I agree the video is a parody of itself, South Park doesn’t even have to add anything to make it stupid. The cold foam blenders are a disaster waiting to happen, there isn’t any room on espresso bar for sweet cream let alone the blending thing, plus that has to be charged? We are gonna break them so fast! The nft thing is a joke and ridiculous. He made claims that the apron blend of coffee is going back to the baristas, but didn’t really expand on how it’s coming back to us. He mostly talked about corporate stuff that doesn’t really apply to most partners, as so many of us are new to the company we aren’t able to get bean stock so we don’t care about what shareholders are upset about. And then he went on talking forever about how great Starbucks was in the past and how it was the first in corporate America to do xyz. But a lot of this stuff is now standard in fast food, McDonald’s in my area is giving a starting rate of 18-20 bucks yet I’m here making 15 and change. Free collage is available at Taco Bell, and as for health insurance, you can get that at most retail stores now. The only unique benefit Starbucks has is free Spotify. Howard’s all saying “they have counted us out” out of what? I wanna know when the last time anyone in the corporate office was on bar? When did they last walk into a random Starbucks where baristas have no clue who the fuck Howard is, and actually talk to them about their job? when did they last try to talk to customers through a drive thru head set? Probably not in forever! Yet yea let’s spend our resources on a portable blender! That makes sense!

The cold foam thing just looks like a big fleshlight.

He also just blatantly ignores history for convenience. Healthcare wasn't something he magnanimously gave, it was a key point of contention between him as a new owner and the roasting plant as people who just signed a new contract with their union. It was his carrot to soften the blow when he dismantled the union back then. The same way they suddenly announce new/returning benefits now.

You guys had to watch a video?

my favorite quote from the video was “it’s not about the wages.” Howard, honey, it really IS about the wages..

I think everyone thinks it's BS. Like we don't need portable cf pitchers or NFTs. We need better pay lol

I dont see the cold foam blender practical and we supposed to hold it in one hand while holding the beverage cup in our other hand all while somehow making the cold foam?

My other favorite part was that we were scheduled 45 minutes to both watch the hour long video and do summer training.

i refused to watch it

I'm still shocked that Howard straight up misgendered Fen after they introduced him like at least pretend to care about pronouns for the video

lol we all turned it on and then just sat and payed games on our phones while talking shit 😂💀 but yes, it’s all absolutely ridiculous

One of the worst parts of the video for me was when people from the audience were called on to basically say corporate “heartfelt” buzz words/phrases into the microphone and then everyone would clap afterward. So cringey and weird.

No one in my store has seen it ... When do we have time to lose a partner for 50min that isn't on a break?

After seeing the video, I'm buying more Starbucks stonk!!

I just want my 15 an hour. Everyone keeps asking about it and so many stores haven't received it yet. What the hell is the deal with that? Record profits and no answers.

I just recently quit what is this

Haven’t had a chance to watch it- but I feel everyone had very different degrees of work environment- some people have a great team with an awesome store manager, and others have to suffer through short staffing and crazy shifts frequently. Not to mention the Karens. So I feel like our personal experiences will have a lot to do with how we perceive the video

Woah I am reading this and all these comments as a partner that recently quit and I am concerned

Howard?

Have not seen this yet, what is NFT? Also a portable cold foam blender, what the hell is that really going to do!?

The man knows how to speak, but I'm hard-pressed to believe that's not all he knows how to do. I would be more than happy to see us implement all of what he said (save for the NFTs), but that's a big IF for a company that thinks we'll completely trust an apology and a "we'll do better" when profits have clearly come first even before I started 4+ years ago.
I'm also upset that I can understand why we'd be the best candidate for implementing NFTs. It's genius and stupid.

I don’t even know what portable pitches , NFTs or Howard video we are talking about , my store is behind .

I'm honestly quitting, I'm done after this weekend. For a number of reasons, but the biggest one is that I can't morally support a company that supports NFTs in their current form, let alone work for said company. I've turned down art jobs (my actual career, Starbucks was a side-gig for me) offering $75/hour or more because they're NFT-related. Why in the hell would I want to keep breaking my body and only making $0.50 over minimum wage for a company that claims to be about sustainability, and then gets into NFTs?

I posted this link elsewhere, but for anyone not sure what an NFT is, I highly recommend this video. It's biased against them, so if you want both sides, you may want to talk to a crypto bro, but it explains them better than anyone or anything else I've personally come across. https://youtu.be/YQ_xWvX1n9g

lmao been on maternity leave since march, won’t return until June

[removed]

The NFT thing is ridiculous but I’m not sure why you’re staying with the company if you’re just going to complain when they make our jobs easier? We’ve been asking for CF blenders for hot bar for YEARS.

Personally, I think the video was awesome. He made his points revolve around growth, which excites shareholders and the stock itself. The NFT thing is going to be big, look at whats happening already with famous folk like Snoop and Paris Hilton launching their own collections. I just hope he gets creative and decides to hand Starbucks NFT’s out to partners

Edit: Just a personal opinion, & Nfts are relatively new to the masses so I can understand why the incoming volume of down voters may not understand... NFT’s will retire you.

i didnt watch the full thing but i really like howard and im glad he’s emphasizing starbucks’ past and how negatively its moved forward. hes really a guy that has barista interest in mind and i hope he proves that, theyre listening to our input- give it. (like coffee academy) i think alot of baristas are just new and never worked in what starbucks used to be: leadership and growth and coffee knowledge