I absolutely refuse to go to Starbucks, it is overpriced specialty coffee that brainwashes people into becoming liberal. I feel like if I asked for a large iced coffee I would be making a mistake because they have some absurd name for an iced coffee. Despite the fact that if you bring a burgah some Starbucks Liberalaccino, you’re probably getting your burgah, I still refuse to get Starbucks. A friend drove him and I to work everyday and would always stop at Starbucks for coffee. No matter how exhausted and desperate for a coffee I was, I refused to go and get something. Yes I have had some bad coffee from Dunkins but I have always been comfortable there and for the most part, satisfied.
Many years later, I have discovered a reason to maybe, possibly, by chance, cheat on Dunkin Donuts with Starbucks. It has nothing to do with any of the products they sell, but a new system they have instituted for employees. Starbucks is now willing to reimburse a bachelor’s degree from Arizona State’s online program. You might say, “An Arizona State degree won’t get you a job.” Well I am sorry but you’re wrong. The Arizona State online program is regarded as one the best online programs. Times are changing and online schooling is becoming more popular and useful. These employees can truly get something out of this opportunity. Starbucks employs 135,000 employees who all now have an affordable option towards an education. Starbucks graduation rates are almost as bad as the University of Cincinnati basketball team’s in the late 1990s and early 2000s. Almost 70 percent of Starbucks employees are in school or enrolled but are forced to drop out for different reasons. Another great part of this program is that even if Starbucks paid for your degree, you will not be required to continue working for the company. Starbucks wants people who work for them to get out in the world and get themselves a great job. This all encourages people to work for Starbucks. I know from experience, a happy employee always results in an ecstatic customer.
So why should I go buy a coffee from Starbucks? I have been working a customer service job that requires little education, just like Starbucks, and I know how valuable this option is to employees. At grocery stores, coffee shops, and fast food restaurants, you see people working the same job for twenty years. They are getting raises that still are not enough to keep up with the increase of the cost of living. They do not move up in the company because they are not educated and can only the job they were doing since they were 16. A company that helps provide education to their employees, will have better employees. For example, people who do not go to college usually get a similar job to working at Starbucks. They start working there and they are doing really well. They love the company and want the ability to move up, so they reverse their decision and start going to school with the help of Starbucks. So instead of being a barrister the next twenty years, they become a manager. This option Starbucks is giving is going to create a very useful cycle of work if people take advantage of it. People within the ages of 16-24 will always be working this supermarket and restaurant jobs, so as they cycle in the people who have been working there forever can cycle up.
Unfortunately sometimes people tend to suck, and a lot of Starbucks’ employees will not take advantage of this. But at least they caught my eye, and one day I will build the courage to actually enter a Starbucks and get a coffee.
Expanding your culture, one touch at a time. 