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Starbucks CEO will work a shift at the company’s cafes once a month

cnbc.com

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Re: Starbucks CEO will work a shift at the company’s cafes once a month

#11

Post by tablespoon »

throw1234651234 wrote: post #2

If this was not a PR move, but a desire to get a sense for work conditions, real problems, etc, it would not be publicized.

> If this was not a PR move, but a desire to get a sense for work conditions, real problems, etc, it would not be publicized.

And it wouldn't work. I don't think a lot of people would be comfortable sharing real complaints with the CEO who parachuted in for a single shift. It will probably end up being a bit of a Potemkin village situation. The shift will probably be filled up with the highest-motivated, most ass-kissing employees, whose focus will be keeping the CEO comfortable.

Re: Starbucks CEO will work a shift at the company’s cafes once a month

#13

Post by whack »

I recall Amazon used to do something similar. Executives would sometimes take customer service shifts. The goal isn't PR or worker morale - most people see through stunts like that. The real goal is to help leaders better understand their product, its problems, and customer frustrations.

Re: Starbucks CEO will work a shift at the company’s cafes once a month

#15

Post by the_mar »

tablespoon wrote: post #11
throw1234651234 wrote: post #2

If this was not a PR move, but a desire to get a sense for work conditions, real problems, etc, it would not be publicized.

> If this was not a PR move, but a desire to get a sense for work conditions, real problems, etc, it would not be publicized. And it wouldn't work. I don't think a lot of people would be comfortable sharing real complaints with the CEO who parachuted in for a single shift. It will probably end up being a bit of a Potemkin village situation. The shift will probably be filled up with the highest-motivated, most ass-kis…

Of course it is for PR, it would be really dumb to not publicize it.

It would absolutely work in a sense. Of course the CEO will not get a real experience and of course no one will bring any real grievances to him. But the CEO will still get some exposure to day to day. It is still somewhat better than not doing it at all. It’s a good precedent to set and one can only hope more CEOs would follow

Re: Starbucks CEO will work a shift at the company’s cafes once a month

#16

Post by Ekaros »

whack wrote: post #13

I recall Amazon used to do something similar. Executives would sometimes take customer service shifts. The goal isn't PR or worker morale - most people see through stunts like that. The real goal is to help leaders better understand their product, its problems, and customer frustrations.

I think a week in warehouse might do good for them. Or as delivery driving...

Re: Starbucks CEO will work a shift at the company’s cafes once a month

#17

Post by brookst »

josh_fyi wrote: post #6

Any employees at those shifts are going to be terrified...

Depends on personality. Some will be excited to give him an earful about everything that makes their job difficult.

“And the handles on the carafes! You see this injection molding seam? You see where it is when I pick up the carafe for tbe 500th time today? You see these callouses? You’re not going to have callouses, you’re going to have blisters! Like everyone in the first week! And the packaging on these cups! You see this…”

Re: Starbucks CEO will work a shift at the company’s cafes once a month

#19

Post by tablespoon »

rullelito wrote: post #10
josh_fyi wrote: post #6

Any employees at those shifts are going to be terrified...

That would probably be the safest place to work, can't fire anyone with the risk of bad PR.

> That would probably be the safest place to work, can't fire anyone with the risk of bad PR.

Why? Just as long as they don't fire someone on the spot, live on social media, I'm sure their PR team can handle it. E.g. make a statement "Joe Schmoe had persistent performance issues and was fired a month after the CEO visit, there's no connection to the CEO."

Re: Starbucks CEO will work a shift at the company’s cafes once a month

#20

Post by queens_ridge »

I used to work in tech for a large retail company and when you joined the company you had to work 3 days straight at one of the stores. Honestly it was brutal and they put me to work. It made me thankful to work at the corporate office if anything.
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