By Alex P. Vidal
“Smell the roses. Smell the coffee. Whatever it is that makes you happy.”—Rita Moreno
THANK God no Starbucks branch in New York City was included among the 16 branches to be permanently shut down in the United States because of repeated safety issues, including drug use and other disruptive behaviors that threaten staff, it was reported.
But the branch at the Union Station in Washington D.C., our favorite tambayan while waiting for transfer to the Washington Metro or Metrorail, a rapid transit system that brings us from Washington D.C. to Virginia and Maryland vice versa, will be among the casualties.
The others, which will become history effective July 31, are: six stores in Seattle, six in Los Angeles, two in Portland, Oregon and one each in Philadelphia.
This latest news about Starbucks became head-turner and hogged headlines all over the world because it’s not only about repair or rehabilitation of certain branches, it’s a permanent closure of 16 branches in major locoations at the height of inflation in the US.
I regularly spend three to five hours in a Starbucks branch at the Rego Park in Queens Boulevard in New York City during my off time.
For a cup of medium-sized Matcha Tea Latte, I can use the coffee giant’s unlimited free wi-fi, restroom, and enjoy the cozy and sometimes spacious atmosphere.
No time limit. No pressure whatsoever to “stay only for 15 minutes to give way to other customers.”
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But I used to dislike the Starbucks in Canada. I avoided all the branches there on purpose and went for Tim Morton and McDonalds. Reason: while the wi-fi connections at Tim Morton and McDonalds were unlimited, the wi-fi at Starbucks anywhere in Canada stopped after one hour without any notice.
I personally experienced this “disruption” and “terrible inconvenience” while writing my newspaper articles inside the Starbucks branches in Vancouver, Toronto, and Montreal in 2009 and 2012.
Back in the United States, I learned there’s no such animal as “limited” wi-fi connection in all the Starbucks branches from the East Coast to the West Coast.
So it’s only in Canada. I don’t know if they have corrected this “bad policy” and “unfriendly business strategy” after all these years.
Thus my love affair with Starbucks had been rekindled when I settled in the United States.
The recent announcement of the closure of 16 branches in the US was met with suspicions even as some people have connected it with the union that reportedly alarmed the management.
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The closures took on heightened significance because of an ongoing unionization effort at Starbucks’ US stores.
More than 189 US Starbucks stores have voted to unionize since late last year, according to the National Labor Relations Board. Starbucks opposes the unionization effort.
In a letter to employees, Starbucks’ senior vice presidents of operations Debbie Stroud and Denise Nelson said the company’s stores aren’t immune from problems like rising drug use and a growing mental health crisis.
“We know these challenges can, at times, play out within our stores too. We read every incident report you file—it’s a lot,” Stroud and Nelson wrote.
Starbucks its plan to keep employees safe includes modifying operations, closing restrooms, or even closing a store permanently, when safety is no longer possible.
Starbucks said employees at those stores will be given the opportunity to transfer to other stores.
Starbucks said July 12 the closures are part of a larger effort to respond to staff concerns and make sure stores are safe and welcoming.
(The author, who is now based in New York City, used to be the editor of two local dailies in Iloilo.—Ed)
