Michael Huber 
New York
CNN
—
Kermit the Frog. Coffee puns like “thanks a latte” and “a matcha made in heaven.” Drawings of dogs, cats, birds and bees.
Starbucks baristas are scribbling on customers’ to-go coffee cups again, part of new CEO Brian Niccol’s “Back to Starbucks” strategy to humanize the global chain and reposition Starbucks as a coffee shop, not just a place to pick up mobile orders for coffee. Niccol, who took over as Starbucks’ CEO from Chipotle in September, said in a recent interview that Starbucks had veered too much into mobile orders and that it “took a lot of the soul” out of the brand. Starbucks’ sales have dropped for four straight quarters.
Starbucks has instructed employees to write simple, personalized messages on cups, such as affirmations, well wishes and “hello again” for regulars, and the company is spotlighting the return of the notes and names — sometimes misspelled — with a new commercial called “Not My Name.”
In the past, Starbucks encouraged baristas to write social messages such as “Race Together” to encourage conversations about racial inequality, but these efforts were mocked, and Starbucks ended the campaign.
Starbucks paused its longstanding practice of writing on customers’ cups early in the pandemic in 2020 and never brought it back. But instead of a small, meaningless detail, Niccol and Starbucks leaders see handwritten messages as a way to add an extra customer service touch. Starbucks has also added back condiment stations with milk and sugar and free refills served in ceramic mugs for customers who order their coffee to stay.
“There’s a lot of just simple things that go a long way of saying, you know what, this is a community place,” Niccol said on an earnings call in October. He said on a call last week that the feedback from employees about writing on cups has been positive. Niccol said the company needed to buy some 200,000 Sharpie pens to give to employees so they could write messages.
Some Starbucks baristas, however, told CNN that writing out messages on every cup has slowed down the pace and is a “forced” way to build connections with customers. They say that customers have also misinterpreted messages on cups as attempts at flirting. The mixed response is an example of the challenge the company faces implementing its sweeping plan to revive the struggling chain.
“It’s just a lot for workers to have to add to the number of things we’re expected to do,” said Amanda Rivera, a Starbucks worker in Atlanta and a leader of Starbucks Workers United, a worker group that has unionized more than 500 Starbucks stores around the country. “It would be more sincere if I didn’t seem stressed out of my mind making 10 other cups.”
Improving staffing levels in stores would make for a more welcoming environment for customers and give employees more time to talk to customers and make connections, she said.
“I don’t want to just write have an amazing day on every cup,” she said. “Is that really connecting?”
Starbucks said it is adding extra hours for workers to accommodate employees writing on cups. It is also giving its existing baristas more hours, which it says is leading to lower turnover.
Starbucks needs it all to work. Niccol, who took over as Starbucks’ CEO from Chipotle in September, said in a recent interview that Starbucks veered too much into mobile orders and it “took a lot of the soul” out of the company.
Starbucks has not given official guidance to employees about what not to write on cups, but some employees are taking pains to avoid any messages that could be seen as flirtatious.
“Sent my bf to get my matcha…This new policy has me tweaking,” one customer complained on TikTok of a message. The video has 300,000 views. “The new policy is gonna ruin relationships,” another said.
Starbucks baristas say they are playing it safe with their messages. One Starbucks store employee, who spoke under the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly, is avoiding drawing hearts on cups.
“With Valentine’s Day coming up, I’m warning people to be careful with the hearts,” the employee said.
