Get a Starbucks Bathroom Would Ya?

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

This story comes from a ways back... It's not well known to most folks that at one time, Starbucks had a problem with sinks coming detached from the wall in the bathrooms of certain Starbucks stores. After the first few incidents, they sent out some Store Development and Construction folks to investigate.

The constructions folks theorized that the wall studs weren't strong enough to support the weight of the sinks. That didn't work, so they tried new attachment bolts and hardware... That didn't work either.

The Store Development folks theorized that the sinks were just too heavy and looked to the fixture manufacturer to do some redesign for a lighter sink. They resisted a bit and offered up some alternatives... full knowing that the fixtures are used all over the place with no issues.

Had they asked the Store Partners they would have found out that customers (and my guess is that some partners too) were having sex in the restrooms... Yep... Using the sink as a platform for love.

Eventually, they found out the real reason why and made folks aware... But I guess the real lesson for Starbucks Store Development is:

Get out from behind your desk and ASK your Store Partners what works in the real world once in a while!

My own personal experience of a Store Development blunder was the realization that putting the gas hot water heater adjacent to the back door so it could blow out the pilot light every time the door was opened... may not have been a great placement for it.

We'll see you tomorrow for your usual... and stop having sex in Starbucks bathrooms... there's alot of germs there.

Pat Nerr...