Starbucks reviews

3.5

57% would recommend to a friend

(85,489 total reviews)
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Brian Niccol

33% approve of CEO

41% positive business outlook

Starbucks has an employee rating of 3.5 out of 5 stars, based on 85,489 company reviews on Glassdoor which indicates that most employees have a good working experience there. The Starbucks employee rating is in line with the average (within 1 standard deviation) for employers within the Restauration industry (3.7 stars).

Reviews by job title

85K reviews
4.0
Mar 17, 2009
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Great brand -- Starbucks will survive the current recession and thrive when consumer confidence returns. Good people -- even though a good deal of talent has left the company in the last year, there are still smart committed people at Starbucks.

Cons

Sr Leadership is making confusing choices. Lot's of windy pronouncements have been made since Howard returned as CEO. Many of the directions and strategies introduced become diffuse and lost direction very quickly. Mediocre compensation Doesn't really support professional development Perhaps over-committed to CSR. It doesn't seem middle class consumers have stuck with Starbucks just because it's a 'good' company.

2.0
Mar 17, 2009
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

The free coffee is good, a 30% employee discount, and the ability to work with people who are passionate about the product. The opportunity to peak behind the curtain of a multi-national corporation with such a strong brand name is also a plus.

Cons

The best way to describe Starbucks is like a teenager trying to figure itself out. For an extraordinary period of time, the company was making money hand over fist regardless of the product or the service. The relentless pursuit of expansion and profit caused a loss of focus on people, processes and infrastructure that has brought the company to the state that it is in today. Now that the money is not flowing so freely, the mistakes and missteps of the past are hitting home hard with the company unprepared and scrambling to correct years of miscalculations. Part of the problem is that a lot of the individuals in leadership positions today have remained in play over this period of explosive growth. They have failed to evolved with, and get ahead of, the current business realities and have not been able or willing to drive a culture of operational discipline and strategic thinking that is critical during good times and bad. With that, an outsider will have a monumental task to try and reverse course and effect change productively. The expression of an opposing point of view is rarely met with open arms no matter how respectfully and logically it is made and the disconnect between the field operations and headquarters compounds the problem dramatically. The culture of leadership at Starbucks is of a passive-aggressive nature which is a difficult environment to operate in and to professionally advance with any sense of career progression or track. If you're looking for a mature and disciplined operation, Starbucks may not be your best bet.

2.0
Mar 16, 2009
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

The benefits are pretty comprehensive including medical, dental, vision, stock purchase programs, 401k, stock options and paid vacation. They also offer free coffee each week and free drinks during shifts. For food and merchandise, and drinks outside of the time frame, they give partners a 30% discount off their purchases. If you enjoy people, there is a constant stream of people to talk to, and many repeat customers who become very comfortable with store employees sharing about their day, what is going on in their lives, sometimes bringing presents and treats. Some regular customer treat the employees like family. It is an upbeat, energetic place to be.

Cons

It is hard work. There are many tasks to do, and little time to do it. Between the constant stream of customers, cleaning, stocking, and various store support tasks, there is very little down time. You need to balance customer needs with store needs because , if you neglect either, it will bite you later. Often, the company gives directives that takes time, but does not allow the stores labor to accomplish them. With all the store support cutbacks, getting anything done for the stores (repairs, computer support, order support, policy questions, hr issues, accounting issues, etc.) has become difficult. Often stores do not know who to go to for store support since most of the support staff has been let go.

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