By ROBERT L. JAMIESON Jr.SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER COLUMNIST
Posted on 09/25/2001 8:02:00 AM PDT by toupsie
Starbucks dropped the ball in New York
Tuesday, September 25, 2001
By ROBERT L. JAMIESON Jr.
SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER COLUMNIST
For Starbucks coffee mogul Howard Schultz, the terrorist attacks in New York City hit home.
Schultz was born in Brooklyn. He lived in or near the Big Apple for more than two decades. He has opened more than 130 Starbucks stores in Manhattan and the surrounding boroughs, each one serving up java -- along with the company's hallmark customer service.
So how then to explain what happened to the Midwood Ambulance Service, a company based near Schultz's old Brooklyn stomping grounds?
On Sept. 11, after the horrific collapse of the World Trade Center, workers for the ambulance company rushed to get bottled water for patients.
They went to a Starbucks store near "Ground Zero" and got, well, let's allow the ambulance company to spill the beans:
"A great deal of people were in shock from the devastation," a representative of the family-owned ambulance company wrote in an e-mail to Starbucks. "Shock victims are supposed to drink a lot of water. When employees of Midwood Ambulance went to the Starbucks down the street to get bottles of water for the victims they were treating, can you believe Starbucks actually charged them for it!!!"
Wait, there's more...
"These men, heroes for what they were doing, paid the $130 for three cases of bottled water out of their own pockets. Now, I would think that in a crisis such as this, vendors in the area would be more than happy to lend a little help by donating water. Well, not Starbucks! As if this country hasn't given you people enough money already!"
The e-mail continued:
"I love Frappuccinos as much as anyone, but any company that would try to make a profit off of a crisis like this doesn't deserve the American public's hard-earned money."
Now, let's give Starbucks the benefit of the doubt.
Let's pretend for a moment that employees at the store in Battery Park were not motivated by callousness when they charged medical personnel for water in a time of need.
Still, the store's unwillingness to donate water -- when many other people in New York and elsewhere freely gave supplies and labor -- came at the very same time when its corporate parent was all too willing to do something else: pat itself publicly on the back.
In a press release, the Seattle-based coffee company publicized how it had temporarily closed its North American locations "so that our partners could return to be home with their families and friends."
Gee, what Starbucks did for its "partners" -- that's Starbucks-ese for employees -- was nice, but certainly not something worthy of tooting its own horn about.
Given the context of national suffering, such publicity came across as self-serving and something else: tasteless.
If the mistreatment of the ambulance company resulted from one ill-guided employee at one Starbucks store, then the coffee giant, which fancies itself a good business neighbor, failed to do the right thing when the issue first reached the corporate level.
Starbucks could have made nice when a representative from the ambulance company called up to complain about the H{-2}0 imbroglio. But that didn't happen.
The ambulance company employee told Starbucks, "When I called...to inquire about this at your 'contact us' phone number from your Web site, I was told in a rather rude way that this could not have happened and abruptly thanked for my call and dismissed."
Starbucks had the chance to turn this unfortunate incident into something positive and, it appears, shrugged it off.
So the ambulance company eventually went to a higher level, writing a Dear Orin letter -- as in Starbucks President and CEO Orin Smith. That correspondence, dated Sept. 17, began: "Dear Orin, I have been a good customer of Starbucks for a number of years..."
It went on to explain what had happened and expressed how the ambulance company felt: "I am completely and utterly disappointed in you and your company and would sooner have open heart surgery without anesthesia before I would give you another red cent of my hard-earned money."
Neither Schultz, who is Starbucks chairman and chief global strategist, nor Smith could be reached. Audrey Lincoff, a company spokeswoman, confirmed that Starbucks had talked to Midwood Ambulance Service and had received its correspondences.
Finally, last week, Smith spoke to the head of the ambulance company and expressed "his deep concern" over the incident, the coffee company said.
Starbucks is now looking into how the faux pas occurred.
