New Starbucks CEO's plan: shut down stores for 3-hour barista training
AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson, File
- Starbucks is hosting a three-hour meeting for store employees later this month.
- The meeting will focus on ways that employees can make Starbucks "a welcoming coffeehouse" again.
- Starbucks CEO Brian Niccol is trying to turn around results at the coffee chain.
Starbucks store employees in the US will have to attend a three-hour training session later this month, Business Insider has learned, as the coffee chain's new CEO attempts to revitalize it.
Starbucks' role as a place for customers to hang out is expected to be a key topic at the meeting, according to a description from Starbucks' intranet seen by BI.
"We will be talking about an opportunity to refocus on what has always set Starbucks apart — a welcoming coffeehouse where people gather and we serve the finest coffee, handcrafted by skilled baristas," the description reads.
The meetings will take place at different times at different stores, four store employees told BI. They'll happen between January 21 and 26 and will be entitled "Welcome Back to Starbucks," according to one sign posted at a store and seen by BI.
Store employees, whom Starbucks calls "partners," have to attend the meeting, even if that means going to another store's version because it fits their schedule better, two partners said. In some cases, partners will fill in shifts at other stores so that employees there can be present, one partner said.
Two partners told BI that their stores planned to close their dining rooms but keep the drive-thru lanes open during the meeting.
Starbucks did not immediately respond to a request for comment from BI.
Starbucks is in the midst of a turnaround effort after reporting slumping sales in recent quarters.
Brian Niccol, who oversaw major changes at Mexican grill chain Chipotle, became Starbucks' CEO in September. Since then, he's unveiled several changes, from the reintroduction of self-service condiment bars to instituting a goal of four minutes or less for preparing customers' orders.
Niccol has also said that he wants Starbucks stores to be "inviting places to linger" while also serving customers who want quick to-go service.
One partner at a Starbucks store in Florida told BI that he hopes Starbucks will unveil more changes to streamline workflow at his store during the meeting.
He pointed to some adjustments that Starbucks has already made under Niccol's leadership, such as instructing baristas to prepare some drinks with a blender instead of shaking them — a small change that saves each barista valuable seconds when filling orders.
"I would love to see a continuation of that," he said.
Do you work at Starbucks and have a story idea to share? Reach out to this reporter at abitter@businessinsider.com.