Starbucks to close stores and discontinue breakfast sandwiches

kat, you didnt provide the follow-up to the email you posted. When quoting someone else, have all your facts.

Starbucks says that the originator of the email, Sgt. Howard Wright, and talked with him about his complaint.
He has now sent a follow-up email to his email list, which appears below.

Starbucks assured him of their support of the military and that the only reason any coffee was not donated was because the official Starbucks donation policy authorizes such gifts to officially designated public charities, including libraries and schools, and that the U.S. military or military personnel do not qualify.
It was not meant to be a comment on the war or the service of military personnel in the war.
The company said that there have been employees that have showed their support through donations of coffee.
Starbucks told us that many of the company's employees (called "partners" by Starbucks) receive one pound of free coffee each week and some of that coffee has gone to members of the military or related organizations.
For example, the employees in the Starbucks in Atascadero, California, decided to send their weekly free coffee to troops in Afghanistan and there are other such stories about Starbucks coffee finding its way into the hands of military personnel.

Here is Sgt. Wright's follow-up email after Starbucks spoke with him:

Dear Readers,



Almost 5 months ago I sent an e-mail to you my faithful friends. I did a wrong thing that needs to be cleared up. I heard by word of mouth about how Starbucks said they didn't support the war and all. I was having enough of that kind of talk and didn't do my research properly like I should have. This is not true. Starbucks supports men and women in uniform. They have personally contacted me and I have been sent many copies of their company's policy on this issue. So I apologize for this quick and wrong letter that I sent out to you.



Now I ask that you all pass this email around to everyone you passed the last one to. Thank you very much for understanding about this.



Howard C. Wright

Sgt USMC

1st Force Rcon Co

1st Plt PLT RTO

I am happy to hear that they are re-training the Barista's. I can't tell you how many times I have gone into a Starbucks (I often frequent several different ones within a 25 mile ratius of my home) and had someone make my favorite drink a different way each time! It seems like there is no consistancy. Thank you for making Starbucks a better place!

I used to go to Starbucks, but can't really afford to go there. The coffee was fantastic, and I would go there more often-probably alot more people would as well, if it weren't so overpriced. One fancy coffee costs as much as a meal at a buffet..so you choose your poison, so to speak. To eat a meal, or get a great tasting coffee. Middleclass people are the backbone of America, and they probably drink way more coffee every day than "suits". But regular everyday people drag their butts to work at the oddest hours day or night to hold down their jobs, suckin up coffee to keep going--before, during, and after work,when they get home. It's a real treat to get coffee at Starbucks, and it would be so cool for us "regular folks" to be able to afford not only the gas to get there , but to soak up the atmosphere of the little shops, and have a couple of latte's instead of just one. It's a great place to kick back and pretend you've got all your ducks in a row in your life-get wired on great coffee, then go out there and face the world again-for another dose of the insanity the world dishes out these days. It would be a benefit for Howard to drop the price a little--he'd get more business in the long run, which we are all in this life for--what's best in the long run.

Starbucks - the king of "burnt" coffee and "sky-high" prices! You go Dunkin! I live less than 1 mile from a Starbucks in NJ - I've been there once. Way over priced, same selection of cakes, muffins, etc. over and over again. Not friendly. They can do "give-a-ways" because of all their profits from overpriced drinks. If you make $10/hr not clear and a damn coffee costs $4+ you got to be kidding! Years ago as a waitress you get dozens of cups of coffee from a "brewed" pound of coffee. What happened with that? Coffee prices have been down.......why aren't their prices going down?
Hope they all close!
Aurora in NJ

While I love Starbucks, I think its an image problem when you find them in every hick town large enough for a McDonalds, ala Krispy Kreme. It highly dilutes a once prestigious brand. I see Starbucks going the way of Krispy Kreme if they continue their current business model.

My family lives in a rural town of about 12,000 people and they got a Starbucks last year. This is the kind of town where people drive pickups with shotguns in the back and wave Confederate flags. Definately not a Starbucks market. As for Starbucks there, I have never seen more than 2-3 cars in the parking lot. I think the presence of Starbucks in these types of rural markets causes more harm to the brand than growth. I am hoping those make up the bulk of the 100 stores being closed.

