Starbucks' new CEO wants to recapture coffeehouse vibe

yes, improving customer service, making it easier for the customer, these are highly sophisticated concepts you only learn in mba programs and by having a unique vision.

this is why the guy gets a $113 million pay package.

Coffee and other beverages price are to expensive.

Students occupying seats for long period of time.

No special atmosphere

All Starbucks has to do, at least here in the US, is to expand seating and parking. Nothing is quite like the "coffeehouse vibe". Everything is to expensive, but Starbucks is worth the cost (and other one-off places and small chains are, too) and to kick back with a great cup of joe is one of life's great pleasures.

Wish I could commute with a company jet. The C02 omissions from his daily commute totally justify the paper straws! People complain about low pay in Japan but I would argue that pay in Japan is actually proportionate to your worth.

this is why the guy gets a $113 million pay package.

and commutes to work by jet.

Nothing quite like creating a globally homogenized mediocre beverage experience to help you return to that "coffee shop vibe". This coming from a guy who oversaw record numbers of food poisoning cases at Chipotle.

Coffee and other beverages price are to expensive.

Students occupying seats for long period of time.

No special atmosphere

At my local Starbucks here in Japan, there's a time limit of 90 minutes. Yes, they are too expensive. I usually go to Costco, where they use Starbuck's coffee beans and charge a fraction of the price, or go to McDonald's, where I can get a latte, just as good, also for a fraction of the price.

Starbucks should first improve the quality of the product they are selling and stop offering awful coffee made from overroasted low quality beans for a premium price.

it’s just a big standard cafe now. Hard wooden seats. Small tables. Not much music. Compared to when I first went back in the day. Nice comfortable seat, where I could read a book and enjoy the atmosphere. A nice table! Now, it’s just apps, next customer please, get the customer churn. They lost me 15 odd years ago. I knew I was paying over the odds for a drink but I liked the ambiance back then. Now, it’s just a posh McCafe. Hurry up! We’ve go profits and shareholders to serve. That’s the sense I have now. It’s all about the ambiance now!!!! Not Halloween coffee, unless you’re a student.

Starbucks still has good vibes. For some going to Starbucks with friends for a good chat is a very enjoyable experience. Sales are down is because many regular customers have less money now which they can spoil on pricy takeaway coffees.

Here down under even McDonald's, which usually does well in a economic downturn, are struggling to attract customers. No money no Starbucks coffee, mate.

Agree with Mu-da-san. I went to a Starbucks a few days ago because a business client wanted to meet there. The coffee is terrible. The sandwiches and doughnuts were tiny and looked as if they had been in the showcase for a couple of days. And it's all very expensive.

If they want to return to their coffeehouse roots, stop selling so many sweets, things with sugar, and focus on coffee.

On reading the article, I was surprised to learn the chain is “struggling”. I assumed they were still going gangbusters, given the stores on every corner are always packed. 

For me, they drifted from their initial intention – to reproduce a “European coffee experience” – ages ago, when they jammed in more seats and ruined the “linger over a cup of java” ambience that I’ve read imbued the earliest stores - and which could still be sensed faintly at the time they expanded into Japan in the early 1990s - and when they began attracting hordes with flavored drinks that include some coffee, all in the name of growth and profits. 

But now, because of the article, I’m stressed by having to cope with mixed feelings. To wit, I was thrilled – thrilled, I tell you – to read that some customers still “experience the magic” – thank dog Starbucks hasn’t lost its daily magic! – but distressed to read that, for some loyal customers, “the wait is too long or the handoff too hectic”. So sad to learn Starbucks coffee is not instantly ready the moment I pay in-store or make the 10-meter drive from the order mic up to the pickup window. I mean really, who should have to “wait” for anything now – it’s 2024, for cryin’ out loud! What do they expect me to do, stand around reading something on my smartphone until like, the cup is in my hand? And just when, exactly, did Starbucks begin hiring these slacker employees who can’t make a hot coffee-flavored drink in seconds? They’re acting as if they might not be employees valued by management, but mere put-upon, overworked and underpaid drones trapped in some sort of assembly line jobs. I mean, like, really! What’s next, are they gonna expect tips from us or something?! 

And don’t get me started on how a hectic handoff can really spoil my day – Ooooo, a hectic handoff makes me so angry that sipping through the plastic lid of my cup as I amble down the street is no longer the satisfying experience that was once was a highlight of my day. 

I sure hope this new dude can rekindle the Starbucks spirit so we can stop settling for corporate-chain-quality brews from Tully’s or Doutor or Pronto and get back to real European-style Starbucks “cuppas”.

There's no "magic" at Starbucks. Just weak, sweet and overpriced coffee.

Just about every small Japanese town/city have good kissaten - some of them very old and many who roast their own beans on site (amazing aromas) - that destroy Starbucks for ambience and quality.

Agree with Mu-da-san. I went to a Starbucks a few days ago because a business client wanted to meet there. The coffee is terrible. The sandwiches and doughnuts were tiny and looked as if they had been in the showcase for a couple of days. And it's all very expensive.

Don't exaggerate. We get it you don't like Starbucks.

As expected, no word on the unionising efforts by the staff, and the company trying to sabotage it. If you want your customers to feel at home, start with the staff, only they can deliver that "vibe"!

One of the Starbucks near us was remodeled, with the result that all tables and chairs were removed, permanently. How is that bringing back the coffee house vibe? We used to walk there, sit down with a coffee, and then walk back home. No longer.

Stop including cheese in nearly every sandwich, pastry or pie on sale, not everyone eats the stuff. Organise the drink pick-up areas properly for both to go and inside drinkers. No need to have such large displays of goods and souvenir cups for sale, use the space for customers to drink. Prepare stronger coffee, that at least tastes like coffee.

We get it you don't like Starbucks.

True. I don't. I'm comparing it to Europe where excellent coffee is relatively cheap and available. And Japan. Where there are still a few old fashioned kissatens that serve excellent coffee. Starbucks brings coffee down to the level of fast food. McD, KFC, et al.