Starbucks Coffee

Can you please fix your pike place roast so it tastes better?  Honestly Pike is not bad, but it doesn't have the special aroma and floral taste like Verona.  Is it because it's cheaper beans?  I think it's fresher tasting but it's just not giving the signature taste of a coffee brand.  For example, Tim Horton coffee have a very distinct taste to it and they don't even need to bother to brand these fancy names.  Just fix your Pike so it tastes distinctively!

thanks

Jon

Have you guys really listen to the customers on the taste sides?  Why there are no plans to address this?  According to your poll, plus many of the feedback.  I constantly see the same complaints.  What are we missing here?  Your number showing a lift in coffee sale, have you thought of NOT because Pike tastes good, but rather, customer trade down on speciality drinks?  Nevertheless, the Pike may just drive more of your customers away since it's doesn't offer a singature taste that mark "Starbucks"  Think about it!

Here is a post I pulled from another posting....

Melody

2/4/2009 10:35 AM  Love this thread! Take a look this blog entry:

blogs.starbucks.com/.../poll-results-what-s-your-favorite-brewed-coffee.aspx

Basically, 85% of Starbucks customers would rather drink something OTHER than Pike Place Roast.

Sorry that I missed the poll.

I love all the brews that you mentioned, and also the Thanksgiving and Christmas blends too.

Verona stands out the most in my mind, if I had to choose one.

I think it is great that you are expressing interest in the tastes of your traditional "bold-lovers".  

I hope that you keep rotating bold brews!!!   Don't try to settle on a single bold all the time.

Thanks,

Art

OOPS!!!!!  I need to correct my prior posting.

I DO NOT LIKE PIKE AT ALL.

Please be clear about that.

I love all the OTHER brews that you mentioned.

I overlooked that you included Pike in your list of client favorites.  

Sigh.

And yes, it speaks loudly that you insist on serving only Pike all the time, but, only 15% chose it.  

Makes my day.

Art

(trying to just offer suggestions an omit the drama!  It is hard tho.)

The 85% is in your note above.  

Only 15% of clients chose it as their favorite.

Art

*[quote=sbx_bean]To offer you the freshest cup of coffee possible, after noon morning pick coffees are brewed on demand.  [/quote]*

I cringe everytime I read the words "brewed on demand". How it sounds in theory and how it works in practice are just two wildly different things.

The poll suggests that Starbucks customers are not falling in love with Pike Place Roast. A very small percentage of customers are drawn to it.  Granted, Sidamo has a low number too, but if your stores were set up with a world of coffee choice like the poll, PPR would get a smaller bite of the apple in sales than it gets now. The sales are PPR are high right now because (i) it's often the only choice (ii) customers may be trading down as described above and (iii) probably the numbers are inflated because baristas often only use the "brewed coffee" button.

Brew on demand is a bunch of BS!

Why did you create that poll if you aren't going to do anything? Also, I don't give a flip when they were morning picks. The favorite as you can see is SUMATRA!!

Dear sbx_bean,

I and other greatly appreciate you responding to comments in this forum. It is at times a tough crowd. But, it is time for Starbucks to really gauge how its "registered" and faithful consumers feel about Pike Place.  You see the same hundreds if not thousands of weeklyposting we do that appear to indicate a significant amount of "registered" Starbuck patrons do not like Pike Place.

This portal we are communicating via is what we call "a roles based system" which includes you have to be registered to use/post/vote and Starbucks, as the owner,  can control how many times authorized users vote on any given issue.

Suggestion: Simple up/down vote on Pike Place coffee. Nothing more/nothing less.

I cant say you will do anything with the data but your company would get a bit more respect from its registered users if it held the vote.

I honestly dont like Pike Place and when I go in to Starbucks daily, I dont even look at whats being brewed. Its my personal choice but I have stopped drinking brewed coffee in company stores and moved to esppresso drinks. Now at work and at home we brew Starbucks "House Blend" which is a fine everyday coffee.

