Coffee and Starbucks Essay

Starbucks began in 1971 when terce academicsEnglish teacher Jerry Baldwin, history teacher Zev Siegel, and writer Gordon Bowker exposed a framement firm c entirelyed Starbucks Coffee, Tea, and Spice in the touristed Pikes Place Market in Seattle. The three set or soners shared a tell apart of picturesque javas and exotic teas and believed they could draw a clientele in Seattle lots like that which had already emerged in the San Francisco Bay field. Each invested $1,350 and borrowed another(prenominal) $5,000 from a bank to open the Pikes Place storehouse.Baldwin, Siegel, and Bowker chose the sur chance on Starbucks in honor of Starbuck, the chocolate-loving graduation mate in Herman Melvilles Moby Dick(so friendship legend has it), and because they judgement the name evoked the romance of the high seas and the seafaring tradition of the early deep brown traders. The reinvigorated high societys logo, concepti id by an artist friend, was a dickens-tailed mermaid encircled by the stores name. The inspiration for the Starbucks enterprise was a Dutch immigrant, Alfred Peet, who had begun importation fine arabica javas into the United States during the 1950s.Peet viewed cocoa as a fine winemaker views grapes, appraising it in terms of country of origin, estates, and harvests. Peet had open up a small store, Peets Coffee and Tea, in Berkeley, California, in 1966 and had elegant a loyal clientele. Peets store peculiar(a)ized in importing fine drinking chocolate berrys and teas, dark- cook its own beans the European way to bring pop out(p) their generous flavor, and teaching customers how to grind the beans and make freshly brewed deep brown at home.Baldwin, Siegel, and Bowker were nearly acquainted with Peets expertise, having visited his store on numerous occasions and worn-out(a) many hours listening to Peet expound on quality coffees and the importance of appropriate bean-roasting techniques. altogether three were devoted fans of Peet and his dark-roasted coffees, press release so far as to order their personal coffee supplies by mail from Peets. The Pikes Place store featured modest, hand-built nautical fixtures. One wall was devoted to whole-bean coffees another had shelves of coffee products.The store did not offer fresh-brewed coffee by the instill, exclusively samples were whatever prison terms available for tasting. Initially, Siegel was the only paid employee. He wore a grocers apron, scooped out beans for customers, extolled the virtues of fine, dark-roasted coffees, and functioned as the partnerships denounce expert. The other two partners unplowed their day professions but came by at lunch or later on on en call to help out. During the start-up period, Baldwin kept the books and developed a growing association of coffee Bowker servingd as the magic, mystery, and romance man.1 The store was an immediate success, with gross sales exceeding expectations, partly because of a favorabl e article in the Seattle Times. In the early months, each of the founders traveled to Berkeley to learn more than than closely coffee roasting from their mentor, Alfred Peet, who urged them to keep deepening their knowledge of coffees and teas. For virtually of the introductory year, Starbucks tenacious its coffee beans from Peets, but then(prenominal) the partners getd a employ roaster from Holland and mountain up roasting trading trading operations in a nearby ramshackle building.Baldwin and Bowker experimented with Alfred Peets roasting procedures and came up with their own blends and flavors. A entropy Starbucks store was open(a) in 1972. By the early 1980s, the play along had four Starbucks stores in the Seattle area and could boast of having been moneymaking either year since opening its doors. But the roles and responsibilities of the cofounders underwent change. Zev Siegel go through burnout and left the company to pursue other interests.Jerry Baldwin took over day-to-day circumspection of the company and functioned as chief executive officer Gordon Bowker remained involved as an owner but devoted most of his age to his advertising and design firm, a weekly freshlyspaper he had founded, and a microbrewery he was incoming (the Redhook Ale Brewery). Howard Schultz Enters the Picture In 1981, Howard Schultz, vice chair and general carriage of U. S. operations for Hammarplasta Swedish maker of stylish kitchen equipment and housewaresnoticed that Starbucks was placing larger orders than Macys was for a certain type of drip coffeemaker.Curious to learn what was going on, he intractable to pay the company a visit. The morning aft(prenominal) his arrival in Seattle, Schultz was escorted to the Pikes Place store by Linda Grossman, the retail merchandising contendr