Comments on: Starbucks Challenge FAQ

By: Angela

Angela — Sat, 11 Oct 2008 10:54:42 +0000

I have worked for Starbucks for SEVEN years, on and off– through community college, undergrad, and even after graduate school I am now back as a mere barista (non-supervisor, minimum-wage)….making more $, getting better benefits, appreciation and respect than I did as an environmental engineer, scientist, etc… In other words, I have worked at EVERY retail/hospitality/sales/customer service position since I was 15– just to get by and now through an ivy-league graduate education in environmental science & policy: not one company, business, manager– NONE were as focused on customer and employee satisfaction than Starbucks. Which is why I return over working as an environmental scientist again. Environmental responsibility is respecting humans, too. And as a struggling American student who was forced into horrible wages, more-than-inconvenient hours and future/always-present job insecurity by those with no regard for the law or ‘moral obligations’ at independent, family owned or other businesses– I feel obligated to relay my experiences toward all of you: mostly because I am one of the baristas yelled at daily (in work and out of work by family/friends) for working for ‘the man’ or for supporting Starbucks’ practices. Firstly, Starbucks will do anything the customer wants (within reason)– and ultimately $ speaks louder than anything. If you truly do care about the environment, please (still) think of this ‘challenge’ as an exploratory test. Baristas, Supervisors and even Managers have a BILLION other things on their mind- including the customer yelling about their ’soy’ latte taking too long (because we are probably understaffed due to this type of pressure), all the while double parked in an idling hybrid vehicle obstructing traffic and endangering others’ lives outside our store…..ahh the irony. :)

please…. there are a MILLION worse companies. Try holding a family-owned or independent coffee shop to the same fair-trade test! (Or, try on the green apron for a day and see our side for a day!! )

;)

By: Dylan Thurston

Dylan Thurston — Sun, 26 Nov 2006 16:01:41 +0000

I just looked at what Starbucks writes about Fair Trade coffee (http://www.starbucks.com/aboutus/StarbucksAndFairTrade.pdf) but didn’t see anything about the policy you mentioned. Is it still current policy? Where can I find it on their website?

Thanks!

By: Siel

Siel — Sat, 04 Feb 2006 04:59:42 +0000

Hi Carl! I don’t do link exchanges, but I’ve added skysidestudios to my blogroll and will add you if I like what I read :) Thanks for stopping by!

By: Carl

Carl — Sat, 04 Feb 2006 00:40:09 +0000

Hello Green LA girl, would you like to link with us - carl at skysidestudios.blogspot.com–

By: green LA girl » Starbucks Challenge 3.0: Demand an answer!

green LA girl » Starbucks Challenge 3.0: Demand an answer! — Sat, 17 Dec 2005 01:35:00 +0000

[...] The Starbucks Challenge FAQ. [...]

By: avs

avs — Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0000

Here’s a thought what you could do if you don’t have Starbucks in your vicinity.

Finnish volunteer association Pro Fair Trade Finland (closely affiliated with the Finnish FLO national initiative) is running a card campaign targeting cafÃ©s, coffee shops, restaurants and cafeterias. If you get served non-Fairtrade coffee, you can leave a business card sized card on top of your cup/mug/glass when you leave (you don’t even have to talk to the barista, if you’re shy). Or in a take-away, you can hand the business card to the clerk and ask it to be delivered to the shift supervisor/owner/whoever is higher up the corporate ladder.

Here’s example of a cafÃ© campaign business card. Translation: “Thank you! Next time around I’d be happy to enjoy a cup of Fairtrade coffee.” On the flip side the card explains where to get pointers to Fairtrade coffee suppliers.

The key ideas of this campaign are that the text conveys an image of a regular customer (”next time around”). As a tangible item, it can be delivered with the daily reports to whoever is in charge.

By: Meg

Meg — Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0000

I used to work at Starbucks when I was putting myself through university, and the reality is that we were taught to do pretty much whatever customers asked us to do, from brewing a special batch of coffee to promising good wages for coffee growers worldwide. There’s a lot of customer satisfaction and PR pressure. So I’d just add to this challenge that if someone there can’t do something for you or is stuck for an answer to your question, it might be kind to remember that they are making 8 bucks an hour or less (which is far better than wages in other countries, but not fabulous for your location), that they are not the ones who set policy at their locations, and they might not be as blogoliciously informed and knowledgable as you’d want them to be because they are busy making actual coffee and cleaning bathrooms and putting out pastries, rather than working on their class and economic theory. I’m a greeny liberal, and even I got tired of being lectured by customers about what Starbucks should be doing for the world at large. We could only suggest to the company what to do — and then we’d have to get back to work.

By: Siel

Siel — Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0000

Interesting to see what’s going on elsewhere in the world, avs. Maybe we could drop the cards into those business card drawing things at delis and restaurants too –

Meg — I hear ya with the barista blues. My friend Jen and I were actually talking about this last night — the potential of fair trade loving customers taking their frustrations out on the baristas. I hope that all challenge participants will ask for fair trade coffee in a kind manner with that in mind. The idea is to see Starbucks’ commitment to educating their baristas about their great fair trade policies, to make sure these policies are translated into practice. If they are, wonderful. If not, it’s not the barista’s fault — but it says something about Starbucks’ commitment to fair trade.

Bloggers — be nice to the baristas :) If frustrated, blog about it!

By: Pippa

Pippa — Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0000

First off, happy to report that my local Starbucks had a pot of Fair Trade on brew when I asked.

Second, Meg, I don’t think that the point of this challenge is to ‘test’ the baristas and catch them with their pants down (so to speak); rather, the goal would ultimately be to see how far Starbucks co. is really going to stay true to its fairtrade marketing strategy.

I think, for the most part, if a blogger finds that his/her Starbucks isnt serving/brewing FT, then it is Starbucks which will be notified, rather than the barista.

Or at least that’s what I hope…

Essentially, it’d be good to know if Starbucks stipulates this “policy” to its branches or just uses it as good PR.

By: Meg

Meg — Tue, 30 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0000

Oh, I absolutely support the goal of the challenge — I am a stickler for accountability. But make sure not to lecture the barista, is all — I got lectured a great deal when I worked there. At least twice a day on some issue or other. It got to be humourous after a while.