Regards,

Bill

Hi sbx_bean,

I don't mind to have a brand like Pike place roast.   In fact, I do drink that sometimes. I think it's a great idea!  However, it needs to taste better!  Please change your receipt for pike place.   Maybe add more cedar aroma or wood or something! I like smooth coffee, but not tasteless without any distinctive character.  It can be light and smooth, but with a special distinctive aroma.  I think most consumers complaints bold coffee are bitter and taste burnt.  Maybe you should compare between pike and verona.  In fact verona is very light roast as well.  Nevertheless, it has great distinictive kick to it.  

I hope the pike roast will be re-roasted to something different otherwise,  what's the difference between your house blend and pike place roast?  

Overall, I still can't get why it is pike place roast so special?  It doesn't really taste anything but special!

Starbucks problems are not due to the current economic downturn.

Starbucks same-store sales began to decline after their FY 2004 (well before the current downturn) and have continued to decline every FY since then. The same-store sales decline took a few fiscal years to percolate into operating margins and eventually into overall sales  and profits . Now Starbucks financial problems are readily apparent. The current economic downturn has simple exaggerated a longer-term existing problem.

Starbucks financial problems are due to a flawed marketing program (forced pikes puke, non-free wifi, etc) and an outdated and flawed business model. (“the experience” does not generate sales – good coffee does).

Starbucks problems are due to a classic example of inattentive and inept corporate leadership.

sbx_bean,

Why is it so difficult to listen to your customers and not some "panel" of customer who you all THINK are your core customer?

Here's a little story, one that you probably won't take too much from, but probably should:

The fact that your company is literally attempting to shove PPR at your customers is completely confusing. You all can attempt to tell folks PPR is great and you all are doing it because "that's what the customers have asked for," but it's clear that this is just SBUX corporate standing around with its fingers in its ears going "la la la" and not actually listening.

There are so many conversations on this website, on Starbucks Gossip and in general that end with the resolution that PPR is a disgusting drip coffee. Further, it's the epitome of what's wrong with Starbucks in general.

LISTEN TO YOUR CUSTOMERS.

Your customers have asked that Starbucks go back to what it was. That means going back to basics. I think I once, about a year ago, heard from Howard Schultz that he was going to take Starbucks back to the basics. No more sandwiches, better coffee, better consistency, better service. I think I even remember Starbucks enduring ridicule and sales loss because it closed the stores for a few hours all on one day to "train" the staff how to get back to basics. Good work there.

Anyhow, how is having one general coffee every day, all day (being PPR), having "decaf on demand" (which, by the way, is absolutely pathetic that a coffeehouse can't figure out how to have great decaf all day, every day) and not having a bold (which means you offer a SELECTION OF COFFEES ON TAP) going back to being a basic coffeehouse? I mean, the Denny's down the street has multiple brews and decaf 24/7, literally.

All I'm saying is that you all have NOT addressed the foundational issues you currently suffer. Without doing that, you will continue to fail and customers will leave your stores unsatisfied and unlikely to revisit. If at any time you NEEDED to listen to your customers, it is now. I hear your company isn't doing so hot right now, anyway.

You can do your little panels and make cute little charts, but what I can't figure out is WHY you all make it so difficult.

No charts, no panels, no number crunching. Just listen to your customers. It's that easy.

As well, can you please have someone follow up on this:

blogs.starbucks.com/.../your-bold-solutions-a-follow-up.aspx

Your post (regarding the dismal coffee selection) and Rachel's post from December (which has gone unanswered for over a month now regarding the bold "selection" available [or not] at Starbucks) are one in the same. They stipulate and scream one singular idea: YOU JUST DON'T CARE ABOUT YOUR CUSTOMERS.

It doesn't matter what your customers want or ask for, it's really all about what Starbucks wants to give this month and what fad Starbucks thinks will save its brand this month.

So, yeah. If you wouldn't mind asking Rachel (if she's even still with the company) to get back to her post and answer some of the customers' inquiries regarding bold and maybe pass on to the rest of your company that the customers aren't happy, it'd be much appreciated.

Thanks!

PS: Just Say Yes. Starbucks invented it and now I'm invoking it. Can you make sure Starbucks, you know, listens to their customers requests and actually, again, you know, gives them what they're asking for. Like bold. And decaf. Maybe even some coffee selection, too.