for Starbucks. A solo fiddleist was performing Mozart at the door, with his violin case open for donations. Schultz immediately was discovern by the powerful and loving ar oma of the coffees, the wall displaying coffee beans, and the rows of red, yellow, and b omit Hammarplast coffeemakers on the shelves.As he talked with the clerk behind the counter, the clerk scooped out some Sumatran coffee beans, ground them, throw away the grounds in a cone filter, poured tempestuous water over the cone, and shortly handed Schultz a porcelain mug alter with the freshly brewed coffee. subsequently three sips, Schultz was hooked. He began asking the clerk and Grossman questions nigh the company, about coffees from different parts of the world, and about the different ways of roasting coffee. Next, Schultz met with Jerry Baldwin and Gordon Bowker, whose offices overlooked the companys coffee-roasting operation.The atmosphere was informal. Baldwin, dressed in a sweater and tie, showed Schultz some new beans that had comely come in from coffee and suggested they try a sample. Baldwin did the brewing himself, using a glass sewer called a French press. Bowker, a slender, bearded man with dark tomentum and intense brown eyes, appeared at the door and the three men sit down down to talk about Starbucks. Schultz was in know by their knowledge of coffee, their loading to providing high-quality products, and their impatience for educating customers about the merits of dark-roasted coffees.Baldwin told Schultz, We dont manage the care to increase anything other than the quality of the coffee. 2 Starbucks purchased only the finest arabica coffees and put them through a meticulous dark-roasting process to bring out their full flavors. Baldwin explained that the cheap robusta coffees used in supermarket blends burn when subjected to dark roasting. He to a fault noted that the makers of supermarket blends choose lighter roasts because they allow higher yields (the yearner a coffee is roasted, the more weight it loses).Schultz was struck by the personal credit line philosophy of the two partners. It was pile trust from their discussions th at Starbucks stood not fair for soundly coffee, but rather for the dark-roasted flavor profiles that the founders were passionate about. Top-quality, fresh-roasted, whole-bean coffee was the companys differentiating feature and a bedrock value. It was too clear to Schultz that Starbucks was strongly committed to educating its customers to appreciate the qualities of fine coffees, rather than just kowtowing to mass-market appeal.The company depended mainly on word-of-mouth to use up more multitude into its stores, then relied on the caliber of its product to give patrons a sense impression of discovery and excitement. It built customer loyalty cup by cup as buyers of its products developed their palates. On his trip back to New York the succeeding(prenominal) day, Howard Schultz could not stop thinking about Starbucks and what it would be like to be a part of the Starbucks enterprise. Schultz recalled, There was something magic about it, a passion and authenticity I had never e xperienced in business.3 alive in the Seattle area also had a strong appeal. By the time Schultz landed at Kennedy Airport, he knew he wanted to go to work for Starbucks. Though at that place was nothing in his background ( confab Exhibit 2) that disposed(p) him for the experience, Schultz asked Baldwin at the first opportunity whether there was any way he could fit into Starbucks. The two quickly established an easy, genial rapport, but it slake took a year of numerous concourses and a lot of convincing to get Baldwin, Bowker, and their silent partner from San Francisco to agree to hire Howard Schultz.Schultz pursued a calling at Starbucks far more vigorously than Starbucks pursued him. There was some nervousness at Starbucks about b sound in an after-school(prenominal)r, especially a high-powered New Yorker, who had not grown up with the values of the company. Nonetheless, Schultz go on to press his thinkers about the tremendous potential of expanding the Starbucks enterp rise remote Seattle and exposing unassailable deal all over America to Starbucks coffeearguing there had to be more than just a a couple of(prenominal) thousand coffee lovers in Seattle who would like the companys products.Schultz believed that Starbucks had such great check that he offered to take a salary cut in exchange for a small equity stake in the business. But the owners worried that by pass Schultz a line of work as head of marketing they would be committing themselves to a new direction for Starbucks. At a spring 1982 meeting with the three owners in San Francisco, Schultz once again presented his imagination