NICO MONETTI | staff writer

Shocked customers across the nation found the doors of their local Starbucks locked this Tuesday evening.

“All the stores in America closed down from five thirty to nine thirty… to retrain everyone and make sure everyone’s on par,” local Starbucks shift manager T.R. Russell said.

Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz coordinated the mass temporary closings to make time for mandatory meetings for every Starbucks employee in the country.

“[Schultz] thinks Starbucks needs to head back to its roots,” Russell said. “[We’re becoming] more customer-centered rather than speed-focused, which we had been.”

Expressions of confusion and disappointment swept across the faces of the would-be customers as they realized the door to their caffeine getaway was locked during normal operating hours. As amends for the closing, all customers were welcomed to a table that offered free coffee while the employees inside engaged in their mysterious meeting.

“It’s a bummer [that Starbucks is closed] but it’s sweet that they have free coffee and they still let us smoke here,” junior physical education major Mike Herrington said. “As long as I can smoke and have free coffee, I’m chill.”

Though all expectant customers were surprised by the sudden turn of events, most were understanding of the unexpected closing and saw the potential customer service improvements the meetings could spark as worth the sacrifice of being closed for a few hours.

“I’ll probably have to go to a different place to get my cup of coffee, but if this five minutes it takes me to find a cup of coffee means that they’ll do a better job the next time I come in it’s fine with me,” music professor Mark Airhumphrey said.

Most customers enjoyed the free cups of coffee. But for those customers who came to drink something other than coffee, the news was unsettling to say the least.
“I got here and I was fully expecting to get a glass of water because I am rather parched…I got here and [Starbucks is] closed down,” senior history major Jordon Edna said. “I’m very thirsty and I’m being forced to drink free coffee, free coffee! I didn’t have to pay for it. This is ridiculous, if I’m not paying for [the coffee] it doesn’t feel like I earned it and I can’t live with myself at this point.”

The closing came as a surprise to all. Different people reacted different ways to the news. Only time will tell whether the changes brought by these meetings will outweigh the money lost and customers inconvenienced in the few hours that starbucks across the country was out of reach.

Starbucks employees like Russell are enthusiastic about the new changes and eager to see the ramifications of Schultz’s new order.

“I’m really passionate about getting back to those roots and really providing legendary customer service to every one of the people that comes through here,” Russell said.