SOLD!!!

This space has been sold!!! Woo Hoo!!

A group of partners have purchased this space and will take over the development. Thank you for your readership and support over the past year.

I will continue to host the forum for people to connect until an agreement can be reached for someone to take it over.

Second Shot

I think it's time to re-post a popular post. The timing is right... the message is relevant... the training session is over.

Good morning… What can I get for you?

Well as promised I’m gonna share some insight I had as the manager at my 5th store with Starbucks. Now, this is the same store where we had the Tully’s competition just to put this in perspective.

My first day at the store in this story was to say the least, a manager’s nightmare. Folks out of dress code, 8 out of 10 show up late for their shifts (a few as little as 10 minutes and a couple as much as an hour). Drink standards were clearly out of whack, customer service was hit and miss, cash handling was off, the store was dirty and had filth in every corner, we had a pest problem, inventories were way off… the list goes on…

So where to start?

Scheduling:
Well, that first day (and week really)… I just took it all in. The schedule for the next week was left for me… nice… so I stayed late and paid for each of my shifts from each shift to stay and advise me on what makes the store run from a schedule/partner POV. I worked that first week, open to close (4:15am to 10:30pm) So, yes… the first part was for me to bring the schedules up to standard… 2 weeks posted at a minimum. I knew there would be changes, but I wanted to do my part first so I could ask others to do their part. I’ll skip the many schedule interactions as they don’t add to the story

Customer Service:
The store had Customer Snapshot scores in the 60%-70% range, so I knew this was low hanging fruit for turning other things around. It was clear that we needed a store meeting. Now there was no assistant manager at this 7-day a week store and no RMT, so I used my shift sups to help me promote the idea that we would get 4 partners from another store to work our close so we could have a “team dinner”… i.e. a cleverly disguised team meeting. So… I took them to dinner. And I poured my heart into them... i.e., I tried to scare the crap out of them.

The Speech:
“Thanks for coming everyone… I feel like I need to be frank with you all. Starbucks corporate called me today to say the store is in danger of being closed if we don’t get a handle on our store operations and turn things around. Our comps are in the negative, customer comments are pathetic and Snapshot scores are really weak. We have a chance to show Starbucks that this is a great store and more importantly, we can show ourselves and our customers.”

Some partners cried, others rose their hands, some sat in silence.

Partner 1: Holy crap! Are we gonna be out on the street?

Pat Nerr: I’m afraid that’s the bad news… the good news is that we can fix it… and I know how.

Partner 2: How?? We have the crappiest Snapshots, the store is a mess, partners are late for shifts… no wonder they’re gonna close us.

Pat Nerr: First, we all have to agree to care that this place is more than just a job. Second, we have to fix our customer service. Third, we have to fix the quality of our drinks and presentation. The rest of it will fix itself and you’re gonna have to trust me on this. Now, I’d like to keep my job as I have almost 8 years invested at this company, so here’s how important it is to me…

The Promise:
Pat Nerr: I’m going to pledge my bonus as the carrot to make you guys care. I’m going to pledge you my knowledge of how to run the best store we can. I’m going to pledge you that I care… about all of it. You, the store, the customers. I’m counting on you to make it all happen… and I’m going to be here the whole time.

Partner 3: So how much money are we talking here?

Pat Nerr: OK… First I want to say that I’ll use whatever bonus I make to throw you a party. We’ll have roughly $1,700 to spend on one night of fun. I’ll even let you decide how and where we spend it.

What Next?:
Well, certainly this stirred up some excitement. But I knew there was much to do and these folks needed direction. So we posted the goals in the back room… prominently. Just 3…

1. Get 3 Customer Snapshots over 95%...
2. Enthusiastically Satisfy Every Customer… Every Time…
3. Comp 10% for one entire quarter

All sorts of things happened. It might help to tell you that the generational makeup of the store looked like this… 78% age 16-19, 20% age 20-25, 10% age 26-45 and 2% age 45+. You can imagine the dynamic… but it’s the cards I was dealt. For instance, we had issues with folks being “ill/hungover” for work on Saturdays… so that meant tardiness or “no shows”. We fixed that by having a family meeting that included parents of these kids. Most if not all had no idea that underage drinking was preventing their kids from making it to work on Saturday. Surprisingly, all of the parents then became Saturday morning customers. But the Saturday woes didn’t end there. It was so busy from open till close that partners hated working Saturdays. So, I worked them…

What did I learn? I learned that we we’re physically understaffed. We took a risk and just scheduled 2 extra partners… one to work a register and drive transactions and the other as a bar support person. Not to stop there, I brought in my griddle and made folks either pancakes or grilled sandwiches to feed them… we all voted an MVP every Saturday. The MVP got to leave 15 minutes early or choose to give it to someone else. These things became legendary. They also made working Saturday an asset and not a liability.

I remember one particular Saturday when double-barring with a 16 year-old kid named Kevin.

Kevin: How the heck do I “enthusiastically satisfy” people while I’m slammed on the bar?

Pat Nerr: Well, Kevin, I’m not gonna lie buddy… it’s hard. I can show you what I do if you want…

Kevin: Sure…

Pat Nerr: OK… when you lid every hot beverage, line up the drink hole with the logo on the cup and hand the drink out with the logo facing out. Then you watch their face… they’ll hone in on that logo every time. That’s when you say, “Hey, have a great day!” It’s basic branding… you make sure that every customer attaches that logo with the feeling they get by being told to have a great day. Make sure that cup is pristine too.

15 minutes later…

Kevin: Oh my god. That totally works! Who taught you all this stuff?

Pat Nerr: I learned it here man… and the great part is, you can use it on your next job and so on. It’s a powerful tool, so never forget it.

So, Des… I hope I’ve convinced you that it can be done. You can make partners care. First, you have to care… you have to care so much that you’re willing to do just about anything to achieve the goal… whatever that is for your team.

What happened to that store? Well, they made the goal… no joke. Three 100% Snapshots, Store comps 12.4% and I decided to give them the 3rd because it was a filler goal anyway… and there’s power in doing things in 3’s. It didn’t stop either after the quarter… they kept going. We made highest profit percentage in the company that year…

You can take what you want from this story… there’s lots in it. Provide your people carrots that matter... Power in numbers... play to your strengths... fulfill your employees basics needs first... whatever. If you try something, watch it work... if it doesn't, shoot it and try something else. When it does work, cherish it... cuz it can go away as quickly as it came. Oh yeah... and nothing lasts forever.

We’ll see you tomorrow for your usual…

Pat Nerr…

All fixed??

Is the company good now?? All 'trained' up?? I heard some sessions were good... others not so much. Aside from getting the entire company in the same room to roll out the info from the same person... it doesn't surprise me that some rolled it out better than others...

Onward??

Nat Perr...

Forums.... Get yer Forums!!!

GET 'EM WHILE THEY'RE HOT!!!!

Rubin-feld-like it's time to come back

Good morning... What can I get for you?

