Stressed Starbucks Baristas Decry ‘Skeleton’ Crews in Test for New CEO

Daniela Sirtori
Thu, October 17, 2024

(Bloomberg) -- 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.

Staffing levels ranked as the issue with the lowest approval rating in the 45-question poll, which was conducted in April and shared internally in July.

“We are constantly only given a skeleton staff,” one worker said in comments collected as part of the survey results reviewed by Bloomberg. Employee names were withheld.

Making early strides to address workers’ concerns will be crucial for Starbucks CEO Brian Niccol, who took over on Sept. 9. Speeding up service will be key to reversing two straight quarters of sales declines that precipitated his predecessor’s departure.

Workers say understaffing leads to backlogs at their stores. Less than half of the workers polled say their store’s equipment is reliable, compounding the problem.

Employees asked Niccol about the issue at a companywide forum on his second day on the job, according to a transcript of the event seen by Bloomberg News.

“The team is already working on it. You are being heard,” Niccol said in response to the question. He pledged to give baristas the “tools and time” they need to do their jobs in an open letter that same day.


Starbucks is refining the model it uses to allocate staffing to make sure it more precisely meets each store’s needs, a spokesperson said, building on work that had started before Niccol came on board. The company has bolstered staffing levels in 3,500 stores in the past year.

It has also added appliance upgrades aimed at making their jobs easier, including portable blenders introduced around mid-2023 to whip up cold foam, a popular topping. Earlier this year, Starbucks revamped the process to prepare popular beverages such as lattes and added a barista to tackle bottlenecks during the busiest times.

Manager Bandwidth

Three managers who weren’t authorized to speak publicly on the matter say they have little bandwidth left for administrative tasks such as making schedules or coaching workers because they’re spending more time making drinks.


One of the managers said baristas and supervisors in their store are regularly skipping breaks and meals to keep up with the flurry of orders. At times, because of staff shortages, one worker has to cover multiple stations at once — from taking orders at the drive-thru to taking cash and warming food — which slows down service.

Managers, who unlike baristas are salaried employees, have been asking the company about staffing levels since at least early 2023, according to copies of dozens of messages posted to an internal message board where workers can pose questions to corporate headquarters about store operations.

The survey viewed by Bloomberg was administered to the more than 200,000 baristas, shift supervisors and store managers working at US company-operated stores and about 80% responded. The poll doesn’t include workers at locations run by third parties such as those located at airports or grocery stores. Starbucks conducts the poll twice a year and also collects feedback from workers through regular meetings.

Starbucks said in a statement that the survey shows “consistent improvement” in key areas of worker experience. The share of workers who said stores were adequately staffed rose since the last employee poll was conducted in October 2023. A bigger percentage of employees also said they were getting paid appropriately for their work in the most recent survey.

The company said in its most recent earnings report that turnover was at the lowest rate since the pandemic and more workers were getting the hours they want.

Still, the share of retail staff who would recommend Starbucks as a great place to work fell three percentage points in April from a year earlier, to 64%. Another statement, that Starbucks decisions “are made with partners in mind,” had a slightly smaller number in agreement in April compared with October, when fewer workers participated.

At the chain’s upscale Starbucks Reserve and Roastery locations in the US, just 25% of workers say staffing is adequate, while only half recommend Starbucks as a great place to work.

Those six locations in Seattle, New York and Chicago are supposed to be the pinnacle of the brand, with curated menus featuring Italian-style delicacies and creative drinks such as whiskey barrel-aged cold brew. But workers at some of the store are too stretched and struggling to deliver on the experience, a corporate staffer who works alongside store employees said.


Some at Starbucks are hopeful that the former Chipotle CEO will improve the worker experience. At the burrito chain, Niccol prioritized adding a second food assembly line for digital orders that relieved pressure on staff. Earlier this year, the burrito chain limited the number of online orders that could come in over a given period so workers wouldn’t get swamped. He also enhanced training for frontline employees.

But he also oversaw Chipotle during a tense period of union organizing. In addition, in 2022, Chipotle agreed to a $20 million settlement to resolve an investigation of whether it had violated New York City law governing scheduling and paid sick leave. Chipotle declined to comment.

“He needs to rally the troops,” Kevin McCarthy, a portfolio manager at Neuberger Berman, said shortly after Niccol was appointed. “He needs to make sure that he’s got buy-in from the rank and file.”

--With assistance from Josh Eidelson.

©2024 Bloomberg L.P.