Starbucks is quieting its buzzy coffee shops with sound-absorbing materials to help cut down on wrong orders
Starbucks’ lively coffee shops could soon get a little more low-key thanks to a few store adjustments that could help the chain save when it comes to order mix-ups.
The Seattle-based coffee chain will enhance its new and renovated stores with ceiling baffles, which absorb sound and cut down on reverberations, as part of a framework to make its stores more accessible for people with disabilities. Other design changes include power-operated doors, lower counters, and a board for customers to see when their order is ready, a Starbucks spokesperson told Fortune.
The company predicts that, in particular, the baffles, which hang from the ceiling and can be installed with relative ease, will help baristas to better hear customer orders along with making its coffee shops more welcoming for those with hearing loss. The new accessibility framework was first announced in February and has already been implemented in a store in Washington D.C.’s Union Market neighborhood.
The changes to reduce background noise could also cut down on barista mistakes, especially for those taking drive-thru orders in a noisy café. Cutting down on barista errors could be a boon for Starbucks, especially as it plans to invest big in drive-thrus over the coming years, said Sara Trilling, president of Starbucks North America, in an interview with Bloomberg.
“Imagine you’ve got all that background noise happening, and then you’ve got a window open in front of you, and you’re trying to communicate with a customer,” she said, adding that improved acoustics “will translate to order accuracy and just a better customer experience overall.”
As of October, Starbucks had already reported a combined $68 million in costs related to increasing efficiency and bettering the customer and employee experience over its past two fiscal years in line with a major reinvention plan. The company recorded an 11.9% increase in net revenue between its fiscal 2023 ended in October and the year prior for both its company operated and licensed stores, according to its most recent 10-K filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
In part because of the complexity of its menu (possibly along with the noise) Starbucks employees are known to make errors—so much so that the phenomena has spawned a multitude of online memes. Some articles by former baristas even speculate on the telltale signs of an impending wrong order.
The memes may be funny, but mistakes by baristas, along with the pickiness of Starbucks customers, have sometimes led to customer conflicts with employees.
Starbucks new accessible design framework for its stores comes as it works to add 650 stores during its current fiscal year ending in October, with 20,000 to come in the long term. About 80% of stores opening this fiscal year will have a drive-thru, according to the company. The chain also wants to renovate 1,000 stores per year.
Along with the ceiling baffles, the company is adding new systems in select stores to increase productivity. Still, while it has ambitious future growth plans, Starbucks is facing unionization efforts at hundreds of its locations. As of last summer, it was facing nearly 100 complaints from the National Labor Relations Board for alleged labor law violations, according to Bloomberg Law.
Earlier this year, the company agreed to work with one of its main unions to try to reach a collective bargaining agreement.