In a time of slaughtering even the sacred cows, there sure are a lot of circa "planning for growth" ex-Starbucks players making their way back into the fold. Perhaps it's a class reunion of sorts... You know... guy gets old... starts to remember what it was like to play basketball when he was in his 20's... wants to rekindle that loving feeling with an old flame... then he looks down and discovers a potbelly... and some wrinkles... and he can't get it up anymore without assistance (by "it" I mean store sales).

Yes... Starbucks is officially in a mid-life crisis.

I can't help but daydream of the behind the scenes conference calls and conversations that have taken place in local Seattle hot spots... the wining... the dining... the talk of old times... then the awkward silence as someone says... "Hey, if I paid you a Porsche-load, would you come back? I'm in a bit of a pinch." Oh, how many bottles of the HS private collection of Petrvs have been uncorked to tantalize some big names from Starbucks past? How many sips of the Vin Santo followed by biscotti bites have taken place in the last few months to help set the stage for recovering the feel that Starbucks once was.

Still... Rubinfeld is a great choice. It was a huge loss when he was gone and now is coming back to help... perhaps to help the SSC partners who are still awaiting some specifics on how to accomplish the promises of The Great One... C'mon... look around folks... there's still a couple of roles that will be filled soon... can YOU guess who they are? And no... it's not the little man on 6 with a "talent" of "managing" to stay around without actually producing anything.

On a side note... Tomorrow the company will spend around 8 million in labor while producing no dollars in sales for 3 hours to give the company's sales and service the "breast lift" it needs to pull more customers in... Now that's how you lipsticking the pig...

We'll see you sometime for something...

Pat Nerr...

#7 on Fortunes "Great Places to Get Downsized From"

more to come on this issue...

..I. *$

Pat Nerr...

IYPAGTTHTCDI - Part II

There's a poll for you on the right... It's completely scientific and comes straight from the useful folks that bring you the Partner Spew Survey...

Perhaps the company can do something with THIS data...

WOO HOO!!! ..I.

Now that's how you polling!

If you put a gun to their heads... they could do it...

Good morning... What can I get for you?

How about a little training? Certainly, by now you've heard about the NEW and IMPROVED Training that will close your local Starbucks on February 26th from 5:30-8:30...

In a move that can only be part "marketing" to Wall St. and part setting expectations for partners, Starbucks has used the word "training" as a way to fix employee performance.

In my time at Starbucks, I've witnessed quite a few instances where employee performance improvements have been lumped into a "training fix".

Leader (who probably never worked in a store): Our baristas just aren't friendly enough... and they're not creating the third place for our customers...

Other Leader (who definitely did not work in a store): Well... they need more training obviously. We'll give them more training. Do we have a person who can write that training?

They then spend the next few months pulling content from previous training, out of their asses, from coffee experts who are too busy to devote the time to such things and other folks. This first part of the process ends up producing an enormous pile of stuff that "baristas need to be told".

In addition, several people will add their two cents on how the language needs to be Starbucks.

Partner 1: They used the word "problem here"... We should use the word "challenge". It just sounds more positive.

Partner 2: Oh yeah... let's make sure we tell them not to forget about how hot the steam wand is... We need some kind of safety statement there...

The end product is then delivered in a "cascading" manner to implement it... leaving store managers to their devices on how to engage a group of folks and make sure they "get it".

So... how does Starbucks "know" that they "get it"? The answer is they don't... because the key measures of success were never spelled out in the first place. The "challenge" with this last approach is that once again the word/profession of training will get a bad name at Starbucks due to the great misunderstanding of what training, assembling training and delivering training is all about. Bottom line is that this efforts only indicator will be if sales go up or if the customer's voice says things are better. Unfortunately... they'll never know for sure so training will get the blame for failure. So here goes readers... here's what it is...

Training is about teaching skills and knowledge... If you could put a gun to a partner's head and tell them to brew a shot to Starbucks standard... and they can do it... it's not training. It's something else. It could be one or more of the following:

• They don't care
• They're not motivated or there's a negative reward for doing it right
  
• They were never told the standards
• They were never told it was expected
• They've never received feedback that they were doing it wrong
• They're physically or mentally not able to do it

I only tell you this to set you up for success... to give you a realistic picture of what to expect after much money is spent for the 3-hour closure. It's not a cure all. However, if this is only 3 hours of setting expectations, then that's a different animal... but they called it "training".

So... what to do for next time? Do an analysis of each store. Find out operation by operation where the skill gaps are and address that. Go back and retrofit the training materials to have clear learning objectives that can be measured. Here's some for the espresso bar...

At the end of this module, you should be able to:

• Pour espresso shots to Starbucks standard
• Steam milk to Starbucks standard
• Assemble beverages to Starbucks standard using Starbucks beverage recipes
• Deliver Starbucks beverages to customers in a friendly manner (this objective is a bit fluffy)

Sure, these objectives don't hit on creating the Third Place or "artfully creating a coffee merchant culture"... They don't need to... it's training. When you get to the customer service portion... we can address that. It's a different skill and set of expectations.

On the up side, the barista has to feel pretty good that the company is now going to actually dedicate some time to them for level-setting and setting expectations. They'll feel pretty good for a few weeks until the day to day sets back in again. This feeling of happiness is called "lift".

So there you go... that's how they got to training. I guarantee you though that if I went to a store and showed them some clearly written learning objectives.... they could already do it.

We'll see you soon for some more clarification...

Pat Nerr...

Scattered to the Wind

Good morning... What can I get for you?

It's been a while since we've talked huh? For good reason... I've had stuff going on. Like spring cleaning. Yes, I've finally started to tackle some of the boxes from my old cubicle. It's time to clean house.

The item you see to the left is a print that showed up near my desk after the earthquake. It was in a pile to throw out. Not one to throw away such treasures, I wiped it off and it adorned my cube since then. The bottom portion does have a watermark on it, but it's only noticeable in certain light.

It's time to get rid of it. This 2ft by 3ft artifact and remnant of the days when beverages were handcrafted at Starbucks is up on the block...

We'll see you sometime for your usual...

Pat Nerr...

La Marzocco and guess who???

Good morning... what can I get for you?

How about a little coffee smell today? Sound good? Alright then.

Sorry folks... the author requested that their nice video that they put on YouTube be removed from here... even though they failed to remove the embed feature or post their content to a site like Revver or BlipTV where they can control where it goes... Since I'm an honorable fellow and all, I'll grant them the request and suggest that maybe if they want to keep their stuff private they might want to store it elsewhere than the largest video hosting service in the world that's paired with the largest search engine in the world... brainiac

Have a good weekend.

Pat...

A little clarification for my "friend"

Good morning... What can I get for you?

How about a visit from the INBOX? Sunday night I received a covert e-mail from within the HR group. It started out with "In your quest to bring down a corporate giant..."

The writer was letting me know that 2 of my former colleagues had been let go... he... or she... let me know that I was responsible for it. This "friend" of mine went on to include my kids in the discussion and further call out how ridiculous this site is...

Of course I needed to thank them for the nice, spy-vs-spy note, but soon discovered that they quickly deleted the e-mail account. It's like they knew the LEGAL implications of sending out such mail.

