Starbucks has always stated that its goal is to be their consumers' third choice. Starbucks wants its stores to be the other place you go and spend time if your house is the first place you go and work is the second.It appears to have been successful. On any given day, any Starbucks will almost certainly be packed. Yes, they're most likely drinking coffee, but that's not the only reason they're there. They're socializing, attending a business meeting, writing a term paper, or completing a project. They're—sitting about.
Starbucks has long aspired to be everyone's third choice, even if they don't spend $5 on a coffee. Following a high-profile incident in 2018 involving the arrest of two black males who were waiting for a colleague, Starbucks stated publicly that "every customer, regardless of whether they make a purchase, is welcome to utilize Starbucks spaces, including our toilets, cafés, and patios."Starbucks' CEO, Howard Schultz, has now stated that the corporation is reconsidering its position due to a rising mental health crisis. In an interview with Andrew Ross Sorkin at The New York Times DealBook D.C. policy conference, Schultz said, "We have to secure our stores and ensure safety for our staff." "I'm not sure we'll be able to keep our bathrooms open."
Starbucks' culture will undergo a considerable transition as a result of the adjustment, as Ross Sorkin pointed out during the conversation. Hardening your businesses is probably the last thing you want to have to do if your objective is to be everyone's third spot.
I don't believe Starbucks employees want to be in the position of having to monitor who uses the restroom or who sits at a seat without getting a drink. That's what put the corporation into this mess in the first place.
I also don't believe Starbucks management wants to spend time considering how to handle scenarios in which employees must ask customers to leave. You've already lost if you've gone that far.At the same time, if you need to use the restroom and a Starbucks is nearby, it will be unsettling to see a sign stating that you must first purchase anything. It goes against the grain of our perceptions about Starbucks. It's not exactly the warm welcome you'd anticipate from your 'third place.'
The difficulty is that if you make a space that is open to everyone, some of those people will bring their baggage along with them. And, if your restrooms are available to the public, how does that alter the service you provide?
Who actually are your customers, for that matter? Is it only folks who shop at your stores? You will have to make difficult judgments at some point.
The company's current posture would appear to indicate that Starbucks considers everyone to be a client. Schultz (who had previously stepped down as CEO) noted at the time that he wasn't attempting to transform Starbucks stores into public restrooms, but that having an open policy will lessen the chance of future situations in which employees ask individuals to leave, especially when bias is involved.It's a huge challenge for any company to establish a pleasant environment for customers while also keeping them safe. Ironically, it's a problem that businesses have been pondering for the past two years, albeit in the context of COVID-19. However, some of the same lessons apply here.
Every firm, for example, must base its policy on what is most important. That was the theme of COVID-19: health and safety. This necessitated the use of masks and social isolation, both of which are inconvenient but required to prevent the spread of a highly contagious illness.
Because you wish to limit the amount of people in your store, but also because some people will simply go somewhere else, those policies entail serving fewer people. At the same time, putting your employees first should take precedence over providing additional customers. You owe it to them to safeguard their safety, even if it means you can't please everyone.
It turns out that the things that are good for your employees are often also good for your consumers. It's helpful for your consumers if restricting the quantity of individuals who come into your store allows you to better serve them.
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