for opening Starbucks stores crossways the United States and Canada. He flew back to New York thinking a job offer was in the bag.But the nigh day Baldwin called Schultz and indicated that the owners had decided against hiring him because geographic expansion was too risky and because they did not share Schultzs vision for Starbucks. Schultz was despondent still, he believed so deeply in Starbucks potential that he decided to make a last-ditch appeal. He called Baldwin back the next day and make an impassioned, though reasoned, case for why the decision was a mistake. Baldwin hold to reconsider.The next morning Baldwin called Schultz and told him the job of heading marketing and overseeing the retail stores was his. In September 1982, Howard Schultz took on his new responsibilities at Starbucks. Starbucks and Howard Schultz The 198285 percentage delegate In his first few months at Starbucks, Schultz washed-out most of his vigilant hours in the four Seattle storesworking behind the counters, tasting different kinds of coffee, talk of the town with customers, getting to know store power, and educating himself about the retail aspects of the coffee business.By December, Jerry Baldwin decided that Schultz was ready for the final part of his trainingroasting coffee. Schultz spent a week at the roaster examining the color of the bean s, listening for the telltale second pop of the beans during the roasting process, learning to taste the subtle differences among Baldwin and Bowkers diverse roasts, and familiarizing himself with the roasting techniques for different beans. Meanwhile, he make a point of acclimating himself to the informal dress code, blending in with the farming, and gaining credibility and building combining with colleagues.Making the transition from the high-energy, coat-and-tie style of New York to the more casual standard atmosphere of the Pacific Northwest required a conscious effort on Schultzs part. One day during the busy Christmas season that first year, Schultz make real headway in gaining the acceptance and view of company personnel at the Pikes Place store. The store was packed and Schultz was behind the counter ringing up sales when someone shouted that a customer had just headed out the door with some coercetwo expensive coffeemakers it off out, one in each hand.Without thinking , Schultz leaped over the counter and chased the forager up the cobblestone street outside the store, yelling Drop that stuff Drop it The thief was startled enough to drop both pieces and precede away. Schultz picked up the merchandise and returned to the store, holding up the coffeemakers like trophies. Everyone applauded. When Schultz returned to his office later that afternoon, his staff had strung up a banner that read wangle my day. 4 Schultz was overflowing with ideas for the company.Early on, he noticed that first-time customers sometimes mat uneasy in the stores because of their lack of knowledge about fine coffees and because store employees sometimes came across as a little arrogant. Schultz worked with store employees on developing customer-friendly sales skills and produced brochures that made it easy for customers to learn about fine coffees. Schultzs biggest idea for Starbucks future came during the spring of 1983 when the company sent him to Milan, Italy, to cit e an international housewares show.While walking from his hotel to the convention center, Schultz spotted an espresso hinder and went within to look around. The exchangeier beside the door nodded and smiled. The barista (counter worker) greeted Howard cheerfully, then gracefully pulled a speculation of espresso for one customer and handcrafted a sudsy cappuccino for another, all the while conversing happily with those standing at the counter. Schultz judged the baristas performance as great theater. save down the way on a side street, he entered an compensate more crowded espresso bar, where the barista, whom he surmised to be the owner, was greeting customers by name tribe were laughing and talking in an atmosphere that plainly was thriving and familiar. In the next few blocks, he saw two more espresso bar. When the trade show concluded for the day, Schultz walked the streets of Milan exploring espresso exclude. Some were stylish and upscale others attracted a blue-colla r clientele. What struck Schultz was how popular and vibrant the Italian coffee bars were.Most had few chairs, and it was parking area for Italian opera to be playing in the background. Energy levels were typically high, and the bars seemed to function as an intrinsic community gathering place. Each one had its own unique character, but they all had a barista who performed with flair and exhibited a camaraderie with the customers. Schultz