Stressed Starbucks Baristas Decry ‘Skeleton’ Crews in Test for New CEO
Staffing is the issue that the smallest share of store workers say is adequate, according to an internal survey, but the chain says sentiment is improving.
A barista makes a coffee at a Starbucks location in New York.
Photographer: Gabby Jones/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
On his second day at the helm, Starbucks Corp. CEO Brian Niccol said he was looking into complaints about understaffing. A previously undisclosed internal survey shows just how big of a problem employee shortages pose to worker morale.
Only 33% of workers who responded to a survey of the chain’s 10,000 US company-operated locations say stores consistently have sufficient staffing, according to results seen by Bloomberg News.