Ooh Rah Marine, email me you address and I'll seend you some coffee
personally. I work for a company who delivers to Starbucks and, no we
don't ship coffee Yet... I will be honored to send some. I to am a
Marine and though having served in the Army res. and was deployed to
O.I.F I know still that my blood is and always will be that of a
Devil Dog.
T. Jones
email at, Lvjones0673@aol.com

Starbucks not donating coffee to troops?? Not true, and if so is a very very unique and unproven case. Starbucks in Jacksonville North Carolina, justs minutes away from Camp Lejuene military base, collects and donates hundreds of pounds of coffee a week and sends it along with bean grinders and brewers to our troops in Iraq. Furthermore, anytime ANY event is going on at Camp Lejuene to honor our troops, this Starbucks location donates their coffee, with condiments, carafes and such to the event so that our troops may have access to drinking the finest coffee around. When the Marine Corps was celebrating its birthday last November, Starbucks coffee was being served free of charge. In addition to supporting our troops, Starbucks in Jacksonville also donates to local community organizations and their Barista's volunteer time to benefit community outreach programs.

How do I know all this? I am proud to be a Starbucks Barista at this very location, and Howard Schulz is just as commited to me being taken care of as a Starbucks employee as long as I am with the company (and I intend to be with Starbucks a long long time).

I wish all of you could see the sincerity in Howard Schulz's eyes, and hear in his voice that he really genuinely cares about the coffee experience more than anything else, and we are going back to that. The training provided much needed effective changes, and team building as well as Baristas all over the United States attentively listening and learning (and cringing because we couldn't see the smiling faces of all our customers whom we love to serve and talk to everyday for those few hours to serve them) and practicing to re-inforce our knowledge and better our skills all to make sure that every customer that walks in the door is treated like family and ensured that in our current economy every hard earned dollar they choose to spend on Starbucks coffee, is a dollar well spent.

Oh my gosh, those breakfast sandwiches are the only reason I go to Starbucks. I actually drive out of my way to go to the Starbucks with the ovens. They are soooooo delicious. Why do they have to be sent away. I remember the first day I had one in Seattle. YUM!

I'll take a Tim Hortons over Fivebucks any day.

I also agree the sandwiches will be sorely missed. I went in my closest Starbucks Saturday March 29 and there was a huge line (WHY only two workers early on a Saturday morning when they're the busiest?). the main reason the line moved so slow? just about every person in line ordered a breakfast sandwich and it takes a dedicated person to heat them up. yes the scent washes out that of the coffee, but tons of people buy them - because they're GOOD. I've seen Starbucks stores with three baristas and no customers. this store had 15 customers waiting and two baristas. mistake. they were making a ton of money and unwilling to staff the store sufficiently, keeping me from making that mistake again.

once they get rid of the sandwiches it will be only McDonald's for me. if they think I'll go in there for a $4 coffee and awful little "scone", forget it. also their stores are too stale since you don't see / hear / smell a barista make a drink (i.e. with the steamed milk), all they do is feed ingredients, push a button and clean the machines now.

by the way, the baristas have always been the worst reason to go in there, for me. I was never a huge coffee drinker but my fiancee is. in the 25 or 30 times I've been in a Starbucks, I would say that the person who helped me was friendly one or two of those times, and knowledgeable or helpful or speedy didn't rank much higher. another time an older woman had no idea what she was doing. couldn't even take my order and charge me for it. another time, I already paid for my order and the guy forgot it completely. I was standing there waiting patiently, he was standing there looking at me like I was bothering him. it was simply an iced coffee. no apology, no explanation, no "here you go", he just put the lid on the drink and rudely SLID it to me at the end of the counter. always makes me wonder, why do I come here again? and why do they have that ridiculous tip jar if they're not going to provide adequate service?

In this recession, the last thing folks want to do is spend $4-5 a pop for a cup of coffee. We need to save this coffee money to pay for gas! It is no wonder these stores must close their doors. I just buy some ground coffee at the store and brew my own, in fact, my coffee tastes better!