We’ve all been there: Standing in our favorite coffee shop, orders flooding in. The collection area is noisy, crowded, and everyone’s drink except yours is being called out. The minutes tick by and you start to wonder, “Should I have just made one at home?”
This is precisely the situation Starbucks CEO, Brian Niccol, is determined to stamp out.
Niccol joined the Seattle-based coffee chain in September last year, promising to bring the American coffee giant back to its roots. Investors have yet to endorse the turnaround: The chain’s share price is down nearly 2% over the past year.
Undeterred, Niccol announced a new wave of investment last month focused on operational standards and customer service.
This includes reshaping staffing hours to meet peak demand times, deploying technology to help organize drink-making more efficiently, and creating more space in the process for staff to interact with customers.
