{"id":46088,"date":"2025-08-13T23:21:00","date_gmt":"2025-08-14T04:21:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ustower.net\/?p=46088"},"modified":"2025-08-14T04:25:32","modified_gmt":"2025-08-14T09:25:32","slug":"starbucks-ceo-sets-goals-of-4-minute-coffee-becoming-worlds-greatest-customer-service-company-again","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ustower.net\/?p=46088","title":{"rendered":"Starbucks CEO sets goals of 4 minute coffee, becoming \u2018world\u2019s greatest customer service company again\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

NILES, Ill. (WGN<\/u><\/a>) \u2014 The CEO of Starbucks spent the day in suburban Chicago on Wednesday, speaking exclusively with Nexstar\u2019s WGN about the company\u2019s emphasis on providing a better customer experience at one of the world\u2019s most recognized brands.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With plans to turn around sluggish sales and an emphasis on service at the forefront, Starbucks CEO Brian Niccol knows that the customer is the boss. But at the global coffee chain\u2019s store in Niles, Illinois, on Wednesday, the boss was the customer, as he continues to roll out his new version for the company.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Niccol\u2019s drink of choice: a tall Americano with an extra shot.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI\u2019ve said to our team, \u2018Part of our turnaround is becoming the world\u2019s greatest customer service company again,’\u201d Niccol said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The ubiquitous company is launching a new operating model called Green Apron Service, touting improved efficiency. Baristas have a goal: no custom order should take longer than four minutes to make. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s centered on putting enough partners on the roster in the stores and then deployed correctly so they can provide that customer connection, that experience, that frankly Starbucks really was founded on,\u201d Niccol said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The company\u2019s emphasis had shifted too much toward mobile orders (which now make up 30 percent of Starbucks\u2019 business) and away from the customer standing in the caf\u00e9, according to Niccol.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhat we had to figure out is, \u2018How do we bring order to the fact that we have three key order points?’\u201d Niccol said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mike Grams, Starbucks\u2019 chief operating officer, said the company\u2019s focus is on making it easier to operate the coffeehouse. The new Smart Queue technology will use an algorithm to guide the process so customers in the caf\u00e9 aren\u2019t watching mobile orders being filled before they\u2019re helped. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMany of us have had the experience where you go into a busy Starbucks and there\u2019s a lot of mobile orderings stacked up on the counter and you just want a cup of coffee to sit in your third place,\u201d Gram said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Top executives hope the idea will increase sluggish sales, as the coffee giant recently reported its sixth straight quarter of same-store sales declines.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Niccol has remained open about the turnaround situation Starbucks is in, and equally honest about when customers can see and experience changes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe\u2019re rolling this out now everywhere,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019ll probably take the next two weeks for it to unfold, but by the time you get to September, all of our stores should be up and running with the Green Apron Service model and the Smart Queue technology.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There are about 11,000 company-owned Starbucks stores across the country. So far, about 1,500 Starbucks stores have tested the Green Apron Service. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

While change is paramount, Niccol remains committed to emphasizing Starbucks\u2019 origins: its signature service with a smile and a Sharpie. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cPart of the connection of Starbucks is these little touches. The Sharpie is probably the most visible thing people see, where it just kind of slows everybody down, even if it\u2019s only a second, or a beat,\u201d Niccol said. \u201cIt just sort of slows you down when you look at your cup and you\u2019re like, \u2018It\u2019s a smiley face,\u2019 or it might say \u2018Go Bears.\u2019 So it just gives you a moment, where you can take a second and have a connection with our barista.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Starbucks\u2019 ultimate goal, Niccol adds, is to return a community coffeehouse vibe to the world\u2019s largest coffee shop chain. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

thehill<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

NILES, Ill. (WGN) \u2014 The CEO of Starbucks spent the day in suburban Chicago on Wednesday, speaking exclusively with Nexstar\u2019s WGN about the company\u2019s emphasis on providing a better customer experience at one of the world\u2019s most recognized brands. With plans to turn around sluggish sales and an emphasis on service at the forefront, Starbucks CEO Brian […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":46089,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1155],"tags":[2307,23251,8544],"class_list":["post-46088","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-business","tag-ceo","tag-coffee","tag-starbucks"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ustower.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/46088","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ustower.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ustower.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ustower.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ustower.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=46088"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/ustower.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/46088\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":46090,"href":"https:\/\/ustower.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/46088\/revisions\/46090"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ustower.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/46089"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ustower.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=46088"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ustower.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=46088"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ustower.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=46088"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}