was particularly struck by the fact that there were 1,500 coffee bars in Milan, a city about the size of Philadelphia, and a total of 200,000 in all of Italy.His mind started churning. Schultzs first few days in Milan produced a revelation The Starbucks stores in Seattle completely missed the point. Starbucks, he decided, needful to serve fresh-brewed coffee, espresso, and cappuccino in its stores (in addition to beans and coffee equipment). Going to Starbucks should be an experience, a special treat the stores should be a place to meet friends and visit. Re-creating the Italian coffee-bar culture in the United States could be Starbucks differentiating factor.Schultz remained in Milan for a week, exploring coffee bars and learning as much as he could about the Italian passion for coffee drinks. In one bar, he heard a customer order a caffe latte and decided to try one himselfthe barista made a shot of espresso, steamed a frothy hill of milk, poured the two unneurotic in a cup, and put a dollop of foam on the top. Schultz concluded that it was the perfect drink, and thought to himself, No one in America knows about this. Ive got to take it back with me. 5 Schultzs Growing FrustrationOn Schultzs return from Italy, he shared his revelation and ideas for modifying the format of Starbucks stores with Baldwin and Bowker. But instead of winning their approval, Schultz encountered strong resistance. Baldwin and Bowker argued that Starbucks was a retailer, not a restaurant or bar. They feared that serving drinks would put them i n the beverage business and dilute the integrity of Starbucks mission as a coffee store. They pointed out that Starbucks was a profitable small, private company and there was no reason to rock the boat.But a more military press reason for their resistance emerged shortlyBaldwin and Bowker were excited by an opportunity to purchase Peets Coffee and Tea. The acquisition took place in 1984 to fund it, Starbucks had to take on considerable debt, leaving little in the way of financial flexibility to support Schultzs ideas for entering the beverage part of the coffee business or expanding the number of Starbucks stores. For most of 1984, Starbucks managers were dividing their time amongst their operations in Seattle and the Peets enterprise in San Francisco.Schultz found himself in San Francisco every other week supervising the marketing and operations of the quintuple-spot Peets stores. Starbucks employees began to feel neglected and, in one quarter, did not receive their common bo nus due to tight financial conditions. Employee discontent escalated to the point where a union election was called, and the union won by three votes. Baldwin was ball over at the results, concluding that employees no longer trusted him.In the months that followed, he began to spend more of his energy on the Peets operation in San Francisco. It took Howard Schultz nearly a year to convince Jerry Baldwin to let him runnel an espresso bar. After Baldwin relented, Starbucks sextupletth store, which opened in April 1984, became the first one designed to sell beverages and the first one in business district Seattle. Schultz asked for a 1,500-square-foot space to set up a full-scale Italian-style espresso bar, but Jerry agreed to allocating only three hundred square feet in a corner of the new store.There was no pre-opening marketing blitz and no sign announcing Now Serving Espressothe lack of fanfare was part of a deliberate experiment to see what would happen. By closing time on the first day, some 400 customers had been served, strong above the 250-customer average of Starbucks outmatch-performing stores. Within two months the store was serving 800 customers per day. The two baristas could not keep up with orders during the early morning hours, resulting in lines outside the door onto the sidewalk.Most of the business was at the espresso counter sales at the regular retail counter were only adequate. Schultz was elated by the test results his visits to the store indicated that it was becoming a gathering place and that customers were pleased with the beverages being served. Schultz expected that Baldwins doubts about entering the beverage side of the business would be dispelled and that he would gain approval to take Starbucks to a new level. Every day he went into Baldwins office to show him the sales figures and customer counts at the new business district store.But Baldwin was not comfortable with the success of the new store he believed that espresso d rinks were a distraction from the midpoint business of selling fine arabica coffees at retail and rebelled at the thought that people would see Starbucks as a place to get a quick cup of coffee to go. He adamantly told Schultz, Were