New Starbucks CEO Brian Niccol – who has already kicked off the search for a new global agency – has started by blasting the coffee chain for all the reasons consumers will understand. In an open letter he declared the Starbucks experience to be “transactional,” “inconsistent,” “hectic, and ”blighted” by “overwhelming” menus.
It’s true that their coffee shops leave a lot to be desired. The baristas demand your order (and your name) as soon as you enter, then leave you waiting in a jostling throng for your coffee to arrive. Then they’ve either got your name wrong, or you don’t hear your name being called in all the noise, or someone impatient jumps ahead of you to snap up your flat white, or you’ve waited so long you forget what you ordered in the first place.
Niccol, who was hired to turn Starbucks around following his success with burrito restaurant chain Chipotle Mexican Grill, tries to add a positive spin to his letter. He says the failings are “opportunities for us to do better” and “We’re committed to elevating the in-store experience, ensuring our spaces reflect the sights, smells and sounds that define Starbucks.” He wants the stores to be “inviting places to linger.”
Starbucks – which is currently looking for a global CMO – is seeing pitches from WPP, Stagwell and Interpublic, along with an unnamed independent agency that’s currently working with the brand. The brand’s creative agency of record in the US is an indie called SPCSHP.
Despite the bad customer experience, UK sales are up and stores are opening again after a post-pandemic constriction.
Starbucks have invested a lot in Niccol. His compensation package is reportedly worth more than $100m dollars and he’s allowed to work from a remote office in Newport Beach, California – 5000 miles from the company’s Seattle HQ.
Customer experience might be at the heart of brand success, but Niccol could start with Starbucks’ biggest failing of all – its terrible coffee and unappetising food.
