Starbucks began reverting to pre-pandemic habits on Monday, reinstalling condiment bars and reviving the Sharpie-penned, handwritten names on cups.
The chain also tweaked its name, dubbing itself the Starbucks Coffee Company, CNN noted. It was all in service of “reestablishing Starbucks as the community coffeehouse,” as CEO Brian Niccol wrote in a September letter.
To boot, some “for here” orders — namely hot or iced coffee and tea — will qualify for free refills for everyone, not just loyalty program members. And in November the establishment stopped charging extra for nondairy milk. People not ordering a drink to go will get their beverage in a ceramic cup, or a “clean, personal cup brought from home,” Starbucks said in a statement launching the changes.
The return of the condiment bar means customers can once again pour their own milk and add their own sweeteners. In addition to giving people the ability to cater to their own particular tastes, the move lightens the load on baristas.
Handwritten names on cups brings back the human touch that brought people together to sip coffee in the first place, Starbucks said.
The most recent changes, implemented on Monday, were in addition to the end of the café’s open-door policy, announced last week. From now on, anyone hanging out must buy something, whether they’re frequenting the cafes, patios or restrooms. That reversed a policy in place for seven years.
Starbucks is set to report its first quarter earnings of 2025 on Tuesday. As of Monday afternoon the stock price was up slightly on the heels of the announcement.
At the corporate level, the company is preparing a spate of layoffs in a restructuring announced on Jan. 17, though the reductions won’t affect baristas.
With News Wire Services