Well, I'm sure said reader comes here every now and then, so I'll just clarify some things right here and now... so here goes.

1. The "point" of this site is not to "bring down a corporate giant". The point is to bring some transparency to an organization that has developed a very dark and smelly underbelly. To surface the actions of individuals that feel that it is o.k. and consistent with the company's guiding principles to treat partners as line items. To reveal the discussions that happen behind closed doors that eventually affect the everyday average partner in some way. Yes.. my "friend"... they are in fact whittling away at the HR group with plans to outsource as many things as possible... and this is going to happen quickly and as cheaply as possible. The leadership will use everything they can to avoid costly severance packages... I assure you that this is not a recent decision... your "leader" has been working on this for a while... surely you have noticed many folks leaving on their own as well. Surely you have noticed that there are no resources to get your work done or develop ways of making it easier...
   
   
2. While I know you're convinced that I capitalized off of information given to me by "friends"... I can assure you that this is not true. There are many partners inside of your building, from various departments that are pissed enough at the current state of affairs to willingly share information. You'd be surprised who has reached out and from where... So, it's not fair or accurate for you to assume that they were stripped of their dignity because of something posted here. Now, I'm a pretty intuitive person, so my guess is that your frustration is guided by the disappointment of 2 great partners (who have both contributed great things... Coffee Master, Core to name a couple) being ousted by a jackass of a leader... and yes, I said jackass. Look inside of your heart, I know you've heard over the cubicle walls the rumblings of said leader... I know that you too have thought of him as a jackass... I too heard these things in my time there... Yet, he still persists... and thrives... Anyway... I share your disappointment. Actually, my disappointment is far greater. Perhaps this little story will help you understand. About a year ago, one of the released partners called a team meeting (all 3 of us at the time) to ask us to separate ourselves from him as he felt he was a "sinking ship" and he wanted us to look out for ourselves. He warned us that we were not valued by current leadership and that our days were numbered. I know you didn't know this... you weren't there. So you tell me... is it better to just get rid of those who speak out or stop for a minute to think that maybe there is a bigger problem going on. Treat the sickness, not the symptom.
   
   
3. Lastly, there is a more positive purpose to this space... To share some of the good times. To help people understand that it was not always this way. It was different. Partners trusted and cared... they cared so much that they told leadership how they felt. It was special. I will concede that I am no Shakespeare or Hemingway... but I do speak from my heart.

So there you go... I hope this clarifies things for you a bit. The square wheels are a-turnin' at Starbucks and you may or may not find out that in the last month, there has been a reduction of 100+ partners (voluntary and involuntary). That number is going to increase over the next 4-5 months. As you've been told... there are no sacred cows. Just sayin'... from friend to friend...

oh and next time... just call me instead... I mean, we're friends right?

Hey Starbucks... Go Put Your Strengths to Work!

Good morning... What can I share with you?

How about this...? In the midst of all of the change and focus on what went wrong this past year at Starbucks... let's take a different approach. Regardless (that's how you use that word Howard) of if you work in the stores or in the SSC, take a look at what you're working on... What stuff makes you energetic? What stuff drains you? If you're a manager... are you focusing on nailing your teams' weaknesses or are you looking at boosting the strengths?

Here... I'll show you what I mean...



So, go put your strengths to work... You know what they are... Now go do it. And give Marcus a buzz... he has a message for you.

www.simplystrengths.com

The Forum - Starbucks Social Network

Hey folks... don't forget about The Green Apron Forum. Want to participate in a Green Apron online community of partners and customers. This is the place to go. Lot of good sharing and information, but it takes collaboration and particpation to make it go.

What's the difference between The Green Apron Forum and a place like Starbucks Gossip?

Well, it's simple... without the added annoyance of random, kamikaze posters we can get down to business and talk about today's and yesterday's issues at Starbucks. Already there has been an exchange of information on how to get customers and partners engaged with coffee... there's real time communication about what's going on and lastly, it requires users to be respectful towrds each other... not to say there isn't honest discussion.

There's also some creative Starbucks stuff going on...

Fortune's Top 100

Good morning...

Well, I'm sure you all heard that Starbucks made it all the way to 7th place on Fortune Magazine's Top 100 Best Companies to Work for. I find my self thinking... huh??

In what is arguably their worst year ever, they've become the 7th Best Place to Work??

I guess I don't understand the criteria that they use to decide these kinds of things...

Particularly of note is the 230 hours/year allotment for Professional Development that is called out under benefits. Based on a 2000 work hour year, that means that 11.5% of a full-time employees work time is spent on Professional Development?? And that is meant as a question??

Perhaps a partner from the Fortune 100 "team" can enlighten me on how they come up with this number?

Thoughts anyone??

But seriously though... nice work...

Green Apron Cast (1/20/2008) UPDATE

Good morning... How about a 3rd Place Experience this morning. My barista didn;t know if they had "for here cups" and then looked at the merch wall... I think she was thinking of marking out a cup for me. Then the manager corrected her and showed her where the "for here' cups are stored... In a cupboard down below the warming oven in a box that looked to be pretty untouched since maybe the last full inventory. After asking what flavor of wraps they still had left... she said, "we don't have wraps"... but then was corrected by the manager that they're actually called "breakfast wraps"... oh well... here goes... enjoy.



Yes, that is my coffee cup on the right...

1/21/08 UPDATE: Here's the "show' archive. Unfortunately, most of the good stuff was the chatter going on during the broadcast. Oh well, something to aim for next time. I'll bring more paper for personalized notes and antics. Thanks for coming all... Fun times and discussion. Next location?? Who knows? But it will be good.

1/20/2008 LIVE from Starbucks

OK folks... We're going to broadcast from an undisclosed Starbucks location (I'll tell you while I'm there of course) Monday, January 20th at 9:15am PST

Please bring your cup of coffee to the show.

Want to know what you'll see?? It'll be something like that live feed from the watering hole in Africa...

Hmmmm...

What if Pat Nerr did a LIVE webcast from inside of an undisclosed Starbucks location using T-Mobile Wi-Fi?

Would people watch?

Imagine if you will, several hours of Pat Nerr's Starbucks coffee cup and pastries being consumed while the web watches customers come in and out of the store...

Hmmmm...

Live coffee... Live customers... Live 3rd Place... Webcasting into the 4th Place... being viewed by people in the 1st and 2nd Place...

Comment if you like... Comment if you don't like...

Predictions and Stuff

I wonder if there will be an announcement that Behar will be joining the effort to help turn the Starbucks ship around... We'll know by tomorrow huh and my wonderment will disappear...

Oh... the Green Apron Forum is building and partners/customers/etc. are contributing. Be part of the beginnings of a new media movement in informal learning and social networking... far beyond Starbucksgossip... Join the Green Apron Forum...

Please join chairman Howard Schultz in welcoming former president, Starbucks Coffee International, Howard Behar, Thursday, Jan. 17, noon to 1pm in Kona 4. Howard will discuss his new book, It’s Not about the Coffee; Leadership Principles from a Life at Starbucks.

