Where is Starbucks? (Whatever happened to not just about the coffee but the experience?)

Where is Starbucks?
(Whatever happened to not just about the coffee but the experience)

Howard Schultz back in 1981 was working for a housewares company in New York City when he stumbled into Starbucks in Seattle, Washington. The store was narrow with a wooden counter with an array of coffee beans in another area. The experience was almost nostalgic…the aroma of coffee and the ambience altogether. He left New York and after a year was finally asked to do the marketing. After returning from Milan, Italy, he was certain that Starbucks should open espresso bars to bring the café concept in the United States. The Store founders were uncertain about the idea so Schultz left to start another company only to return with $3.8 million to buy Starbucks and turn it into the Café company he had in mind.

In 1992, they were open to the public with 140 stores. The man behing it believed in taking care nit just of the coffee beans but the employees as well. He insisted on health insurance for his workers…because as a child he’d seen how they struggled because of his dad’s broken ankle while working as a delivery truck driver.

Starbucks became a phenomenon and soon they had to adopt changes to be efficient and at the same time boost its sales. The espresso machines were introduced so they could make a drink faster thus moving the lines of customers with more speed. They continued to grow and profit and Mr. Schultz had become the Chairman of the Board.

Eventually though, the people started to wonder… “What happened to the coffee experience?” These weren’t jut sentiments of the employees but their customers as well. On January 7, 2008, a board member voted to reinstall Schultz as the CEO. With this the revival of the coffee experience was beginning to be revived. They went into risky moves like people with Starbucks card can get free upgrades and drip refills. Grinding of beans in stores have been restored, certification of where the coffee beans come from, clean their cluttered counters to focus on the coffee and much more innovations.

With the man back in his post, the nostalgia of the coffee experience is being revived. And as Howard Schultz puts it “We believe it’s worth it”.