Chaos of COVID-19 & Company Crisis Control: Starbucks

Ahh Starbucks. I don't know about you, but Starbucks is my go-to place for drinks, snacks, and the perfect study spot. I literally go to Starbucks on the daily for my regular order of a venti (or trenta if I'm going to be studying there for multiple hours ha!) iced unsweetened green tea with light ice and a multigrain bagel, toasted, with cream cheese. I miss that pick-me-up that I could rely on at any time of the day. I miss the soothing ambiance of Starbucks with its lighthearted coffee shop music and soft buzz of the baristas hard at work behind the counter. A place filled with so much busyness and action, yet also filled with so many customers who find it the ideal location to focus and get work done.

I have never met a Starbucks employee that didn't greet me with a smile or ask me how my morning/day was going. Starbucks has access to an audience that either relies on coffee daily or just enjoys a Starbucks beverage daily. This give the employees a unique opportunity to build relationships with their regular/daily customers that some other food chains do not have. The company does an excellent job of hiring employees who make their customers feel important and always perform such friendly customer-service. Starbucks is so much more than a coffee shop. Starbucks is a community.

With the horrific original outbreak of COVID-19 in China, Starbucks had to close over half of their locations in China. After an employee of a Seattle's Starbucks tested positive for the Coronavirus, that location was completely shut down for deep cleaning. American Starbucks locations feel more prepared to take necessary precautions when needed because of the company's experience with the outbreak in China; "CEO Kevin Johnson wrote that Starbucks has 'increased cleaning and sanitizing procedures' its stores and prepared stores 'to respond quickly to any emerging situation, leveraging the considerable insights we’ve gained from our experience in China.'"

Starbucks is also doing their part to donate around the world and these donations include: "$1M contribution to the UN Foundation", "$1M contribution to Give2Asia", "More than $1M in local grants to support COVID-19 relief efforts in Canada and U.S. communities like Seattle and New York", and also "$500,000 to support U.S. front-line responders". Starbucks first-class service remains the same through most of their locations' drive through's staying open and offering delivery through Uber Eats without a delivery fee. Stay at home and healthy so we can get our Starbuckses back open again!

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