"At Starbucks, the coffee has to be excellent, from the sourcing and growing to the roasting and brewing. The vision has to be inspiring and meaningful. Our finances have to be in order. But without people, we have nothing. With people, we have something even bigger than coffee."

Behar believes that as work becomes less hierarchical and as the world economy becomes more and more about relationships and connecting, the principles of personal leadership are more important than ever. This book will show you the way.

About the Author
Howard Behar joined Starbucks as a senior executive in 1989, when it had just twenty-eight stores. His positions have included executive vice president of sales and operations, president of Starbucks International, and president of Starbucks North America. He has also served on the company’s board of directors since 1996. He lives in Seattle with his wife, Lynn. Behar is donating his proceeds from this book to the CUP Fund (Caring Unites Partners) and the Robert Greenleaf Center for Servant Leadership.

Complimentary

Good morning... I hope you don't want Almond syrup...

Way back when... longer than I can remember... Baristas were taught:

Almond

Vanilla

Hazlenut

These are the flavors that compliment coffee's flavor. Those other fruity and sugary syrups cover up coffee's flavor. Well... Almond has been given the boot and will no longer have a presence st Starbucks. Bye Bye old friend... Thanks for not covering up the flavor of coffee and for being there when customers wanted a kick in their mochas and lattes.

The good news is that you'll be able to find Starbucks Fontana Almond Syrup on eBay for $49/bottle as I'm sure a few partners have a stash... or two...

Pat Nerr...

Video

Green Apron Holidays

Is this still goin on?? Seems like it should be the company holiday..

.

Executive Shakedown v1.1

Starbucks Appoints New Leadership Team To Implement Transformation - Update [SBUX]

1/11/2008 3:35:47 PM Starbucks Corp. (SBUX), a supplier of whole bean coffees worldwide, on Friday announced new leadership team who will be directly responsible for executing the company's transformation agenda.

The Seattle, Washington-based company said Terry Davenport, promoted to senior vice president, marketing, will lead a new Marketing and Brand Strategy function.

Harry Roberts, a former Starbucks executive, who is returning to the company as senior vice president and chief creative officer, will be responsible for the customer in-store experience, including creative expression, merchandise strategy.

Michelle Gass in her role as senior vice president, Global Strategy will work to implement all aspects of the transformation plan.

Chet Kuchinad,who has been promoted to executive vice president, Partner Resources, will undertake company's development and execution of its innovative human resources strategy. Chris Bruzzo has been appointed as vice president, chief technology officer, a newly created post. He will also serve as acting chief information officer. Bruzzo will leverage technology to create innovative ways for Starbucks to connect with our customers and build loyalty programs.

Starbucks Card

I was beginning to think I would never be anybody in this world... that is until my "Custom" (i.e. canned, yet printable) Starbucks Pat Nerr, greenapronstories.com card showed up...

Romenesko, eat your heart out...










Pat Nerr... Living Large with the Starbucks Card

Artisan

Good morning... Love what you do... Scare others with it...

or something like that...

I've always been impressed with the "artisan". There are select individuals in this world that get the privilege of handcrafting/creating/shaping some of the world's finest products. They know the intimate details, characteristics and behaviors of their products and nurture the raw materials to create a consistent finished product that represents and maintains the historical aspects of the original... Jimmy Bedford, the 6th Master Distiller for Jack Daniels (Jack himself was #1) is one of these... and Tom Walters (Roaster) was one for Starbucks... Each possesses something we all should remember before trying to change what we do... respect for history. Prosumer... this one's for you buddy...

Tom Walters with Starbucks Coffee (promoted himself to customer)





Interview with Jimmy Bedford of Jack Daniels (still masterfully distilling)

Uncle Jim: PTC (Promoted to Customer)

Good morning... Would you like your "Skinny" mocha today?

Good... because I'm all out of Skinny syrups and non-fat milk.

I made you a little tribute to kick off the new era. I hope you enjoy it.

One more thing

Good morning... I don't get you things anymore...

Just kidding. I'm not going away totally folks, just making room for other things. I couldn't start 2008 without posting something for store managers.

As I drove up to my local Starbucks this morning, it reminded me of some pet peeves that I always used to address at this time of year when I was a manager. Here they are...

• Light bulbs out in the outdoor signage (so it reads "S arb cks" or something like that)
• Dirt and dust in the corners of the store... along the floors and windows
• Floor drains gooey
• Fridge cooling fins full of dust
• Top of the fridge... you can imagine
• Various light bulbs in high areas blown out...
• Floor grout dirty...

I passed 4 more Starbucks on the way to work and every one had at least one bulb out, making the sign not as bright a beacon as it could be. So here goes... Fix that shit! Now's the time. It's slower... Call Sign PROS... have them fix it... start assigning those deep cleaning tasks... get these things buttoned up and start out the new year on the right foot. Order up on PAR 30 halogens and the like... Order new stuff for your store tool kit.

We'll see you soon for my usual...

Pat Nerr... not gone...

Welcome 2008!

Good morning... What can I get for you?

How about the story behind the story? Before I get into that though, I'd like to share a story I was just thinking about. During my time at the SSC, I went back to one of my "loves"... competitive rowing. I found a local Masters club and jumped in the boat with them. There were only about six of us men, so we always had a couple of women filling in... and they were more than capable... they just weren't men... and in a "Men's" boat, you need all men.

Over time, we acquired a couple of guys and our boat was complete. Now, we weren't all the same size or shape... even our strengths were different. We kept at it... soon, things were clicking... We had some great practices. Then, racing season came... and we were on fire. We couldn't lose. Our times were national class... Then, one guy had to go back home to Australia... and another got married... We filled the spots, but it was never the same... we were never as fast again.

I look back on that year and really cherish the time I had with those 7 other guys and that one female coxswain... I knew it would never be like that again. It might be fun, we might be fast again... but it'll never be the same.

Why do I tell you this? To give you perspective for this next bit...

I had some great years at Starbucks. It was great when I started... when we hit 200 stores... when we opened Japan... when I got to be a store manager... when we hit 2000 stores in 1999... working in the SSC... and finally leaving. It'll never be like it was yesterday... and that's a good thing... as long as you never forget that a "different better" is around the corner.

Thanks for coming along on this ride with me. I can tell you now that this was all an experiment. An experiment to challenge myself...

• To write down some great memories
• To build the thing I wanted to build while at Starbucks
• To build an audience
• To collect some feedback
• To learn
• To cap off the last 15 years

So, what's next?? I'll do a bit more writing... visit the forum to chat with you all and share... and use my 4:00am to 5:00am hour to ride my bike.

Thanks for your attention and encouragement...


We'll see you sometime for your usual...








partner, customer, shareholder and fan...

Happy New Year!

Good morning... What can I get for you?

Today is the last day of 2007... Lucky for us, not only do I plan to do some Starbucks New Years resolutions, but also to give Howard Behar's new book a small plug.

