Howard Schultz

But it is a hard job. Certainly. And we have to honor the people who are doing it more so today than ever before.

But it is a hard job. Certainly. And we have to honor the people who are doing it more so today than ever before.

Yep. Another one that I have is, it's funny, it flies in the face of some of the pitfalls of ubiquity that we were discussing before. The fact that it is everywhere almost cheapens the experience. To me, Starbucks' ubiquity is a massive feature. The fact that I can go anywhere in the world and get basically my same order, or certainly anywhere in America and get my same order.

Yep. Another one that I have is, it's funny, it flies in the face of some of the pitfalls of ubiquity that we were discussing before. The fact that it is everywhere almost cheapens the experience. To me, Starbucks' ubiquity is a massive feature. The fact that I can go anywhere in the world and get basically my same order, or certainly anywhere in America and get my same order.

I can even do it from the mobile app in a way that I'm very familiar with ordering. It's reliable, it's predictable. It's the same reason I bank with Chase and I buy Apple products. It's this thing that I just know works everywhere and I never have to take any risk on. And Starbucks didn't have that when it was starting, but it really feels like

I can even do it from the mobile app in a way that I'm very familiar with ordering. It's reliable, it's predictable. It's the same reason I bank with Chase and I buy Apple products. It's this thing that I just know works everywhere and I never have to take any risk on. And Starbucks didn't have that when it was starting, but it really feels like

It's reached this scale that no one else can really compete with the level of ubiquity.

It's reached this scale that no one else can really compete with the level of ubiquity.

So ubiquity, earlier on in our conversation, I said ubiquity is an enemy of Starbucks. And it's an enemy because we can't be defined by our ubiquity. We have to be defined by the one store you come into, not based on the thousands, but that experience you have in the store. So if the ubiquity is driving trust

So ubiquity, earlier on in our conversation, I said ubiquity is an enemy of Starbucks. And it's an enemy because we can't be defined by our ubiquity. We have to be defined by the one store you come into, not based on the thousands, but that experience you have in the store. So if the ubiquity is driving trust

and driving convenience, we have to ensure the fact that we are providing that intimacy in the store and not allowing ubiquity to commoditize the experience. That is the framework of the daily challenge of the company.

and driving convenience, we have to ensure the fact that we are providing that intimacy in the store and not allowing ubiquity to commoditize the experience. That is the framework of the daily challenge of the company.

Frustratingly, for those of us who are trying to analytically put this puzzle together, the humanity is actually the answer. Scaling humanity is actually the answer. You know, along with this obsessive quality of product, the fact that product isn't just product, but experience is the product. It's everything you experience around consuming the beverage itself.

Frustratingly, for those of us who are trying to analytically put this puzzle together, the humanity is actually the answer. Scaling humanity is actually the answer. You know, along with this obsessive quality of product, the fact that product isn't just product, but experience is the product. It's everything you experience around consuming the beverage itself.

It's a bunch of the things we've already talked about. You invest in your employees. They take care of the customers. Who takes care of the shareholders? But the shareholders are last. It's the fact that, oh yeah, we talked about the store cash flow dynamics that you can scale in a really cash efficient way when you're paying the stores back in less than two years every time.

It's a bunch of the things we've already talked about. You invest in your employees. They take care of the customers. Who takes care of the shareholders? But the shareholders are last. It's the fact that, oh yeah, we talked about the store cash flow dynamics that you can scale in a really cash efficient way when you're paying the stores back in less than two years every time.

Every store is a billboard. So you're intentionally picking real estate in these places where you're building familiarity with people. They're walking by over and over and over. You're extending the brand by doing United Airlines, by going to grocery stores. Everything is a billboard. Everything is a billboard. Why pay for customer acquisition when you can get product in people's hands?

Every store is a billboard. So you're intentionally picking real estate in these places where you're building familiarity with people. They're walking by over and over and over. You're extending the brand by doing United Airlines, by going to grocery stores. Everything is a billboard. Everything is a billboard. Why pay for customer acquisition when you can get product in people's hands?

The third place, very novel idea at first. Turned out that was something basically the entire country and then the world wanted to participate in. Not obvious at first. And it's so easy to think about these things that now we take completely for granted. Like Starbucks is infrastructure in our society. It is assumed.

The third place, very novel idea at first. Turned out that was something basically the entire country and then the world wanted to participate in. Not obvious at first. And it's so easy to think about these things that now we take completely for granted. Like Starbucks is infrastructure in our society. It is assumed.