Starbucks Announces New Operation Plans, Changes to Employee Pay

Starbucks is getting ready to implement a new operations model for their stores, which include at least 20 locations in Pasadena and South Pasadena, whose application will depend on each store’s current circumstances as the COVID-19 pandemic continues.

Kevin Johnson, CEO of the Seattle, Washington-based coffeehouse chain, outlined the plan Thursday in a message to U.S. partners. The letter was posted on Starbucks’ website.

“As we have experienced in China, we are now transitioning to a new phase that can best be described as ‘monitor and adapt.’ This means every community will continue to monitor the COVID-19 situation and people and businesses in that community will begin to adapt,” Johnson wrote. “We will gradually expand and shift the customer experiences we enable in our stores. For example, some Starbucks stores will continue as drive-thru only, others may utilize the mobile ordering experience for contactless pickup and delivery and others may reopen for ‘to-go’ ordering.”

Johnson said the company is “thoughtfully preparing for this next phase” to be implemented among U.S. stores.

The coffee company said over the past few weeks, it has tested a variety of service options in more than 300 U.S. stores including contactless service, entryway pickup, curbside delivery and at-home delivery, and continues to find innovative ways to serve their customers safely and in compliance with public health requirements.

Johnson said the company has also developed a data-rich dashboard to provide comprehensive information on confirmed COVID-19 cases and trends and how that may influence decisions at the individual store level.

He said decisions on which operations model should apply will be based primarily on three principles: prioritizing the health and well-being of partners and customers, playing a constructive role in supporting health and government officials, and showing up in a positive and responsible way to serve communities.

In another letter, Rossann Williams, Starbucks EVP and president for U.S. retail, said the company will reopen as many stores as they can on May 4, “with modified operations and best in class safety measures.”

She added any “partner,” as Starbucks calls its employees, who is healthy and well can come back to work.

Williams said partners’ “service pay” will be extended through the end of May, with an additional $3 per hour for anyone who is healthy and choosing to work.

In March, Starbucks announced employees who are  diagnosed with COVID-19 or who have been in contact with someone diagnosed with COVID-19 are eligible for “catastrophe pay” which should cover missed days at work. Catastrophe pay also covered employees who self-isolate after showing COVID-19 symptoms, and employees over 60, pregnant workers, or those with underlying heart disease or lung disease issues.

“We will also continue to have Catastrophe Pay available for partners whose stores have to close, or stay closed, during May,” Williams wrote. “And in order to ensure partners are paid for their average baseline hours, we will make Catastrophe Pay available to help close the gap between hours worked on Service Pay and average baseline hours through May 31.”

In Pasadena, Starbucks stores are located at 1830 E. Washington Blvd., 743 N. Lake Ave., 93 W. Colorado Blvd., 300 E. Colorado Blvd. Suite 152, 82 S. Lake Ave., 161 N. Hill Ave., 1687 E. Colorado Blvd., 556 S. Fair Oaks Ave. #102, 753 South Arroyo Parkway, 575 S. Lake Ave., 3007 Huntington Drive, 230 S. Rosemead Blvd., 3699 E. Foothill Blvd., 3429 E. Foothill Blvd., and 671 N. Fair Oaks Ave.