Katie Couric Interview

Katie Couric began the interview with Howard Schultz, CEO of Starbucks, by asking him why he had chosen the names for the different sizes of coffee. He said that he had gone to Italy and had seen these names, and they just made sense to him. Katie then asked why he was closing so many stores and what went wrong and if it was because the company had grown too big and too fast. He replied yes, and he said that the growth had covered some mistakes. Katie went on and asked whether he has a business plan in place for the recession. He said no. He said he doesn't have a business plan for the recession because history had demonstrated to him that a downturn of the economy would not affect Starbucks. Katie ended the interview by asking whether he would lower the prices for the Starbucks coffees. He said no. He said he would not cut corners that would jeopardize the Starbucks experience that his customer enjoyed. He said he saw an immediate uptick in the number of people coming in Starbucks after 9-11 because he thought people wanted human connection.

Looking around at my friends and family, I see that many o f them are loyal Starbucks customers. I think Mr. Schultz is right that his customers come into Starbucks for the experience and the atmosphere, not just the coffee. Yesterday I was meeting my brother and sisters at Starbucks for coffee. We were sitting at the booth chatting for a couple of hours. Beside being our meeting place, Starbucks is the place where my older sister has to have a Starbucks coffee every morning before work, and she’s been hooked on Starbucks coffee for more then couple of years. Looking at these loyal customers that I know, I don’t think Starbucks should make any change or cut cost on the store front. Maybe slowing down the growth and maintaining the Starbucks coffee quality and atmosphere could avoid more closing of stores and cutting jobs.