The new Starbucks chairman and CEO Brian Niccol hopes a shot of nostalgia and a sharpie will help the coffee giant break out of their sales slump.
Starbucks reported a disappointing end to its 2024 fiscal year. Starbucks said its revenue fell 3% to $9.1 billion in the July-September period as customer traffic slowed in the U.S. and China. For the full year, Starbucks said its revenue rose less than 1% to $36 billion.
“We have to make it easier for our customers to get a cup of coffee,” Niccol said in his first conference call with investors since joining Starbucks in September.
Niccol wants customers to get their orders hand-delivered by a barista in four minutes or less. He said about half the company’s transactions are now completed in four minutes or less. He wants to focus on the bottlenecks that delay the other half, from inadequate staffing during rush periods to slow ovens cooking food to Starbucks’ overly complex menu.
Another goal for Niccol is for Starbucks to once again become the community coffeehouse it used to be. That is why ceramic mugs will once again be used by in-store customers, and baristas will have a sharpie pen in their hand so they can write a message on the customer’s order.
“I love this. I got so many different names,” said D.C. resident Bryn. “I got Gwen all the time,”
Bryn spoke to WTOP near the Starbucks in Dupont Circle. “I’ve gotten ‘Grin,’ ‘Gwen,’ ‘Brian’ just a few times. Or they’ll just do a nice guess. They’ll try to get as close, like a few Aarons.”
Bryn’s friend joined the conversation and stated the many names he had found on his Starbucks cup.
“My name is Miles, so I have gotten, obviously, the MI and the my, I’ve gotten Mikes. I’ve gotten Mike and every once in a while, I did have a barista pull out the classic high school crank of inches or kilometers,” said Miles.
Even though Bryn rarely got a cup from Starbucks with her actual name on it, she is pleased that the sharpie is coming back. “You know what? I would love the names back. I think that’s a great choice.”
Bryn did admit that she enjoys the stickers that are on the cups. Not only because your order is on the side along with your name spelled correctly.
“I like the Dupont (Starbucks) when they put stickers on them that say, like random, like motivational phrases. I caught that on my birthday. They were like, you are loved, and others love you. And I’m like, love it, yeah.”
When it comes to the stickers or sharpie, Miles told WTOP that “I don’t mind the wrong order. Give the baristas the freedom.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Get breaking news and daily headlines delivered to your email inbox by signing up here.
© 2024 WTOP. All Rights Reserved. This website is not intended for users located within the European Economic Area.
