 seconds on an average. This would enable the shot to be more pure.
The shots have to be poured into shot glasses before they are put into a cup. This enables the bar crew to inspect every shot and make sure that every rink they make is at the top of the line for the customers that Starbucks serves.
There is absolutely no re-steaming of the milk. One milk pitcher per drink. Discard the rest and steam more milk for the next drink.
Provide five star legendary service to the customers of Starbucks
and a lot more ....
After the meeting, the stores were cleaned up thoroughly and ready for the new day, new week, and new experience for the people Starbucks serves.