Starbucks CEO Brian Niccol claims that a Reddit thread about people interviewing at the firm made him believe his ‘Back to Starbucks’ plan is effective

CEO Brian Niccol discovered evidence that his endeavors to turn around the coffee chain’s situation are having an effect while browsing Reddit.

During an event at the Wall Street Journal Leadership Institute earlier this month (the event details seem to be missing here) and the report was published on Monday, Niccol stated that he was going through a Reddit thread where people were discussing their interview experiences at Starbucks. Some users were inquiring about what interview questions they should prepare for. Other users, presumably those who work at the coffee chain, replied that candidates should be ready to talk about their view of customer service.

“If you’re not into customer service, you probably won’t enjoy working at Starbucks. We’re in the process of getting people to understand this,” Niccol said. “When I saw that in the Reddit thread, I thought, ‘OK, we’re making headway in establishing the service standards we desire.’”

Customer service has been at the heart of Niccol’s “” plan (the plan name is missing) that he put into action when he took over the company in September 2024. Niccol has expressed the hope of restoring Starbucks to a warm and inviting third – place environment, moving away from the image of a quick stop for a morning espresso and evoking the 1990s nostalgia of leisurely sipping a latte. He told WSJ that he wants the Starbucks experience to be reminiscent of the fictional coffee shop Central Perk, which is adored by the characters in the sitcom Friends.

To create this laid – back atmosphere, the coffee chain has made a series of changes to its stores. These include (some details are missing) and reinstalling seats in thousands of locations where most of the furniture was removed to make room for more mobile ordering, as well as (some details are missing) on each to – go cup. It reduced the size of its menu in the hope of speeding up order processing and introduced trendy items like (some details are missing) to attract customers.

“There’s great value in being a world – class customer – service company that also offers excellent craftsmanship and high – quality food,” Niccol said at the event (the event details are missing) in September. “When you consider combining these two aspects at the price we’ll charge, I believe it will be extremely valuable.”

Early indications suggest that Niccol’s efforts to revitalize the brand are paying off. In October, the company reported that global sales in stores that had been open for at least one year had increased for the first time in two years.

Customer service challenges for the mobile order crowd

One issue with Niccol’s vision of a Starbucks filled with customers lingering is that 70% of store orders—40% from the drive – thru and 30% from mobile orders, according to the CEO—come from customers who just want to grab a coffee and leave. He said that the expectations for store employees to greet and serve customers remain the same, regardless of how long the customers actually stay in the store.

“When the order ticket comes up…it doesn’t matter to [baristas] if they’re handling a mobile order or a in – cafe order,” Niccol said. “What matters to the customer, though, is that for a mobile order, it has to be on time and accurate. In – cafe customers want a bit more interaction, and they also want to know that their order will be ready on time.”

Mobile ordering has been a challenge for Starbucks. Baristas have a hard time keeping up with the high volume of orders on weekday mornings. Former CEO Laxman Narasimhan said last year that (some details are missing), as much as a mid – teens percent, took too long to fulfill, which contributed to the slow sales.

In addition to reducing the menu size, Starbucks has also (some details are missing) behind the counter to simplify baristas’ work processes and improve efficiency with the aim of completing orders in (some details are missing). Niccol said he’s unsure how this technology will affect the number of employees in a store. However, in his opinion, fully automating the drink – making process would damage the warm customer – service reputation that Starbucks is trying to rebuild.

“This is still a business that requires craftsmanship,” Niccol said. “I think it’s important for you to see the espresso being pulled, the milk being steamed, and the actual hand – crafting of the beverage. I know many people think a robot can do it, but I believe it would take the essence out of the experience.”