You might remember the of Behar post a few days back. Well, the man has gone and written a book... and you should read it in 2008. It'll give you some perspective on what made the company so great just a few years ago. This might be the lift the company needs to inspire leadership to make a change in their attitudes and actions. A good portion of the proceeds go to the CUP fund which helps partners in need.

So... on to the Starbucks resolutions...

1. Just make Wi-Fi free. People will like you better. In fact, they'll love you. Just do it. Wi-Fi is a cost of doing business and it's the right thing to do. Don't bother worrying about freeloaders who might poach free internet access. It's one of the biggest things you can do in 2008 to increase transactions. Again... just make it free, it's cheap positive press.
   
   
2. Continue with the ads... in fact, start posting your ads on your YouTube page. You have all of that coffee related media as well... post your Farmer Stories on your channel as well. Customers and your partners will love you for it. It's good stuff that will go far with people and it will cost you next to nothing. You already have the media lab down on the 3rd floor with some great equipment. Besides, it'll give Matt Murray something good to do.
   
   
3. Develop a Starbucks blog... sorry, just enact the one you already have (I believe there are even some pre-approved stories) Start communicating with your partners... not through the Siren's Tale or the Siren's Eye or the Siren's Behind... use the media that partners like to use. Make it fun... make it real... make it Starbucks. Have the leaders create some stories for it. Have Howard share some days. Add a forum to it... In fact, you're welcome to have greenapronstories.com and greenapronbook.com... for free. It would be my gift to you... seriously, it's time.
   
   
4. Revamp the Bean Stock program... It's a different world for Starbucks and your partners are coming from a different generation... make their rewards more relevant to them. Tie it to performance... inspire them to show you how good they are... and reward them appropriately.
   
   
5. Focus on making coffee great again. You have a good product... it doesn't need any fancy marketing. Case in point... people need it... like they need gasoline... ever see Shell or Texaco do a commercial?
   
   
6. Fix the training function. Organize it under one umbrella for Pete's sake. There's no reason that all of those disparate, uneducated guesses at coming up with training projects should continue. Training is way too important for the company. Organize it under one capable, yes capable, leader and sit down to develop a long term calendar and list of training priorities. Put a real needs assessment process in place and add a few resources to help develop and tidy up how training gets done at Starbucks. Again, make sure to put a capable leader in charge... who is also practical... not the same book smart, disconnected fella they have now... enough good people have left because of his "leadership".
   
   
7. Chuck the chaff in the SSC. There are too many middle management who don't produce anything. Flatten the organization a bit and put some "doers" in place and get stuff done.
   
   
8. Update the store's computer systems. Give them the tools they need to do the job. Finish the Manager's Dashboard project and make it available to all stores. Get it in place. And while you're at it... give them an internet portal and put some internet usage policies in place for them. It's 2008, it is time.
   
   
9. Get food back to where it needs to be... affordable and coffee related. Take our Italian brothers as the example. Make the food hand held... Call it iFood if you want. Just make it short, sweet, affordable and fresh... and make it easy to merchandise for partners.
   
   
10. Lastly... start off the year by having leadership be vulnerable with the partners. Have them own up to their shortcomings and communicate what THEY'RE going to do to start fixing it. Then have them listen... After all, as Behar once said... "Where we have a problem, we have a problem leader."

We'll see you on Wednesday for a surprise... Happy New Year!

Pat Nerr...

Weekend Post: Holiday Sweater

Here's the "skinny" on holiday sweaters... before you forget about the holidays.


The Holiday Sweater Song from justin on Vimeo.

An Open Apology

Good morning... What can I get for you?

Today's story is more of an apology to a partner I worked with. Here goes.

In 1995, I was given the opportunity to work at Alderwood Mall as the assistant. Just for six months... The idea was to see if I could handle some volume at the 3rd busiest store during the holidays. So when I arrived, one of the first tasks the manager gave me to do was to give one of our partners, his review. His name was Josh. He was a young guy and not thinking much about his future. This drove me crazy about him... but he was a nice guy and well loved. He was an excellent barista and person. He just was a little flaky at times. Late for work occasionally... calls in sick after drinking too much... that sort of stuff.

So back to the review... I read over the prepared review form and then understood why I was given this task. He was being railed. Nice. We both sat down...

Josh: Why isn't Laura doing my review?
Pat: I'm not sure man... The only thing I can gather by reading what was prepared, is that I have to give you the bad news about your performance.
Josh: What?? I thought I was at a superior level.
Pat: Ok... Here's what we're going to do. Let's look over Laura's feedback, then let's have a talk about where you think you excel. Let's see where the gaps are and then... I'll give you my take on the whole thing... Lastly, I'm going to need you to think about the areas you need to improve and write them down. I'll help you along the way by reminding you of the stuff you committed to.
Josh: Ok. I was really hoping to talk about being a Lead Clerk.

Pat: Ok... we can get to that afterwards.

So, that was the start of our relationship. It grew from there. We worked closely together after that day. We double-barred as the "cocktail team"... he sang to customers. We played off of each other and lovingly crafted thousands of beverages for thousands of customers. We both really invested in getting him to Shift Supervisor. I also knew that Josh would never get a fair shake until Laura was gone. Fortunately for him, she left a few months after the review happened.

Fast forward to 1996... Josh and I were still pals. Even though we worked at different stores... We still hung out occasionally. We always joked about having him come work for me at the store I was at. I told him that when I had a Shift Supervisor opening, he could come work for me. Well... he moved on to be an RMT... and then an assistant manager. He did quite well, but never really loved it. A year later, he stepped down to Shift again. The great thing was that I had a Shift Supervisor spot open... and I offered it to him. He accepted. He was to come to my store in 3 weeks.

Something happened (and here's where the apology comes in)... Two days before he was supposed to arrived, my DM called with an emergency and needed me to move to a badly performing store... the one where "The Competition" took place.... and I needed to go in 2 days. My pal Angela, was chosen to take my place.

So, Josh shows up to work for me and on his first day who does he get to talk to? Angela... not me. And he was bummed... and I never apologized the way I should have. We remained friends after the switch, but I knew he was pretty hurt and disappointed. I was too wrapped up in being ambitious to apologize properly.

So I'm doing it now... Sorry Josh. You've been a way better friend to me that I have to you. We're both gone from the company now, but if I ever get the chance to work with you again... I'm not gonna drop the ball on that one.

We'll see you on Monday for some Starbucks New Years Resolutions...

Pat Nerr...

Woo Hoo!

Good morning... What can I get for you?

Yesterday was a pretty good day. One of those days when that "one thing" happens to make everything else seem pretty trivial. The kind of day you want to have every day.

I liken it to having everything click in the stores and recording record sales... to finishing a project and having the client thank you... to figuring out that problem that has nagged me for days...

Yep, yesterday was a pretty good day... the kind of day you start smiling about and then people ask you, "You look a little different today... did you do something with your hair?"

Want to know what happened?

Someone "passed it forward" while in line for my coffee at Starbucks. It was more of a "pass it backward". Yep... some fella passed it backward for the entire line. The logical side of my brain knows that the fella was just trying to get noticed by the pretty lady behind me... that his announcement of "passing it forward" at his other store was a ploy to get noticed.