coffee roasters. I dont want to be in the restaurant business . . . Besides, were too deeply in debt to consider engage this idea. 6 While he didnt deny that the experiment was succeeding, he didnt want to go forward with introducing beverages in other Starbucks stores.Schultzs efforts to persuade Baldwin to change his mind continued to meet strong resistance, although to neutralise a total impasse Baldwin finally did agree to let Schultz put espresso machines in the back of two other Starbucks stores. Over the next some(prenominal) months, Schultzat the age of 33made up his mind to collapse Starbucks and start his own company. His excogitation was to open espresso bars in high-traffic downtown locations that would emulate the friendly, energetic a tmosphere he had encountered in Italian espresso bars.Schultz had wrench friends with a corporate lawyer, Scott Greenberg, who helped companies raise venture capital and go public. Greenberg told Schultz he believed investors would be interested in providing venture capital for the kind of company Schultz had in mind. Baldwin and Bowker, knowing how frustrated Schultz had become, supported his efforts to go out on his own and agreed to let him stay in his current job and office until definitive plans were in place. Schultz left Starbucks in late 1985. Schultzs Il Giornale VentureIronically, as Schultz was finalizing the documents for his new company, Jerry Baldwin announced he would invest $150,000 of Starbucks money in Schultzs coffee-bar enterprise, thus becoming Schultzs first investor. Baldwin accepted Schultzs invitation to be a director of the new company, and Gordon Bowker agreed to be a part-time consultant for six months. Bowker urged Schultz to make received that everyth ing about the new storesthe name, the presentation, the care taken in preparing the coffeewas work out to lead customers to expect something better than competitors offered.Bowker proposed that the new company be named Il Giornale (pronounced ill jor-nahl-ee ) Coffee troupe, a suggestion that Schultz accepted. In December 1985, Bowker and Schultz made a trip to Italy during which they visited some 500 espresso bars in Milan and Verona, spy local habits, taking notes about interior decoration and menus, snapping photographs, and videotaping baristas in action. Greenberg and Schultz then rifle up plans to raise an initial $400,000 in seed capital and another $1. 25 million in equityenough to launch at least eight espresso bars and prove the concept would work in Seattle and elsewhere.The seed capital was elevated by the end of January 1986, primarily from Starbucks and two other investors who believed in Schultz and his ideas, but it took Schultz until the end of the year to rai se the rest $1. 25 million. He made presentations to 242 potential investors, 217 of whom state no. umteen who heard Schultzs hour-long presentation saw coffee as a commodity business and thought that Schultzs espresso-bar concept lacked any ground for sustainable competitive advantage (no patent on dark roast, no advantage in purchasing coffee beans, no way to bar the entry of imitative competitors).Some noted that consumption of coffee had been declining since the mid-1960s, others were quizzical that people would pay $1. 50 or more for a cup of coffee, and still others were turned off by the companys disfranchised-to-pronounce name. macrocosm rejected by so many potential investors was disheartening (some who listened to Schultzs presentation ? didnt even bother to call him back others refused to take his calls). Nonetheless, Schultz continued to display passion and enthusiasm in making his prepare and never doubted that his plan would work. He ended up raising $1.65 milli on from about 30 investors most of this money came from nine people, five of whom became directors of the new company. One of Howard Schultzs earliest moves during the start-up process was to hire Dave Olsen, who in 1974 had opened a coffee bar, coffee bar Allegro, near the busiest entrance to the University of capital of the United States campus. Olsen was a long-standing Starbucks customer, having discovered the quality of Starbucks coffee beans, gotten to know the owners, and worked with them to develop a custom espresso roast for use in his cafe.Olsens successful Cafe Allegro had become known for cafe au lait, a mixed bag equivalent to the Italian caffe latte. When Olsen heard of Schultzs plans for Il Giornale, he called Schultz and expressed an interest in being part of the new companyhe was intrigued by the Italian coffee-bar concept and was looking for a more erectile career opportunity. Olsen not only had coffee expertise but also had spent 10 years in an apron behind th e counter at Cafe