PPS: I'm very sorry in advance if this comes off as sarcastic. I assume that what Starbucks is (or isn't doing) right now in regards to customers' requests is just you guys being sarcastic!

sbx_bean, while I do appreciate that you FINALLY addressed me, you also skipped over my question. I notice that about you though in many posts to other people.

shopping.yahoo.com/.../consumer-reports-picks-the-best-cup-o-brew

LMAO got beat out by cheap coffee! And I have tried that coffee and it is MUCH better than PPR!!

I have to admit that my heart sinks every time I walk into Starbucks and see "Pike Place Roast" listed as the coffee of the day. It's just...not good. So strong, smoky and bleh. I'd definitely have to vote for Caffe Verona as well--but Christmas blend and Thanksgiving blend will always be my top favorites.

I'm really confused here, as to how everyone is interpreting this information.  This was a poll, conducted on this site, asking customers to choose their favorite coffee from a list of coffees.  This means that given so many choices, each voter could only pick one.  Henceforth, 15% of voters chose Pike Place Roast as the coffee that they would drink above any other coffee.  This does not then go on to mean, that the other 85% of the voters despise Pike Place Roast.  Simply that given the choices, they would opt for another one of their favorites.  I personally enjoy Pike Place - I find it to be a versatile roast, that I can flavor any way I choose, given my mood that day.  What am I drinking now?  Guatemala Casi Cielo, because I can only get it once a year.  Does that mean I hate Pike?  Nope.

i have a better way to pose the question. offer 2 choices:

what do you prefer?

a) pikes place roast

b) a rotating or any bold option

if the greater percentage chooses "b", you will satisfy more customers by offering "b" all day than you would by offering "a" all day.  this result would probably cause this change to be made immediately right?

please take me up on this and ask the question exactly as above, you will learn far more than you did with this question.

Bottom Line, Do you REALLY CARE "What my favorite brewed coffee is"?

Breve - I doubt it. No matter what the poll results were, Starbucks would spin it to support Pike Place. They don't care what we like- it's about telling us they've made the right decision.

Hi there,

I've noticed here in Toronto, that Pike Place is the ONLY mild coffee offered.  I'm really surprised by Starbucks' decision to provide the customer with a single mild coffee option.  Being a former partner, and a loyal Starbucks drinker, I was always impressed with Starbucks' variety and willingness to provide many different options to its customers.

On a side note, I find the finish on Pike Place horrible.  It doesn't have the depth that many of your previous mild coffee offerings have/had.  Colombian Supremo has always been my favourite, and to know that it's no longer brewed in store is very dissappointing.  

Why the shift from being a leader?

Meggers brings up a good point with her analysis of the poll. But I suspect that it was purposefully conducted that way so that they could interpret it anyway they want.

But it has occurred to me that there is definitely an advantage for SB to brew PPR and it is this: customers that don’t care as much about their coffee will still get PPR, the ones that hate PPR but are still going to SB will get an espresso drink (which costs more), and SB controls enough of the coffee industry that the few that desert to other places still has not affected the bottom line enough for SB to care.  Also, PPR is probably so cheap to make and the deserters are still too few in numbers that it is not affecting SB enough.

In summary: it is unlikely that SB will be changing anytime soon.

Another point that is in SB’s favor is that for most people that drink coffee on a regular basis, they would prefer ANY coffee to no coffee. And with SB having an overwhelming amount of locations, people are still going to SB and once there, they don’t care what you spend your money on, just as long as you do it.

kyrin, Starbucks same-store sales have been steadily declining since their FY 2004. This is killing their financial performance (and stock price). Customers have left Starbucks in droves because of their marketing blunders (forced Pikes Puke, non-free wifi, etc). Starbucks financial problems are well known in the financial community.

This just today - Standard & Poor's Ratings Services on Monday lowered Starbucks Corp.'s SBUX outlook to negative from stable and also downgraded its short-term rating to A-3 from A-2. At the same time, S&P affirmed its corporate credit rating of BBB. "While Starbucks has announced cost-cutting initiatives and a further reduction of unprofitable stores, we do not expect meaningful improvement in credit metrics during fiscal 2009 due to market conditions that we believe will continue to hurt top-line growth," said Jackie Oberoi, an S&P credit analyst.

When can Starbucks admit they made a mistake with PPR? Why does Starbucks cling to PPR so much?

