Corporate has drop off daycare in the building

damn

Why am I not even surprised? There was a time when I would have defended them and said that it must be some kind of misunderstanding or maybe just one or two bad eggs that don’t represent the whole. But my well of excuses and good grace for corporate dried up years ago. I started working at Starbucks during the time when the company was really pushing to be known as the ethical company that puts people first and cared more about creating an experience rather than just a product.

Back then a lot of district managers (not all of them were great, but it was a lot better) would tell their store managers to take care of the baristas and shift supervisors first because if they are cared for then they’ll be better equipped to care for the customers. Back then the mantra was to invest in loyal customers because if all you do is care about the here and now then you won’t develop a lasting and meaningful relationship. The idea was to sacrifice some profit now in order to gain a long lasting relationship built on trust with the customer in the future. Back then Starbucks didn’t engage in any traditional advertising because reputation and word of mouth was a better marketing strategy. You didn’t see Starbucks commercials and printed ads in publications.

Basically, Starbucks was successful in accomplishing those goals and now that they’ve earned the loyalty and servitude of the masses they’ve tossed all that philosophy out the window and are laying on the couch letting all the money just pour in. They laid the groundwork back then and now they’re coasting on it today. That’s when we went from being “partners” to being “parts of a conveyor belt.” We used to be about nurturing the human spirit, but now we’re about taking money and shoveling coffee-flavored candy. It’s no surprise that they think of you that way. We’re fools to think that Starbucks is somehow a progressive company. Yes, they’re progressive when COMPARED to McDonalds and Walmart. But at it’s core Starbucks is being run by a bunch of rich capitalists who made their money pretending to be progressives. And anyone who isn’t rich is a “little peasant” and they judge you for being poor because you didn’t work hard enough to be less poor.

Schultz and Williams are a match made in hell.

My former employer referred to us during a difficult contract negotiation as "Human Capital". Our Union President went on a rampage..... This is exactly what happens when a company outside hires management. If you do not start as a barista and work your way up (like Howard did) you have a major disconnect from your workers and what they do on a day to day basis. They are just cogs in a machine to make you more money, they are NOT seen as people.