Starbucks tested out panic buttons at five locations to protect baristas during unsafe situations, the company says.
The java giant has instituted a new set of store rules under freshly minted CEO Brian Niccol targeting patrons who have spent an inordinate amount of time on laptops or people who are lounging around without making a purchase, according to the Telegraph.
Under the counter emergency buttons were tested out in five locations in the United States. When pressed those buttons set into motion a small security protocol.
It is simply a switch that locks the front doors from behind the bar in case of an emergency, a Starbucks spokesperson tells The Post.
When triggered, it also alerts our local security team, they added.
Starbucks has decided not go forward with the panic button program, telling The Post the company is frequently testing many things to see what works and what doesnt
What isnt working for the coffee-monger is the phenomenon of laptop lurkers and other folks who exploit Starbucks free Wi-Fi, free store bathrooms or simply set up shop at a table without purchasing more than a cup of coffee.
CEO Brian Niccols is walking back the companys open door policy meaning that the amenities at the over 10,000 North American locations will no longer be gratis.
That means that customers will not be allowed to use the bathrooms without opening their wallets.
Starbucks instituted an open door stance in 2018, following an incident in which two men were wrongfully arrested in a Philadelphia store location where they were holding a business meeting.
Niccol, who was awarded $96M as part of his pay package when hopping aboard Starbucks, outlined the new policy to staffers in an attempt to return the coffee chain to its cafe-culture roots.
Niccol, the former Chipotle CEO, is also shaking up the company on the corporate end announcing last week that layoffs will be coming for office workers.
Our size and structure can slow us down, with too many layers, managers of small teams and roles focused primarily on coordinating work, Niccol wrote in a publicly shared internal letter.
It can feel transactional, menus can feel overwhelming, the product is inconsistent, the wait for too long or the hand-off too hectic. These moments are opportunities for us to do better, Niccols emphasized.