Momiji I don't get it at all. Those customers who want drip coffee are now a "hassle" and baristas would rather deal with the customers who say, "I'd like a triple tall, half-decaf, 176 degree, soy, 4 pump vanilla, 1 pump mocha, stirred, double-cupped mocha" than brew a batch of coffee. If  you have THAT order, you'll hear YES we can do that every time, but try ordering a non-PPR coffee, and you'll have to JUSTIFY it to the barista more often than not. I've come to the conclusion that ordering a cup of drip brewed bold coffee now means one of four things will happen to you:

(1) The barista has coffee ready and pours you a tall coffee or whatever it might be. This is an ideal situation, but Starbucks says this is too expensive.

(2) The barista says, "Hey I don't have your coffee ready, but if you have just a few minutes I'll brew up some .....xyz-Non-Pike-Place-Roast coffee." I LOVE this reply.

(3) The barista offers you a bunch of subsitutions, tries to persuade you to take a french press instead and the barista gives you the vibe that you're a hassle because you want drip brewed coffee, at Starbucks Coffee company. Baristas say nasty things like, "that's an expensive way to do business" if he or she has to open a bag of coffee. Finally, if you DEMAND enough, barista caves in and gives you coffee. This is a horrible scenario.  You have to work your butt off to simply place an order, and then you're the one who is looked at as weird because you're trying to order coffee.

(4) And the fourth thing that could happen at the register, is that you go through pretty much the same spiel as in scenario #3 except that at the end you hear a big fat NO from the barista.  It's PPR or the highway.

I have had all 4 of those things happen to me, and now I realize that when I walk into Starbucks and order brewed coffee, I'm going to get one of those 4 responses, and I have no clue which one it will be.

I found the twitter page this afternoon with Coffee & Conversations with Howard Schultz, and it looks from that page that he got soft-ball questions as to brewed coffee. Customers were not playing hard ball with him. I felt like Starbucks must've had 90 cherry picked customers (and obviously not me). Per the twitter page, half were invited by the store, and the other half were Gold Card members.

It's all down-right depressing. Thank god for Specialty's and Intelligentsia coffee in downtown Seattle. This coming from a true fan of Starbucks coffee.

Dear SBX_BEAN

Like most of the others postings on this topic I too am saddened and genuinely confused that Starbucks has opted to follow a seemingly illogical choice by bullheadedly charging forward with Pikes Place, blinders on full, and now also dropping decaf after 12.   Based on your own empirical data, clearly the customer feedback (Coffee & Espresso Drinks, Bold Coffee, Poll Results) favors almost anything more than Pikes.   15% favorability does not equate to a highly likeable product.  

Now I’m not a statistics major but, it looks to me like the highest rated coffee in your pole was Sumatra which had a 30% rating (double that of Pike’s), yet it is relegated to a one week window in the mornings only.  How does this make sense?  Seriously, please explain this to us.  

The basic math alone completely contradicts Starbucks assertion that people LOVE Pikes Place thus justifying making it your leading and only offering after 12.  Your own MSI community results tell you this is not what your customers want.   Yet this is the change that you make.  

Ask anyone on the street what a coffee specialty store would serve and I’d bet their answer is coffee.  Your new strategy has all but eliminated the one fundamental product your company came from.  It’s like McDonald’s only serving their single hamburger, all day, every day.  Everything else is salads, ice cream and soda.

Sounds crazy doesn’t it?   The sad thing is, this is pretty much what Starbucks is doing.  And you wonder why you’re hemorrhaging money and losing customers in droves.    

I can tell you this, my once 3+ cup a day coffee business has already this week alone (since you’ve now dropped decaf too) has been cut down to 1/3 of that.  If you do the math and extrapolate the results to all of the others that are begging you to offer bold and decaf coffees, you might start getting a hint as to why Starbucks is fast on it’s way to the list of companies that failed in 2009.

Indeed. They don't seem to realize that most drip customers have gone elsewhere since PP. I had expected this to be cleaned up within days of customer complaints, but the insanity of keeping this vile drink continues as management arrogantly insist they know what customers' prefer as stock tanks further. As a decaf drinker (right now), I have had no options since this started but to drink my coffee elsewhere--although I admit to liking the signature hot chocolate, if not its calorie count. But, to me, the whole point of Starbucks has now disappeared--it was a place you could get a good bold coffee, decaf or regular, anywhere in the US. Now it's just another bad, overpriced cup of diner coffee.