The feeling part of my brain was all warm and cozy though... So cozy, that I ordered a donut too... and some chocolate covered caramels. Don't worry though... I passed those caramels "forward" to my family.

Yep... pretty good day. Pass it backwards folks... it's the right thing to do.

We'll see you tomorrow for your usual...

Pat "Catching the Pass" Nerr...

I'd like to "pass" on a little something I found humorous... No shortage of labor at this drive thru. Perhaps a shortage of management though.

Boxing Day Sale!

Good morning... What can I get for you?

As the dust subsides from the Christmas festivities, I thought today would be a good day to share a little background story from about a year ago... when I still was enjoying "All-You-Can-Drink" coffee at work.

It was about a year ago, that the idea for this place and THIS PLACE came to me. A guided space for partners and customers to learn about the good things at Starbucks. A place for partners to connect with each other all over the country (and world for that matter). To share some of their experiences and challenges... and triumphs. I thought... Why has nobody created this? Why is this not important as the company grows? Why are there still paper Mission Review cards from a company that touts a commitment to the environment? Why has so much been spent on surveys to tell the company how partners feel during a brief moment in time when these technologies exist for little or no money. Why has nothing been done to connect partners using current technology and how can leadership even be remotely disturbed that partners shared "the letter" on Starbucks Gossip?

Not knowing much about building these spaces, I set about on learning how the space works using open-source forums and and blogs. How to set them up... how to build up an audience... how to get the word out.

So we're here now... 6 months of stories. Regular readership... and now for the next step. A forum... It is exactly how I envisioned the merging of Customer Snapshot, Mission Review and MyPartner Career taking place... and using some technology.

We'll have another story tomorrow... I just thought I'd share with you the birth of this idea...

Pat Nerr...

OH Jeeze! The hits keep coming...

Merry Christmas! See you Wedensday

Good morning... What can I get for you?

I made you a little Christmas present... you'll find it in the sidebar (look in Links)... and you get a little video today. If you're working today... take off early.




See you Wednesday for your usual...

Pat Nerr...

OMG... Kenny G??? You're kidding

Good morning... What can I get for you?

Even though I no longer work at Starbucks, one of the things that sticks with me is the impossibility of sleeping in. I still get up before 4am to this day and I attribute this to Starbucks and having to open the store. Instead of prepping my black polo shirt and khakis, I read and research and create things for you... and it's MY time in the household... away from the other responsibilities.

Well imagine how delighted I was this morning to see that Kenny G has signed on with Starbucks Entertainment. Oh, how the memories came flooding back to me of Holidays filled with the smooth sounds of our little Kenny Gorlick... tooting his horn with some kind of endless windbag behind it.

Is this really the direction of Starbucks Entertainment? If they are going to take the front seat and coffee sits in the trunk... Kenny G?? really?? Is the direction to pull artists back from the dead and resurrect at your local Starbucks? C'mon... I'm not even sure who the target audience is on that one... I can't even make a joke about it. The only thing I can think of is that when Kenny was at Howie's house the other night, that they cooked up a plan to bring him back after getting good and drink off a bottle of 1961 Château Petrus...

Well, he's back... and he'll be bringing us the Latin sounds of El Kenny G-o.

Look for it to collapse your eardrums in Starbucks store by Feb of '08... I'm laughing too hard to tell you any other stories today...

Have a good weekend... get your shopping done.

Pat Nerr...

Oh... one last thing...

Don't send a lame Holiday eCard. Try JibJab Sendables!

Partner Engagement: A little on Partner View

Good morning... What can I get for you?

We're gonna get "Partner View" on you today. For as many years as I can remember, there has been some kind of employee satisfaction survey at Starbucks... and for as many years as I can remember... not much has been done with the data. Many months are spent by a group of partners in the SSC preparing to send out some questions that get at the heart of why partners work at Starbucks and how they feel about working there. During those months, there is a lot of puffing up and presenting how great these surveys are and what they can tell and so forth.

Post survey, there's quite a bit of effort on analyzing the data... leaders getting their underpants in a wad at what partners might have said about them... and other leaders figuring out how to deflect the data... some make efforts to at least appear like they're going to take some kind of action.

My question is... after spending millions on these surveys, how has the time and money spent... the money spent on FTEs... contributed to helping the company perform?

Now, I'm not saying that surveys aren't important. They are. They should be used as ONE data point in determining a manager's performance and give the company some insight on developing or enhancing some of the initiatives they're working on. I would encourage the folks that be (the Partner View folks that is) to look at this a different way.

There is some research that suggests that engagement has nothing to do with actual job functionality and performance. That engagement is more of an indicator of what you can expect from employees when the chips are down. Companies lulled into thinking that "it's all good" on a daily basis because of their engagement scores might be looking the other way when it's time for employees to stick it out... and Companies must use their "engagement" cache when it really counts...

So let's use my own department as an example. How did my work group choose to use it's Engagement Score? The senior vice leader decided to cash it in on himself and lose 12+ partners in the last 18 months...

• Two 15+ year partners
• Three 5 year partners
  
• Three 3 year partners
• Six <3>

All gone... All of those partners most likely scored pretty well on engagement... But, how engaged can you be if the attitudes and behaviors of the leader cause you to look elsewhere?

We'll see you tomorrow for a little lighter fare...

...and your usual...

Pat Nerr...

When people go...

Good morning... What can I get for you?

When people leave Starbucks, it's been my observation that the company goes into "hush-hush" mode. Nobody wants to talk about it. This leads to rumor... rumor leads to misinterpretation... misinterpretation leads to... you get the rest.

I'll share with you a couple of stories that have really bothered me about a couple of folks that have left and they were never spoke of again.

I attended the going away/retirement of Wanda, a prominent leader in the company. She was tenured... and reported to Jim and Howard. Now, I know that some folks have all sorts of experiences with her and stories about how she was. Mine is that she always said "Hi, Pat!" when I saw her in the gym or otherwise... and that she was always late to spin class... Besides that, she was a little bit of a loose cannon, but I found it endearing. I'm sure many folks had issue with her... and then again many didn't. The sad part of this story was that for the contributions she did make at Starbucks, she was rewarded by minimal attendance at her going away. I was personally sad to think of how she felt that not many leaders came and not many other partners... You see, when people go from a company such as Starbucks, you have a duty to go beyond the "good luck" and then never speak their name again. You have a duty to remember them... to find the good that they accomplished. To go to their damned going away parties. More importantly, the leadership makes sure they go and they encourage others to go. It's called "modeling behavior"

Let me share another going away story... One Friday morning, I saw my friend Joe packing up a few items and being whisked away. There was simply a note on his keyboard that said "On vacation"... or something like that. All of his stuff was there. No word that Joe was fired, or quit, or was promoted to customer. Then the rumors started... and the person that was Joe became this unrecognizable partner who was whisked out. It floored me that leadership sent no message to the department with something like, "We're sorry to announce that Joe will be leaving us effective today. While we can't share any details, we can tell you that anytime we lose a partner it affects us all... and then some crap about how to talk to your "generalist" or company lackey about it, if you have concerns.

