More Sharpies, fewer customizations: How Starbucks aims to reclaim its identity

In early September, just days after Brian Niccol had stepped into his role as the new chief executive officer at Starbucks, he published an open letter addressed to all the coffee chain’s partners, customers and stakeholders acknowledging two major truths about the brand: The first is that Starbucks, with its nearly 16,500 United States locations, is “woven into the fabric of people’s lives” and the communities they serve; the second is that, in its effort to grow and expand (and explore the limits of what a frappuccino cup can hold), Starbucks doesn’t quite feel like Starbucks anymore. 

“There’s a shared sense that we have drifted from our core,” Niccol wrote. “We have an opportunity to make the store experience better for our partners and, in turn, for our customers.” 

For anyone who has visited a Starbucks, especially a pick-up only location, recently, Niccol’s words likely ring true — and are certainly reflected by customers on social media. One post on X, formerly Twitter, from late October reads: “Starbucks going from a genuinely nice place to sit and read or hang out to a high octane, clamoring production warehouse for pickup and drive thru orders is one of the hardest hospitality fumbles of all time.” 

In his letter, Niccol said some customers still experience the magic of “connection and joy, and of course great coffee” at their US-based locations, but sometimes Starbucks isn’t delivering. “It can feel transactional, menus can feel overwhelming, product is inconsistent, the wait too long or the handoff too hectic,” he wrote. “These moments are opportunities for us to do better.” 

He continued: “Today, I’m making a commitment: We’re getting back to Starbucks. We’re refocusing on what has always set Starbucks apart: a welcoming coffeehouse where people gather, and where we serve the finest coffee, handcrafted by our skilled baristas. This is our enduring identity. We will innovate from here.” 

Now, nearly two months into Niccol’s tenure at Starbucks, and following a disappointing quarterly earnings report, it’s starting to become more clear what exactly getting back to Starbucks looks like for the company — and it likely involves way more Sharpies than one might initially suspect. 

As reported by CNBC, Starbucks same-store sales fell for the third consecutive quarter, and this quarter’s 7% decline in same-store sales was the company’s steepest drop since the Covid-19 pandemic. “Our fourth quarter performance makes it clear that we need to fundamentally change our strategy so we can get back to growth and that’s exactly what we are doing with our ‘Back to Starbucks’ plan,” CEO Brian Niccol said in a statement.

His plan has four main components: 

Empowering Starbucks baristas to take care of their customers

“We’ll make sure our baristas have the tools and time to craft great drinks every time, delivered personally to each customer,” Niccol wrote in his overview of the “Back to Starbucks” plan. “For our partners, we’ll build on our tradition of leadership in retail by making Starbucks the best place to work, with career opportunities and a clear path to growth.” 

One of the key ways Niccol said he plans on supporting baristas is by simplifying the chain’s now-expansive menu and introducing “customization guardrails” to streamline the ordering process. Currently, Starbucks says there are about 170,000 possible drink combinations available to Starbucks customers, but outside estimates have put the number at more than 300 billion. (And, as Inc. editor at large Bill Saporito wrote in the New York Times a couple weeks ago, “the person in front of you always seems to be ordering 100 million of them.”)

Starbucks baristas have consistently raised the alarm about how the number of possible drink customizations, which many customers select through the chain’s digital app for online ordering, has clogged their workflow and resulted in additional labor. Simplifying the menu, especially going into the holidays, is one way to address those concerns. 

Get the morning right, every morning

“People start their day with us, and we need to meet their expectations,” Niccol wrote. “This means delivering outstanding drinks and food, on time, every time.”

One of Niccol’s main goals is ensuring customers are hand-delivered by a barista within four minutes of ordering, a metric the chain only meets on half its orders. “When you start to use that metric, you quickly discover where our stores have a real problem,” Niccol said. “We’re going to be maniacal about getting after it.”

Again, simplifying the menu is one place to start, though according to the Associated Press, Niccol said the chain is also looking into how stores are staffed during peak hours. The chain will also stop charging customers extra for non-dairy alternatives and will return the condiment bar, which had been removed during the pandemic, to stores.

Reestablishing Starbucks as the community coffeehouse 

For decades, Starbucks founder Howard Schultz positioned the coffee chain as a “third place,” where customers could spend time drinking coffee, listening to music and socializing. However, in recent years, Starbucks has turned its attention to crafting mobile orders and accommodating delivery — a strategy that was only further cemented during the pandemic. 

However, Niccol said its time for the business to get back to offering a better experience to customers who want to linger for a while 

“We’re committed to elevating the in-store experience — ensuring our spaces reflect the sights, smells and sounds that define Starbucks,” he wrote. “Our stores will be inviting places to linger, with comfortable seating, thoughtful design and a clear distinction between ‘to-go’ and ‘for-here’ service.

According to CNBC, Starbucks is contemplating bringing back ceramic mugs for dine-in beverages, as well as returning to stocking physical newspapers. In another return to tradition, baristas will also go back to writing customers’ names on their cups, as opposed to printing off stickers. It’s a personal touch Niccol believes will make a difference. That is, once the company stocks back up on Sharpies. 

“I thought the number I heard was something like close to 200,000 Sharpies we’ve got to track down,” Niccol said in an interview with CNBC’s “Squawk Box.” “Unfortunately, it’s not as simple as just going to the Staples and picking up some Sharpies.”

Telling their story

“It’s time for us to tell our story again — reminding people of our unmatched coffee expertise, our role in communities and the special experience that only Starbucks can provide,” Niccol said. “We won’t let others define who we are.” 

One of the ways the company is doing this is by returning to, as Quartz put it, “old-fashioned TV ads to turn things around.” According to the publication, customers can expect to see “lively ads that showcase the efforts of agronomists, master roasters and the baristas whipping up the beverages.” 

“It reminds customers across age groups that Starbucks serves the best coffee,” Starbucks CEO Brian Niccol, told investors during the company’s earnings call on Oct. 30.