Starbucks CEO Brian Niccol Points To Reddit Feedback As Proof Of Service Culture Revival

Starbucks Corp. (NASDAQ:SBUX) CEO Brian Niccol has been working on a turnaround plan for the company, and a recent Reddit thread has confirmed that the effort is paying off.

Check out the current price of SBUX stock here. 

Reddit Thread Highlights Service Progress

Niccol, who previously served as Chairman and CEO of Chipotle Mexican Grill (NYSE:CMG), revealed in a recent interview with The Wall Street Journal that he thought his ‘Back to Starbucks’ plan was working after reading a Reddit thread about job applicants at the company.

He told host Alan Murray, president of The WSJ Leadership Institute, that people going through the interview process for a role at Starbucks often asked questions like, “What’s one of the questions I should be prepared for?”

To this, they were told, “You better be prepared to talk about how you like customer service.”

The thread suggested that the company’s service standards were being internalized by asking people about their opinions on customer service.

Nicole said, “When I saw that in the Reddit thread, I was like, ‘Okay, we’re making progress,'” regarding the establishment of service standards.

See Also: What Sparked Urgent.ly (ULY)’s 33% Jump In After-Hours Trading?

Third Place Revival

Niccol’s plan, which was officially launched in September 2024, aimed at making Starbucks cafes warm and inviting places. It involved several changes, such as returning condiment bars, having baristas write on coffee cups, offering more ceramic mugs, eliminating the non-dairy milk upcharge, and implementing a revised code of conduct.

When Niccol became CEO, he inherited several challenges, including growing competition and changing consumer preferences for more affordable beverages. The company had also faced criticism from employees and customers for long wait times, inconsistent service, and a perception of being a soulless chain.

Q4 Revenue Exceeds Forecasts

Despite these challenges, Niccol's turnaround efforts appear to be yielding results. Starbucks reported a 1% increase in global comparable sales for the fourth quarter compared with the same period last year.

It’s now been more than a year into Niccol’s tenure. The company's fourth-quarter revenue of $9.57 billion exceeded forecasts, but adjusted EPS of 52 cents fell short of the 56-cent consensus.

Trading Metrics

The stock of the American multinational coffeehouse chain has fallen 6.58% year-to-date.

Starbucks has a market capitalization of $96.94 billion and has traded between a 52-week high of $117.46 and a low of $75.50.

Price Action: SBUX closed at $85.25 on Tuesday, down 0.37%, according to Benzinga Pro data.

Benzinga’s Edge Stock Rankings indicate that SBUX is showing short-term upward momentum while experiencing medium- and long-term consolidation. Know how its momentum lines up with other well-known names.

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Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.