How about “tasteful drinks at a reasonable price in pleasant settings”? Pay your staff more so they stick around and don’t automate and kill what little personal contact remains.
"Niccol joined the company in 2024, at a time when the business was under pressure.
...
"We lost our focus because we got a little too distracted on efficiency and technology, and lost, I think, our focus on experience, customer and connection," he said."
Imagine how far you have to have your head up your ass, to acknowledge that you ran into problems over-optimizing for efficiency and technology, and then immediately going on to say that you're going to use robots to fix the problem.
How about “tasteful drinks at a reasonable price in pleasant settings”? Pay your staff more so they stick around and don’t automate and kill what little personal contact remains.
Starbucks is a miserable place to work because of strict rules around dress and conduct, but they pay better than basically any other retail job.
Baristas get $20+/hour and eventually work their way up to $30, along with health insurance and free four-year college tuition.
"Niccol joined the company in 2024, at a time when the business was under pressure.
...
"We lost our focus because we got a little too distracted on efficiency and technology, and lost, I think, our focus on experience, customer and connection," he said."
Imagine how far you have to have your head up your ass, to acknowledge that you ran into problems over-optimizing for efficiency and technology, and then immediately going on to say that you're going to use robots to fix the problem.