Allegro. Schultz immediately picked up on the synergy between him and Olsen.His own strengths were in forming and communicating a vision, raising money, finding good store locations, building a brand name, and planning for growth. Olsen understood the garner and bolts of operating a retail cafe, hiring and training baristas, and making and serving good drinks. Plus, Olsen was fun to work with. Schultz put Olsen in foreign mission of store operations, made him the coffee conscience of the company, and gave him the authority to make sure that Il Giornale served the best coffee and espresso possible. The first Il Giornale store opened in April 1986.It had a mere 700 square feet and was located near the entrance of Seattles tallest building. The decor was Italian, the menu contained Italian words, and Italian opera music played in the background. The baristas wore white shirts and bow ties. All assistance was stand-upthere were no chairs. National and international papers hung from rods on the wall. By closing time on the first day, 300 customers had been served, mostly in the morning hours. Schultz and Olsen worked hard to make sure that all the details were executed perfectly.For the first few weeks, Olsen worked behind the counter during the morning rush. But while the core idea worked well, it soon became apparent that some(prenominal) aspects of Il Giornales format werent appropriate for Seattle. Some customers objected to the incessant opera music, others wanted a place to sit down, and many didnt understand the Italian words on the menu. These mistakes were quickly fixed, without compromising the style and elegance of the store. Within six months, Il Giornale was serving more than 1,000 customers a day and regulars had learned how to pronounce the companys name.Because most customers were in a hurry, it became apparent that speedy service was a competitive advantage. Six months after opening the first store, Il Giornale opened a second store in another downtown building. A third store was opened in Vancouver, British Columbia, in April 1987. Vancouver was chosen to test the transferability of the companys business concept outside Seattle. To reach his goal of opening 50 stores in five years, Schultz needed to dispel his investors doubts about geographic expansion. By mid-1987 sales at the three stores were equal to $1.5 million annually. Il Giornale Acquires Starbucks In March 1987 Jerry Baldwin and Gordon Bowker decided to sell the whole Starbucks operation in Seattlethe stores, the roasting plant, and the Starbucks name. Bowker wanted to cash out his coffee-business investment to trim on his other enterprises Baldwin, who was tired of substitution between Seattle and San Francisco and wrestling with the troubles created by the two parts of the company, elected to concentrate on the Peets operation. As he recalls, My wife and I had a 30-second conversation and decided to keep Peets.It was the original and it w as better. 7 Schultz knew immediately that he had to buy Starbucks his board of directors agreed. Schultz and his newly hired finance and accounting manager drew up a set of financial projections for the combined operations and a financing package that included a stock offering to Il Giornales original investors and a line of credit with local banks. While a rival plan to acquire Starbucks was put together by another Il Giornale investor, Schultzs proposal prevailed and within weeks Schultz had raised the $3.8 million needed to buy Starbucks. The acquisition was completed in August 1987. After the papers were signed, Schultz and Scott Greenberg walked across the street to the first Il Giornale store, ordered themselves espresso drinks, and sat at a table near the window. Greenberg fixed the hundred-page business plan that had been used to raise the $3. 8 million between them and lifted his cup in a toastWe did it, they said together. 8 The new name of the combined companies was Sta rbucks Starbucks as a Private Company 198792.The following Monday morning, Schultz returned to the Starbucks offices at the roasting plant, greeted all the familiar faces and accepted their congratulations, then called the staff together for a meeting on the roasting-plant floor. He began All my life I have wanted to be part of a company and a gathering of people who share a common vision . . . Im here today because I love this company. I love what it represents . . . I know youre concerned . . . I promise you I will not let you down. I promise you I will not leave anyone behind . . . In five years, I want you to look back at this day and formulate I was there when it started.I helped build this company into something great. 