Starbucks Coffee Company
Coffee shop · Tulsa ·
Signature roasts, light bites, free WiFi, and a popular "third place"
/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/71397864/1420597598.0.jpg "Starbucks Coffee Company by Jenn Moreno/VIEWpress")
Signature roasts, light bites, free WiFi, and a popular "third place"
"I used to be a near-daily customer, stopping on my commute for an iced caramel latte and a breakfast sandwich, but now I rarely go; sales are down and foot traffic fell about 10 percent last year, and new CEO Brian Niccol (who joined in September after leaving Chipotle) is trying to turn the company around. While conveniences like the app (launched in 2009) and collectible cups remain useful, Starbucks has largely failed to meaningfully innovate its drinks recently — the olive-oil latte was widely mocked and allegedly caused gastric distress before being discontinued in October — even though the chain did originate major items like the Frappuccino (1995), the pumpkin spice latte (2003), matcha (2006), and popularized cold foam (2014). Many viral items such as the “Medicine Ball” and the sweet “Pink Drink” were created by customers rather than the company, and that secret-menu creativity has made baristas’ jobs harder, leading to longer waits, incidents of verbal abuse, strikes, and widespread unionization as workers complain of excessive heat, unsanitary conditions, pay, benefits, and alleged anti-union firings (which Starbucks denies). Niccol says the company is “getting back to Starbucks” with plans to improve in-store hospitality, empower baristas, avoid price increases in 2025, stop charging for non-dairy milk, and simplify some tasks, but I now prefer independent shops or other chains for a consistently better latte and it’s unclear whether Starbucks can reclaim its former “third place” status." - Amy McCarthy
"A national coffee chain presence in the neighborhood that remained in place amid other stalled projects and was seen as one of the potential draws for further investment." - Ashok Selvam
"When it introduced the chai tea latte in 1999, Starbucks created a frothy, sweet drink promoted with taglines like "It smells like Christmas," and later spun that "cozy blend of chai spices" into gingerbread and other seasonal variants; as a result, I see Starbucks as both a gateway that introduced millions to South Asian–style chai and a source of frustration for people who remember brewing chai spiked with bold spices like black pepper, cardamom, and ginger." - Ashok Selvam
"After years of trying to convince people that it was a welcoming 'third place' for gathering or working remotely, Starbucks is 'evolving' away from that experiment and is leaning hard into operating just like any other fast-food restaurant." - Amy McCarthy
"Often treated as an industry benchmark, base pay at the company can be relatively low on the lower end (Glassdoor estimates around $8 per hour), but many full- and part-time workers receive more extensive benefits—including health coverage, 401(k) matching, tuition reimbursement, and paid time off—which supporters cite as evidence the employer 'really takes care of their employees.' Workers and activists have organized petitions and campaigns urging higher minimum wages (for example, a push for a $12 floor), highlighting tensions between base pay and overall compensation." - Matthew Sedacca