As for getting rid of decaf after noon: asinine. If it was good decaf--i.e. Sumatra, anything other than PP, the sales would have stayed high. People drink decaf after noon, not before. This is a symptom of Starbucks' illogical thinking and poor management.

And, believe me, the stores will not brew on demand in most instances. As Melody points out, you argue with a barista and then feel dirty whether you get your drink or not, in the most cases, you don't. Why should I spend money in a store that clearly wants to make me feel unwelcome and doesn't give a damn about its long term patrons and their tastes?

Follow up. . . Just to add to the "pile on" about the stores making decaf or bold after Noon. Like others that have commented, I too have experienced some instances where the barista pleasantly offers to brew the coffee with no hassle.  Unfortunately, I have at some other stores more frequently experienced either  a.) The already noted, being “hassled” or “put out” vibe from the employees or B.) Told outright “we don’t offer bold or decaf after Noon anymore, do you want Pikes or an Americano”.   As a customer, you are really made to feel that you are asking for something unreasonable and outrageous.

If Starbucks intent is to really offer bold and decaf brew on demand service to their customers after Noon, it seems that not all of the baristas are aware of this.  Maybe some additional internal employee education is needed?

You're kidding with the survey right? Pikes Place made the list? Impossible!

Wait...... I changed my mind..... What's my favorite coffee? Well, instant, of course!

the best coffee of starbucks is the chocolate cream chip.

alright? not that other. there so eww. :))

I must say I am sick of Pike's Place as well. It is even more difficult being a decaf drinker because they NEVER brew anything except Pike's in Decaf these days. AND to boot they only brew it on demand in the afternoon. While a fresh pot makes it more tolerable, I miss the Sumatra, Verona and other blends!

Bring back decaf all day in a variety of flavors....PLEASE!

My all time favorite is Ethiopia Sun Dried Sidamo.This coffee has so much character with it's blueberry notes and bright acidity and I forgot about my original favorite,Kenya when I took a sip of this coffee .The other coffee that is understated is Serena Organic Blend.It is a delightful cup of coffee.

I work in a store that serves about 1,500 guests a day with about 30% drip sales.Customers are complaining about Pike's Place Roast!!!We constantly have to add shots of espresso  just so the guest does not get upset .

They want the rotating "Coffee of the Week" program back.A lot of customers are very disappointed by our Pike's Place Roast and most of those customers are still with us but few has not been back.How many guests do we need to alienate to do something about this?

I appreciated sbx-bean's responses.  Very well said from a corporate point of view.  Still, noted that sbx-bean is no longer commenting.  Also, note, and agree strongly, that it appears that the community wants a choice.  I would suggest that in regular brew, there usually is an option. However, in decaf, there is only the option of a decaf americano, which costs more.  Is there a reason that Starbucks is no longer interested in the decaf community?  In closing,  I was about to reload my card and decided that enough is enough. We love the people at our local (are on first name basis since we go every day) but that is no longer enough. Once Pike is no longer the decaf choice, we'll come back. Until then, have a wonderful day.  

How about this...  when going to the counter,  ask for a  whatever size "ABP".   Anything But Pike.  

Let's make this simple:  Twice as many people favored Sumatra over Pike Place.  So  . . .  make Sumatra the standard offering in the morning and afternoon and put Pike Place in the rotation.

I really miss the promenade blend which I haven't seen since they dropped it at Costco.  Honestly though, while not a terrible coffee, the current Pikes Place (not the brew I remember you having for the anniversary under that name) is a sub par brew, whats worse it has an extremely inconsistent flavor compared to say verona or breakfast blend.  Why it has replaced the the house blend (which is probably my favorite medium brew of all time is just beyond me.  At the very least have a rotation of products so that those of us  that want something besides pikes place can at least some afternoons get bold coffee again

The only reason Pike Place even has a stat is it's the default "house" brew when mornings are a cluster and there's no time to brew specialty pics.

Bring Back Serena! That's my campaign slogan until I find the answer to it's demise or disappearance.