9 Schultz told the group that his vision was for Starbucks to become a national company with values and direct principles that employees could be proud of. He indicated that he wanted to include people in the decision-making process and that he would be open and honest with them. Schultz said he believed it was essential, not just an intriguing option, for a company to love its people, to inspire them, and to share the fruits of its success with those who contributed to its long-term value.His aspiration was for Starbucks to become the most respected brand name in coffee and for the company to be admired for its corporate responsibility. In the next few days and weeks, however, Schultz came to see that the unity and morale at Starbucks had deteriorated badly in the 20 months he had been at Il Giornale. Some employees were cynical and felt unappreciated. There was a feeling that prior management had abandoned them and a wariness about what the new regime would bring. Schultz determined that he would have to make it a priority to build a new relationship of mutual respect between employees and management.The new Starbucks had a total of nine stores. The business plan Schultz had presented investors called for the new company to open 125 stores in the next five years15 the first year, 20 the second, 25 the third, 30 the fourth, and 35 the fifth. Revenues were projected to reach $60 million in 1992. But the company lacked experienced management. Schultz had never led a growth effort of such magnitude and was just learning what the job of CEO was all about, having been the hot seat of a small company for barely two years. Dave Olsen had run a single cafe for 11 years and was just learning to manage a multistore operation.Ron Lawrence, the companys controller, had worked as a controller for several organizations. Other Starbucks employees had only the experience of managing or being a part of a six-store organization. When Starbucks key roaster and coffee buyer resigned, Schultz put Dave Olsen in charge of buying and roasting coffee. Lawrence Maltz, who had 20 years of experience in business and eight years of experience as president of a profitable public beverage company, was hired as executive vice president and ch arged with heading operations, finance, and human resources. In the next several months, a number of changes were instituted.To symbolize the merging of the two companies and the two cultures, a new logo was created that melded the Starbucks and Il Giornale logos. The Starbucks stores were equipped with espresso machines and remodeled to look more Italian than obsolescent World nautical. The traditional Starbucks brown was replaced by Il Giornale green. The result was a new type of storea cross between a retail coffee-bean store and an espresso bar/cafethat became Starbucks signature format in the 1990s. By December 1987, employees at Starbucks had begun buying into the changes Schultz was making and trust had begun to build between management and employees.New stores were on the verge of opening in Vancouver and lucre. One Starbucks store employee, Daryl Moore, who had voted against unionization in 1985, began to question his fellow employees about the need for a union. Over the next few weeks, Moore began a move to decertify the union. He carried a decertification letter around to Starbucks stores and secured the signatures of employees who no longer wished to be represented by the union. After getting a volume of store employees to sign the letter, he presented it to the National Labor Relations get along and the union representing store employees was decertified.Later, in 1992, the union representing Starbucks roasting plant and warehouse employees was also decertified. Expansion into Markets Outside the Pacific Northwest Starbucks entry into boodle proved far more troublesome than management anticipated. The first Chicago store opened October 27, 1987, the same day the stock market crashed. iii more stores were opened in Chicago over the next six months, but customer counts were substantially below expectationsChicagoans didnt take to dark-roasted coffee as fast as Schultz had anticipated.At the first downtown store, for example, which opened onto t he street rather than into the lobby of the building where it was located, customers were hesitant to go out in the wind and cold to get a cup of coffee in the winter months. Store margins were squeezed for a number of reasons It was expensive to cede fresh coffee to the Chicago stores out of the Seattle warehouse, and both rents and wage rank were higher in Chicago than in Seattle. Gradually, customer counts improved, but Starbucks disoriented money on its Chicago stores until 1990, when prices were raised to reflect higher rents and job costs, more experienced store manag.