Home Eating Out Declining sales & snafus forces Starbucks to reverse ‘open’ store policy

Declining sales & snafus forces Starbucks to reverse ‘open’ store policy

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Starbucks reverses ‘open’ store policy
Starbucks to reverse ‘open’ store policy but will it save or sink the chain?
Starbucks to reverse ‘open’ store polic
Starbucks to reverse ‘open’ store policy but will it save or sink the chain?

Starbucks reverses ‘open’ store policy amid declining sales, ongoing safety issues as patrons debate whether it will be enough to bring them back to the coffee chain and keep them there.  

How much of a welcoming and open place ….? Behemoth coffee chain, Starbucks has announced amid declining sales and ‘ongoing snafus’ that it is reversing its open door policy after almost seven years, now requiring ‘visitors’ to outlets to make a purchase if they want to ‘hang out’ at its coffee shops and use its restrooms.

In a release, the chain said on Monday that a new code of conduct – which will be posted in all company-owned North American stores and which will take effect on January 27 – will also ban discrimination or harassment, consumption of outside alcohol, smoking, vaping, drug use and panhandling.

The new rules reverse an open-door policy put in place in 2018, after two Black men were arrested at a Philadelphia Starbucks where they had gone for a business meeting. The incident at that individual store, which had a policy of asking non-paying customers to leave, was caught on video and was a major embarrassment for the company, stoking criticisms of ‘racism’ against the outlet. 

Prioritizing paying customers over misfits

The change also comes under the new leadership of Brian Niccol, who was hired from Chipotle last year to revitalize the struggling coffee chain. Niccol has vowed to make Starbucks’ locations “inviting places to linger,” with the goal of reestablishing the chain as the nation’s ‘community coffeehouse.’

Niccol in a bid to make Starbucks a hub of community, plans to reintroduce ‘cozy’ furniture, ceramic mugs, and condiment bars – features that had been removed during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Nicol also announced a return to personal touches like baristas writing messages on cups and offering free refills for customers who linger after purchasing a drink.

Starbucks spokesperson Jaci Anderson said the new rules are designed to help prioritize paying customers. Anderson said most other retailers already have similar rules, CBS News reported. 

‘We want everyone to feel welcome and comfortable in our stores,’ Anderson said. ‘By setting clear expectations for behavior and use of our spaces, we can create a better environment for everyone.”

Starbucks reverses ‘open’ store policy
Starbucks reverses policy amid previous WOKE inclusive open policy. Image via NY Post.

A public coffeehouse but not a public sewer

The code of conduct warns that violators will be asked to leave, and says the store may call law enforcement, if necessary. Starbucks said employees would receive training on enforcing the new policy.

At the time of the 2018 Philly incident, Starbucks Chairman Howard Schultz said he didn’t want people to feel ‘less than’ if they were refused access.

‘We don’t want to become a public bathroom, but we’re going to make the right decision a hundred percent of the time and give people the key,’ Schultz said.

Easier said than done.

Since then, though, employees and customers have struggled with unruly and even dangerous behavior at the chain’s stores. In 2022, Starbucks closed 16 stores around the country — including six in Los Angeles and six in its hometown of Seattle — over cited safety issues, including drug use and other ‘disruptive’ behaviors that threatened staff.

Since the pandemic shuttered the economy in early 2020, mental health issues as well as misuse of drugs have increased, as well as homelessness.

The policy change has sparked debate among customers. Advocates of the new rules argue they address legitimate safety and cleanliness concerns, but critics see the move as a departure from the inclusive ethos Starbucks once championed. Will you be dropping by Starbucks to order a frappuccino?

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