As many students have noticed over the past week, Starbucks has had a shortage of their goods and supplies, including flavors, cup sizes and more. This has not only caused frustration with students but also with staff and management at Starbucks.
Many students were impacted by this shortage, and several questioned why this was happening.
“It’s so frustrating!” exclaims Katrina Hughes, a frequent customer at the University’s Starbucks. “I’ve started going to ABP to get my coffee in the morning just because it’s cheaper, and they actually have things.”
The General Manager and Operations Manager of Food Services, Wolcott Fary and Anthony Bates, explain the situation, and why the shortage occurred.
“It’s all about supply chain,” says Fary.
Starbucks was due to have a delivery last week but didn’t receive anything until this past Tuesday, the 10th. This caused management to scramble for solutions, including borrowing from other local Starbucks companies, as well as utilizing the other food services on campus. However, this was only a temporary solution.
In the meantime, management wants to compensate for students who were affected by this shortage.
Bates, along with other management, have decided to print out vouchers for the students who were affected by the crisis, and is allowing Starbucks to hand them out to those they recognize as were affected. They note that service recovery is vital to them, and want to acknowledge the students’ frustration.
“We try to do things that really do show that we’re partners…our job on campus is to take care of the students; that’s the only reason we’re here,” Fary says.
Fary and Bates also acknowledged the staff at Starbucks, as they felt the impact of the shortage as well.
“One reason they’re stressed out about it is because they care what they’re doing…they also feel as if they’re being deficient as to what they can provide,” says Fary
“They’ve also been a little short-staffed so it’s been equally hard just not having the product,” says Bates.
An increase in traffic has also put more pressure on the team, due to the new remodel that just occurred. Since the look was unveiled, Starbucks has seen a 15% increase in traffic, which shows that students are reacting positively to the remodel.
“[The remodel] is a very positive thing. We’re having some issues, yes, but people are really happy about where we went with the remodel. The increase in the number of guests has really shown that,” says Fary.
Bates and Fary are hoping that things will be smoother from here on out and that their supplier will be able to fulfill their orders in the future.
The new shipment this past week, along with one that is due on Wednesday the 11th, will hopefully restore things back to normality. The vouchers should also be implemented this week to compensate for guests and students.