Now, I've heard many stories about Wanda and Joe... and why they left. I'm sure some of it is true and some not... The point of this story is that when leadership doesn't say ANYTHING about a partner's departure, they're saying something else. My feeling is that it says "We're scared... we want this to just go away"... and that my friends is no way to be a servant leader.

Now, I know some of you have some of these stories as well. Please feel free to share them in the comments if you like... or not.

We'll see you tomorrow for your usual...

Pat Nerr...

Good lord...

Would someone please stop the bleeding? $20.15?? Come on...

SBUX

If you all could just run down to your local Starbucks and help them out, that would be great. Anything is helpful and appreciated.

Take off your hat!

Good morning... What can I get for you?

Here comes a partner story for you... Up until now, I've shared some memorable partners stories that have been on the "positive" side... Today's is a little different.

As a manager, I had been known to be lenient to a point. I believed in rehabilitation... with a little pain (figurative pain).

At my last store, I inherited a shift supervisor named "Blake"... On the surface, he seemed like a nice enough guy. He wore a lot of vintage clothing... Gangster style vintage clothing. It was the sort of thing a Seattle guy living in the city working at Starbucks might wear. He also wore a hat all of the time. Like the one pictured above. It was sort of endearing.

My first day meeting him, he rolls up to the front of the store on his skateboard... in full Blake attire. We shake hands... exchange pleasantries... he puts his apron on and asks if he can get a till. But then I noticed that his hat wasn't coming off... Now, it's my 2nd shift in this store... but I couldn't let it go.

Pat: Hey Blake buddy... You forgot to take off your hat...

Blake: Oh yeah... sorry.

No harm done... But then it happened again. Same conversation. And then again... and again... and again... Sometimes, on my day off, I'd come into the store to get a drink and there would be the hat.

Pat: Hey Blake buddy... You forgot to take off your hat...

Blake: Oh yeah... sorry.

Now I cycled through three District Managers at this store. One I haven't mentioned yet, Flanders, and another one I haven't mentioned yet. Each one bringing up the issue that one of my shifts was spotted wearing a Fedora while on shift. Each time...

Pat: Hey Blake buddy... You forgot to take off your hat...

Blake: Oh yeah... sorry.

Now, I know that Blake wasn't retarded or special... he wasn't slow... he seemed to have at least completed high-school. I think I may have figured out on day four that this was a power struggle. Blake against "The Man".

I tried different approaches. I took him golfing... Had tough-love conversations... got frustrated... kept the pressure on by showing up unannounced. Then it dawned on me. It didn't matter what I did. He was going to wear the hat... It was time for him to make the choice. No hat or no job.

He chose... no job.

In retrospect, I really didn't give a rat's fuzzy bottom about the hat. In fact, given the choice again, I'd have just let it go. The guy was solid on the bar... he cared about the coffee... he cared about cleanliness and he cared about the customers... even the ones he didn't like. I mean... it's just coffee and people... and it really doesn't matter in the grande scheme. I mean really. After 20 years of changing you'd think Starbucks would have at least mildly changed some of the dress code policies... like tatoos. Who gives a flying Frappuccino anymore?

What happened to Blake? Well, he left for another coffee shop. A little one... with less rules. I ran into him one day while he was working. I asked how it was going... He said... "This place is driving me crazy... no one enforces anything around here... there are no standards. The owner wants to promote me to manager..." and I said "Well, there you go..."

We'll see you tomorrow for your usual...

Pat Nerr...

Let it Snow!

Good morning... What can I get for you?

Welcome back... Let me take this opportunity to remind you that you have only eight days to get your additional 20% off at Starbucks until Christmas.

Here's a short Green Apron Story "Weekend Edition" to warm us up for the main event today. On Saturday morning, I happened to be wearing a Starbucks Earthday T-Shirt when I got my 2-year old up from sleeping. He promptly points to the logo on my sleeve and says "Coffee Daddy!"...

Oh Jeeze...

So let me share with you my favorite snowy time Starbucks story... The first winter at my first store (as a manager) we experienced a giant snowstorm. Enough to collapse buildings in the area and pretty much shut most business down with exception of the grocery store and some other essential places. Now this store I was at drew all of it's partners from the surrounding neighborhoods. With the exception of myself and one of my shifts (the pot smoker)... most partners were able to walk to work.

At 5:30am sharp, my openers are there... warming things up and lovingly stacking pastries... By the time I showed up, there was a line out the door... the commuters had arrived to brave the I-5 commute. We worked through the line and gave the first round of breaks. I brought in my NBA-style mop to keep our glistening floors dry and safe... Not bad for a snow day.

9:00am rolls around and I get a call from my shift (pot smoker) needing a ride from her house so she can run the close... It was slow enough for me to go get her. On our way back we realized just how bad it was... cars all over... abandoned. I offered to come get her at closing to make sure she got home safe.

As we roll into the parking lot we both saw something we'd never forget. Along the front of the store were parked pairs of X-country skis, sleds and even an Iditarod-type sled with about 6 dogs tied up to it... and the line was out the door.

Coolest thing I ever saw at a Starbucks... and one of the busiest days we ever had there...

The next day, the roof of the QFC were were attached to caved in partially... We were asked to close the store until they could get it repaired. I'll never forget the sight though...

We'll see you tomorrow for your usual...

Pat Nerr...

Roasting Plant Partner Interview (Part II)

Good Morning... What can I get for you?

Sorry, I'm a little late today. It was my night for the baby monitor and sometimes babies throw you curve balls... Customers and partners can do that too... How about part II of that interview with a 25+ year Roasting Plant partner? OK then... You got it!

What were some of the oddities around at that time? i.e. delivering beans by truck, etc...

Well, yeah, eventually I got into deliveries to the stores and the restaurants. That was an experience. Deliveries to the stores were pretty basic and only took one person, but some of the restaurant deliveries downtown during the holidays and rush hour traffic, we used to send 2 people out. One to double park on the street and the other to grab the hand truck and about 6 orders and start weaving in and out of pedestrians delivering to the restaurants. Loading freight orders and bringing supplies and green coffee to the roasters were a bit challenging as well. We didn’t have an area for the freight companies to back into for loading and the warehouse that had a majority of the green coffee was across the street from the roasters so, here’s the scenario:

1. we’d slowing back into Airport Way, wait for traffic and cross two lanes and park in the center turn lane, then load the truck that’s waiting in that turn lane with green coffee, we’d again slowly back into Airport Way, and when traffic allowed, we’d cross two lanes, and wait in the center lane for traffic to clear to cross the remaining two lanes to get to the roasters one time while delivering chocolate supplies across the street, a 50 lb box of chocolate bounced off the pallet and was hit by a Buick station wagon. The chocolate lost, and I even have a picture of the smashed box of chocolate.
   
