"In 1983, Howard Schultz was an employee of Starbucks, a small chain of coffee stores that mainly sold beans (and no drinks), when he was sent to Milan for a trade show. As Schultz observed Italians visiting their local cafés, he loved what he saw, describing it as a " sense of community, a real sense of connection between the barista and the customer.""
"To do so, Schultz knew he had to take care of his people. He called them "partners," not employees, a symbol of a more collaborative working relationship. Over the years, Starbucks offered perks that were typically unheard of for part-time workers in food service, benefits like health insurance and contributions to college education. Nowadays, though, Starbucks seems to have lost the reputation for looking after its people."
"Starbucks's brass, and even Schultz himself, became hopeful when the company tapped Brian Niccol, former CEO of Chipotle, to take over the helm. In the world of fast food and fast casual dining, Niccol was a superstar. Most recently, he had completed a major turnaround at Chipotle, a company that saw sales double in Niccol's first year as CEO, along with a major rise in stock price."
In 1983 Howard Schultz visited Milan and admired the Italian café's strong community and barista-customer connection. Schultz later acquired Starbucks and sought to recreate that atmosphere in the U.S., renaming employees "partners" and offering uncommon benefits like health insurance and tuition contributions for part-time workers. Schultz stepped down and returned multiple times as successors struggled, and a listening tour was undertaken to diagnose problems. The company hired Brian Niccol, former Chipotle CEO, whose prior turnaround doubled sales in his first year, and Niccol pledged to return Starbucks to its roots and improve store experience.
Read at Fast Company
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