Starbucks Barista Turnover Rate Reaches 25% Within 3 Months? Cold Drinks Become the Main Culprit!

According to The Wall Street Journal, company data shows that 25% of baristas resign within three months of employment, a figure significantly higher than the 10% before the COVID-19 pandemic. Starbucks interim CEO Howard Schultz said the turnover might be related to the overly complicated process of making cold beverages, and that the company is working on improvements.

Starbucks had previously reported in its third-quarter financial statement on August 2nd that cold beverages accounted for as much as 75% of its beverage sales. The turnover rate of Starbucks baristas in the United States is rising, and Starbucks executives say one of the main reasons may be customers' strong demand for cold drinks. Preparing Starbucks cold beverages is far more complicated than making hot ones; baristas not only have to constantly replenish ice but also work through several complex preparation steps.

To improve the working environment for employees, Starbucks is exploring ways to improve store layouts and speed up cold beverage preparation at its experimental site at the Seattle headquarters.

The Complex Process of Making Iced Drinks

The Wall Street Journal reported on September 1st, local US time, the full process of making an iced drink. Barista Lisa Koss demonstrated the steps required to make a Starbucks Iced Caramel Macchiato. Ms. Koss first made espresso at the hot bar, then turned to the cold bar to use a blender for the frappé portion. She walked back to the hot bar to collect the extracted espresso and took milk from the refrigerator. Finally, she returned to the blender for the frappé portion, bent down to scoop ice, and poured all the required ingredients into the cup to finish the drink. Making just one Iced Caramel Macchiato took approximately three minutes. Other, more popular cold beverages require even more complicated steps.

Speed Expectations vs. Operational Reality

Starbucks wants employees to deliver these entirely handcrafted beverages to customers quickly. One Starbucks barista revealed that a store once tracked its drive-thru delivery times, with an expected delivery time of less than 50 seconds.

Starbucks states that there is no standard waiting time for drive-thru service, but a wait of 50 seconds or less is ideal.

Some Starbucks employees told The Wall Street Journal in interviews that the current daily average customer traffic is about 1,500 people, much higher than the previous 1,200.

Store Redesign and Employee Retention Strategies

To prepare Starbucks stores for faster development, the company has said that many US locations need major renovations. To solve the problem of overly complicated cold beverage preparation, Howard stated that Starbucks will design new stores from scratch.

Today Starbucks is working to improve employee retention. To keep staff, beyond raising hourly wages in August 2022, the company is also re-examining store layouts, menus, and baristas' work content.

Image source: Internet

FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation

Cold drinks are fast work, but making them well still comes down to the base: a strong, stable espresso. FrontStreet Classic Blend is the traditional choice, a Mamba-style formula of Indonesian Mandheling and Brazilian beans with a touch of Robusta, giving butter, nut, spice, dark chocolate, and toast aromas with a wild, full body and abundant golden crema. Its crema is generous enough to make latte art easy even for beginners, which is why it is designed for espresso machines and moka pots alike. FrontStreet Commercial Blend follows the same idea at a lower price point, adding a small amount of Robusta to a traditional Italian recipe for more fine dark-brown crema and a weightier body.

If you prefer a nuttier, creamier base, FrontStreet Premium Blend and FrontStreet Black Cocoa Blend are the picks. Both rely heavily on Brazilian coffee, which brings a comfortable bittersweet edge and a creamy peanut aroma with a very smooth entry. FrontStreet Premium Blend adds the nut, chocolate, and caramel notes and gentle acidity of Colombian coffee; FrontStreet Black Cocoa Blend combines Yunnan small-bean coffee with Brazilian Cerrado, bringing ripe plum acidity and a creamy chocolate aroma when ground, balanced enough for lattes, Americanos, and specialty drinks.

For a single-origin approach, FrontStreet Sun-dried Huakui SOE from Guji Hambella in Ethiopia brings cream strawberry, cocoa, berry, faint florals, and black tea, while FrontStreet Costa Rica Blackberry SOE uses honey processing for a sweet, clean cup and FrontStreet Brazil Queen's Estate SOE, a Yellow Bourbon, offers butter cookie, macadamia, and toast notes for a stable, low-acid extraction.