A key to the new Starbucks CEO’s turnaround plan may be baristas

Starbucks CEO Brian Niccol mentioned the chain’s frontline workers in a message to shareholders on Tuesday.

Some of Starbucks’ baristas’ biggest problems could be addressed as part of its new CEO Brian Niccol’s corporate turnaround plan for the chain.

Niccol addressed some of the issues on Tuesday in a prerecorded message to shareholders, which came alongside an early press release saying Starbucks’ fourth-quarter sales slumped both in the US and internationally. The message included a rough outline of a revitalization plan for the coffee chain and repeatedly referred to Starbucks’ store employees, whom the company calls “partners.”

“Our green-apron partners want to provide exceptional service to our customers,” Niccol said. “And as leaders, we need to remove those things that might stop them from doing that.”

Starbucks workers have recently told B-17 about specific issues at their stores.

Some have said there aren’t enough workers to fill orders in a reasonable time during the busiest times of the day, such as after-school rushes. They said that as a result, customers could wait nearly half an hour for their orders.

They also said mobile orders, especially those with multiple drinks as part of a promotion, contributed to the backup.

On Tuesday, Niccol said Starbucks needed to improve staffing and change its mobile ordering system “so it doesn’t overwhelm the café experience.”

Niccol didn’t offer many specifics but is expected to say more about his turnaround plan for Starbucks next Wednesday, when the company had originally planned to report its results. He took the helm at the coffee chain in early September.

“The thorniest issue is how to bolster Starbucks’ operations to improve speed of service and throughput, particularly in the key time-sensitive morning,” Sharon Zackfia, an analyst at William Blair, wrote in a research note on Tuesday. Zackfia added that Starbucks and Niccol are likely to consider adding hours to stores and finding new ways to get customers to order besides limited-time promotions. Starbucks has indicated it’s already working on the latter.

Starbucks reported fewer transactions at its US stores for the fourth quarter than it did a year earlier, a sign that foot traffic was down even as it offered promotions such as four drinks for $20.

Niccol argued that making changes for baristas would help win customers back.

“We know how to make these improvements, and when we do, we know customers will visit more often,” he said on Tuesday.