We failed this morning...
We were the pig in the slaughterhouse, the fish who swallowed the hook, the emperor with no clothes…..and we had to utter the five words that plague all barista’s dreams: We are out of coffee.
You see, Starbucks’ corporate offices recently decided to implement a new brewing strategy that would virtually eliminate all possibility of running out of regular, bold, or decaffeinated coffee. Essentially, the innovation is a bright idea based on a rotation of urns with a new type of coffee being brewed every eight minutes. However, what this new system doesn’t fully take into account are the variations in demand for coffee during the morning rush. Thus, by the time it’s decaf’s turn to be brewed, we’re already out of regular, and any sidestepping of the new strategy throws the rhythm completely out of sync. Apparently, there are still some kinks to be worked out with the new method of brewing, but we’ll get it down soon, I assure you. A side note for all you coffee experts: there will be a subtle freshness added to the flavor of our coffee, as it is now freshly ground before each batch rather than all at once in the morning.
The details above lead me to recount a customer interaction I had this morning while on register around 9 a.m., smack dab in the middle of our busiest time.
A semi-regular customer (let’s name him Phil) walks up to me and asks for some coffee. Apologizing, I inform him we are clean out of regular coffee and ask if he wouldn’t mind waiting a few minutes for it. Phil begrudgingly mumbles an assent and once again buries his head into his Blackberry. Hating to not have coffee available, I tell Phil that he can have his morning brew for free in exchange for his waiting. However, this seems to vex Phil all the more and, without a word to me, he leaves, complaining to Amanda (a fellow barista) that the story is always the same in DUMBO Starbucks.
Phil, I’m sorry we ran out of coffee this morning. I promise you we’ll amend this new brewing system until your ears never have to hear the words “We are out of coffee” again.
In other news, I redecorated my hat…it was looking a bit grungy.
Rwanda is delicious…I’ll review it sometime very soon.
Who can resist?
You see, Starbucks’ corporate offices recently decided to implement a new brewing strategy that would virtually eliminate all possibility of running out of regular, bold, or decaffeinated coffee. Essentially, the innovation is a bright idea based on a rotation of urns with a new type of coffee being brewed every eight minutes. However, what this new system doesn’t fully take into account are the variations in demand for coffee during the morning rush. Thus, by the time it’s decaf’s turn to be brewed, we’re already out of regular, and any sidestepping of the new strategy throws the rhythm completely out of sync. Apparently, there are still some kinks to be worked out with the new method of brewing, but we’ll get it down soon, I assure you. A side note for all you coffee experts: there will be a subtle freshness added to the flavor of our coffee, as it is now freshly ground before each batch rather than all at once in the morning.
The details above lead me to recount a customer interaction I had this morning while on register around 9 a.m., smack dab in the middle of our busiest time.
A semi-regular customer (let’s name him Phil) walks up to me and asks for some coffee. Apologizing, I inform him we are clean out of regular coffee and ask if he wouldn’t mind waiting a few minutes for it. Phil begrudgingly mumbles an assent and once again buries his head into his Blackberry. Hating to not have coffee available, I tell Phil that he can have his morning brew for free in exchange for his waiting. However, this seems to vex Phil all the more and, without a word to me, he leaves, complaining to Amanda (a fellow barista) that the story is always the same in DUMBO Starbucks.
Phil, I’m sorry we ran out of coffee this morning. I promise you we’ll amend this new brewing system until your ears never have to hear the words “We are out of coffee” again.
In other news, I redecorated my hat…it was looking a bit grungy.
Rwanda is delicious…I’ll review it sometime very soon.
Who can resist?
Comment
-
Comment by James Ciago on July 20, 2009 at 7:50pm
-
I hear you loud and clear....daily it is a contest between random, crazy happenings and trying to keep things together. I would love to walk in an independently owned, private shop. If I could make money, serving coffee and being creative with attempting to perfect drinks would be a dream.
-
Comment by Jason Shipley on July 20, 2009 at 6:41pm
-
Hey I get it you have to have a framework and system in place in order to provide excellent service over the world of stores that the bucks has. It really is amazing how well things generally function on the scale the Starbucks does things. The really hard thing is is finding people who are invested and bright enough to know when and how to sidestep the system to keep it from breaking.
I say this and I got one of those urgent calls from a wholesale account today who was out of coffee to drip and their normal delivery day is Thursday, got another from a different customer who made a trip out to us to pick up decaf espresso out of their normal delivery schedule on Saturday then today had to come out again for regular. Bottom line is shit happens everywhere.
-
-
Micromanaging is something they've just started since the falling of the economy.
I'm sure if your "indy" coffee shop had over 16,000 stores, you'd be concerned with how things were done too.
-
-
God I'm glad I run an indy coffee shop, what a massive dose of FAIL!! You mean to tell me that Starbucks can't just hire Baristas that can brew coffee to demand that they have to have some corporate weenie dictate how coffee is to be brewed.
Starbucks keep up the good work, it just means that there will be jobs for real Baritas.
Barista Exchange Partners
Barista Exchange Friends
Keep Barista Exchange Free
Are you enjoying Barista Exchange? Is it helping you promote your business and helping you network in this great industry? Donate today to keep it free to all members. Supporters can join the "Supporters Group" with a donation. Thanks!
© 2024 Created by Matt Milletto.
Powered by
You need to be a member of Barista Exchange to add comments!
Join Barista Exchange