Starward Schultz (Chairman, Starbucks) :
Chairman: Hi guys, Starward Schultz here. I am the face of Starbucks today, but just like McDonald's, the founders handed me the business to grow (but our situation was much more ethical).
Brim Petrus (COO, The Trump Organization) :
Trump: Hello, my name is Brim Petrus. I'm the Operations Head of President of the United States Donald Trump, but in his privately owned company - The Trump Organisation. Contrary to popular opinion, we don't yell 'Grab 'em by the *****'
Smarter Rubinfeld (SVP, Starbucks) :
SVP: Hello, I am Smarter Rubinfeld, the former Chief Creative Director of Starbucks Coffee. We combined neuroscience, technology, and creativity to ensure that you have an excellent experience.
Kenny G. (Early Investor) :
Investor: Hello, I am Kenneth Gorelick, the celebrated musician and saxophonist lovingly called Kenny G. I'm only here because the Starbucks journey is inspiring to me and invested in the business quite early.
Brim Petrus (COO, The Trump Organization) :
Trump: Let's start with first things first. Howard said that he's not 'The Founder,' yet his name is synonymous with Starbucks. How did that happen?
Starward Schultz (Chairman, Starbucks) :
Chairman: It's not a very long story. I was an executive at Xerox and then moved on to a Swedish company because I never liked working in a very structured environment. Starbucks was our client. When I visited their store for the first time, I liked it. But when I had my first cup of coffee there, I knew that this was it. I was home.
Kenny G. (Early Investor) :
Investor: He initially started as the Director of Retail Operations and Marketing. Go on, Howard. Tell them how you came to be the CEO. That story is pretty good.
Starward Schultz (Chairman, Starbucks) :
Chairman: Starbucks was just a seller of grounded and brewed coffee back then. I realized there was much more that could be done. After my trip to Italy, I realized that the coffee culture could come to America and we could introduce the expresso.
Smarter Rubinfeld (SVP, Starbucks) :
SVP: I'll take it from here. But the founders hated his ideas and rejected them. Within two years, Howard was out of Starbucks and started his own business. But when Starbucks ran into financial trouble, the owners approached him and trusted him with equity and assets, making him the owner.
Kenny G. (Early Investor) :
Investor: I still remember the words 'we can't think of a better person than you to safely hand it to'. And so, in August '87 he joined the 6-store chain of Starbucks once again. And the rest is history.
Brim Petrus (COO, The Trump Organization) :
Trump: Absolutely! You have stores everywhere in the US, sometimes more than one in the same street. Your scale of operations is quite large. More importantly, I love your frappés.
Kenny G. (Early Investor) :
Investor: The Frappuccino was Kenny's idea. He wished to bring in something like Tea Beans and Coffee Leaves' ice-blended beverages. So, we started frappés!
Brim Petrus (COO, The Trump Organization) :
Trump: Us real estate guys borrowed the term for 'Frappucino Effect' - it is the process of renovating districts or homes to suit it to middle-class taste. Just another evidence of how much people love you.
Starward Schultz (Chairman, Starbucks) :
Chairman: And about the scale - we have come a long way. Starbucks is currently operating in 65 countries and serving 80 million customers every week. We use around 90 million liters of milk every year - that is almost 150 Olympic swimming pools.
Smarter Rubinfeld (SVP, Starbucks) :
SVP: And this requires 2.3 billion paper cups per year and 150-160,000 staff.
Brim Petrus (COO, The Trump Organization) :
Trump: That's huge - almost twice the population of Greenland! Starbucks is bigger than countries! Keep ensuring that you delight the taste buds of your customers.
Kenny G. (Early Investor) :
Investor: That they do. Did you know Brim that using the ingredients of a Starbucks kitchen, more than 87,000 beverage combinations can be made? If I started trying them one every day, I'd need 238 years to finish them all!
Starward Schultz (Chairman, Starbucks) :
Chairman: Our most loyal customers visit us 16 times a month. Even they can't try out most items on the menu. But till date, the most favorite beverage has been the Pumpkin Spiced Latté. Someone was crazy enough to customize it with 101 espresso shots. That cost that guy $93.58 for a single drink.
Brim Petrus (COO, The Trump Organization) :
Trump: It's not just about the rising price of your drinks, but the rising prices of houses as well. Since 1997, real estate in the vicinity of Starbucks has seen an appreciation of 96% - that's almost doubling the investment.
Smarter Rubinfeld (SVP, Starbucks) :
SVP: That may have happened only near our outlets that operate under the brand name Starbucks, not the other brands.
Brim Petrus (COO, The Trump Organization) :
Trump: I didn't quite understand. What do you mean?
Kenny G. (Early Investor) :
Investor: Well, Starbucks has many covert stores, including one in the CIA Headquarters! These stores look like your independent, non-Starbucks coffee shops, but become our testing ground for new recipes.
Brim Petrus (COO, The Trump Organization) :
Trump: And do they follow all the internal rules of Starbucks, too?
Starward Schultz (Chairman, Starbucks) :
Chairman: We don't have many rules. The first is not smoking - we banned it in the 80's itself. Coffee beans absorb bad odors very quickly. That's why our staff can't wear cologne or perfumes, either.
Kenny G. (Early Investor) :
Investor: The other one is the 10-minute rule. Stores open 10 minutes before opening time and shut 10 minutes after closing time. This way, customers aren't ever kept waiting.
Smarter Rubinfeld (SVP, Starbucks) :
SVP: And the most important element in our stores is: round tables. Most of our tables are round since they are less formal, have no corners and no empty seats. Hence even if you're alone, you're likely to feel less lonely.
Kenny G. (Early Investor) :
Investor: That's some science, Smarter. But why don't we use our brains to prevent lawsuits?
Brim Petrus (COO, The Trump Organization) :
Trump: I was coming to that myself, many are starting to hate Starbucks, not just for the high prices, but even your own staff. You have a system for taxing tips! Who does that? And can you not be considerate of single mothers and adjust their shifts accordingly?
Kenny G. (Early Investor) :
Investor: And the favorite Pumpkin Spiced Latté only started using pumpkin in 2015! The flavoring agents you put in earlier made it a chemical cocktail, causing cancer and DNA damage.
Brim Petrus (COO, The Trump Organization) :
Trump: And what about the calories? Your Green Tea Latté has 240 calories while junk burger from McD has 250! It’s effectively as unhealthy as fast food. And caffeine! A redbull can has 80mg caffeine but your drip brewed grande coffee has 320mg (four times)
Are you trying to kill us?
Smarter Rubinfeld (SVP, Starbucks) :
SVP: Don't just look at that side, Jim. We have flexible working hours, insurance for both part and full-time employees and a customer friendly policy of making better and better beverages until you like what you ordered.
Starward Schultz (Chairman, Starbucks) :
Chairman: No comments from my side. With the community's support, we'll surely do well. Thank you.