But the coffee company has made amends, swallowing its pride and doing something to make up for the case of customer disservice: It reimbursed the ambulance company in Brooklyn.
P-I columnist Robert L. Jamieson Jr. can be reached at 206-448-8125 or robertjamieson@seattlepi.com
During the election dispute we Freeped on the sidewalk in front of a Starbucks, but went across the street to a service station to get our warm-ups.
How do you make Biscotti?
During the election dispute we Freeped on the sidewalk in front of a Starbucks, but went across the street to a service station to get our warm-ups.
How do you make Biscotti?
I didn't know any of the stuff you wrote in #3, but I concur on your conclusion. We grind our own and we recently ran out of our fav beans. Our replacement order won't arrive for a week or two, so in the meantime we bought a pound of Starbucks French Roast.
It is exactly as you say. Lousy beans blackened by over-roasting. When brewed, it actually foams like Maxwell House instant coffee, and tastes like . . . well, I'd better not say. What a joke. I cover mine with tons of sugar and cream., and pretend it's an expensive dessert treat. But I'm not fooled.
I did e-mail Kraft, but seems it won't get quick attention. I called, 1+800+543-5335; explained I'd just sent link to Seattle article via e-mail. She said she'd put it tomarketing's attention imediately, also acknowledged how much the gtoup had already done, but believes my suggestion that water be donated sepcifically by Maxwell House is a good one--shenoted that the Miller Brewing alrady donated water.
Also asked if she would get data on what and how much the group has contributed; she agreed to do; when rec'd I want to post here.
Good point. I can't fault the store w/out more information. For all I know it was some four months out of high school kid who was warned that he would have to make up the shortage if there was product missing, and made a very bad call.
I DO fault the corporate office for badly bungling the complaint. They should have handled it better. Much better.
Biscotti is easy. I'll get it ready to post today.
On other notes about liberal tendencies, this company is headquartered in Seattle, WA (surprise), and even their profile page will not disclose the executive board's annual pay rate and their annual proceeds from sales of shares.
However, go to Starbucks link to insider trades and see how many of the helpful, no-greed-here executives sold huge piles of SBUX stock in June during the nearly highest point in the history of the company. Here is the recent chart:
These are the caring, feeling, anti-capitalistic, non-monitary oriented, new world order liberal types we love so much who are running the Starbucks company. Does it really surprise you to find out that these liberals would demand blood money for their precious water?
Laura Anne Biscotti can be made by telling her she has the most wonderful eyes on the planet.....hoever, if you're after the mother...tell her, that you hope her daughter grows up to look like her.
Than get a porn domain name.
2 cups almonds
2 cups sugar
1 cup flour
1/2 cup eggs
1/4 cup water
Vanilla extract
Eggwash: 1 egg, beaten
Preheat oven to 350 degrees Combine all ingredients, except egg wash. Roll into logs and brush with egg wash. Bake for 45 minutes or until firm to touch. Slice at an angle before they begin to harden.
The way most minimum wage employees are treated by management - they had better do what they are told or be fired. It may have been a very young employee also in shock - going through the motions of normal life.
I was once at a gas station when the motorcycle at the next pump caught fire during fueling. The attendent was only interested in collecting his $2.00 due before he was willing to help extinguish the fire.
Some people miss the big picture in a crisis.
My son was at a McDonald's across the street from Kenneywood amusement park in Pittsburgh. He was next in line, and the place was packed. A man a few rows back having a diabetic emergency, his eyes were rolling around in his head, and his girlfriend was yelling to the employees that he had to have orange juice now. The mouth-breathers told her in no uncertain terms, that she would have to wait her turn.
Fortunately, my son ordered an orange juice, passed it over to the girl, and she got the juice into him, a sip at a time, because he kept nearly passing out.
Did the rescue workers donate their time and first aid supplies? Many people did but these ambulance workers probably got paid overtime, and their company is probably preparing a big bill for someone to pay. They don't provide free rescue. Charity should not be demanded, expected, or forced under penalty of shame. It is a gift.
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