   
2. Roaster fires were very common, about every other month. Now, the main building that the roasters are in is an all wood structure with NO sprinkler systems, and a couple times, things got a bit scary. So, one time during a fire, we had a car pull up and nonchalantly ask us if we knew if our roof was on fire. The roof is right in eye level with I-5, and he drove all the way down to airport way to tell us.
   
   
3. Another time, it was the middle of winter and to get to the roof, we had to climb a set of stairs, then go up a ladder, and then another set of stairs. Well, we had so many fires on the roof that we installed a garden hose up there to put the fires out (we used to try to put out our own fires, because the fire dept always wanted to start cutting holes in the roof). Anyway, we had another fire, and so we got up to the roof, and the hose was frozen solid, so, what did we do? Chinese fire drill…we grabbed a bunch of the cans that we put coffee in and started filling them up with water, then we spread the entire crew out along the path to the roof. You should have seen the eyes of the folks in the offices, they were really freaking out. We got the fire out and all was cool, but it was a challenge. The fires could get real bad occasionally, but we always pulled together and usually had it out by the time the fire dept got there.
   

Most memorable experience?

Well, Howard and I started on the same day although I showed up at 8:00am and he got in around 9:30am, but I remember thinking that this guy has got a lot of energy. He was very friendly; actually he hasn’t changed much at all. One thing that still gets me to this day is to listen to him talk at one of the open forums or share holders meeting or really anything. He’s got so much passion for the company and the people that work here, it just “pumps” me up. It’s really a great feeling.
Outside of work, he was just the same, if fact I used to dog-sit for him with his giant golden retriever, Jonas.

At picnics, I remember him always being very competitive. It was pretty funny.
At parties he was fun as well. Having flavored coffees and Caravali was a real different experience (and a whole other story in itself), but when we finally sold Caravali, we had a catalogue burning ceremony, and yes, I even have pictures of that too. Flavor-locking coffee-if people only knew how we used to do it to how we do it now, they’ve probably laugh. Everything was totally manual and primitive.

What were New Store Openings like for Starbucks way back when?

New store openings... oh, that's way different than now. Me and 2 others would pull everything we needed, rent a Budget truck, load it up and deliver and unload. Whatever needed to happen to get the job done we did it.

What were the holidays like back then for you?

Several times during the holidays the stores would run out of Christmas blend coffee, well, the first holiday we were in the Portland area, that’s exactly what happened. So, I loaded of several hundreds pounds of Christmas blend in the truck and drove down on Friday night to Portland and delivered to all the stores that were short, and then drove back. Same sort of thing happened with the Canada stores, although this time it was a truckers strike at the border, so I kind of had to sneak across the border, not literally, but I got product across the border and through the strike, and to our stores. Working weekends or holidays during the crunch of holidays was just something we did, because if we didn’t do it, we wouldn’t be where we are today.

Well, there you have it... A look at the past for a fella that started with Starbucks the same day as our own Uncle Howie. I hope you enjoyed Starbucks Positivity Week... Have a good weekend...

We'll see you Monday for your usual...

Pat Nerr...

Deborah

Good morning... What can I get for you?

Well, we're at day 4 of Starbucks Positivity Week... It's gone so quickly... I think today is a good day to talk about another memorable partner...

Deborah worked for me at 2 of my stores... She applied at my store just before the holidays. A mother of 3 and raising them by herself, she immediately appealed to me because of my own experience of having been raised by a single mom. Deborah had a welcoming smile and was always laughing. One of the things I remember most was her laugh... it was one of those.

Now Deborah was one of those people that just fit really well into the "host" roll. She was my "party-planner" partner. Every store needs the "party planner" because they are great at implementing inventive ideas and putting a creative spin on them. New promotions... she nailed them... new products... she could rally everyone to sell them, and buy them. "We're having a musician this Friday Deborah..."... she'd come up with the program, some appetizers and sample beverages.

I'm not sure about some of my manager readers out there, but I always spent time with my partners outside of work... That's what you do with family. Deborah hosted the store for dinners at her house. She made a few of our partners wedding dresses. She made our customers feel like they were coming home every time they bought a coffee.

It would be easy for a manager to take advantage of such a partner. I was always conscious of this and tried to give back when I could. Her older son needed help replacing the brakes on his VW bug... I happily offered to teach him. If he had questions about installing tile in the kitchen... I was happy to help and lend tools.

So, let me share Deborah's first day with you. We were in the midst of a major remodel at the store. Major... My assistant at the time was learning how to schedule and blessed me with opening the store with only Deborah as my co-opener. Now, this was a busy morning store for even 2 people to handle by themselves... and at 2500+ sq/ft, there was quite a bit to do... She scheduled me with Deborah... by myself... during a remodel. We had no overhead lights...

But we opened... Deborah had never even touched a register... so while making drinks on for the customers (on a LaMarzocco) I would answer her questions about... "Where's the Blueberry Muffin button?"... "How do I ring up Sally's drink?"... "What's a Cinnamon Twist?'

Once the line built to a steady 10 people, Deborah looked over to me and smiled... I smiled back and we both magically got through the next 30 minutes with incredible ease. The customers even seemed happy...

She only worked 4 hours that day and when it was time for her to go home... I just said, "You did great, thank you so much for helping out this morning." It would be easy to think about how crappy and stressful that situation was... but it really wasn't... cuz we were smiling.

We'll see you tomorrow for your usual...

Pat Nerr...

Starbucks Dead Arts

Good morning... What I can get you for?

Well, it's day 3 of positive week and I'm doing a little reminiscing. Just some of the details... the pleasures that today's baristas will never experience. The nuances to being a coffee merchant.

They will never experience the pleasure of:

Using a grease pencil to mark the date on a coffee bin... taking a dry, white towel and wiping the old coffee oils out of the French Roast bin... slicing open the silver bullet and letting the beans fly into the drawer... Running your hands through the beans... absorbing the oils...

Having the dosing spring break on the dosing handle during a rush... fashioning a makeshift return spring using a couple of large rubber bands... The complexities of the dosing mechanism and how to calibrate it.

Vacuuming out the grinders every night... soaking the urns...

How to calibrate the Grindmaster using only a screwdriver, an adjustable wrench and a perc grind sample. Taking a pick and stabbing the LaMarzocco gaskets to pull them out and replace them. The thrill of backflushing using the blind filter. The joys of humidity being just right... air temp just right... tamp pressure just right... and 2 steady streams of thick, brown coffee pouring into the shot glasses... then realizing... I DID IT!! 21 seconds!

Taking the coffee stains off of things using PuroCaf... Getting stainless shiny.

Grinding COD... and DCOD...

How to mark things out on the markout sheet that gets send to Acct. @ SRP... the sheer size of the Monday package sent to Acct. @SRP... X, Y and Z tapes...

The exercise of stacking A la Francaise and Schwartz Bros. boxes for the pastry guy to pick up and recycle. Buying a pain au chocolate for your break... using your discount... to dip in your break coffee...

The virtues of using white towels for some things and blue towels for others... Always grabbing a crisp, clean apron... with pockets... for your shift...

These things they will never know... except to read about them...

There's another poll for you...

We'll see usual for your tomorrow...

Pat Nerr...