What Does the Coffee Origin Country Connection Mean for Starbucks Stores?

Starbucks has instructed stores in multiple cities to keep their doors fully open during business hours, a decision that has drawn complaints from employees and customers alike. Staff report lost air conditioning, street noise, and insects entering the store, while management says closed doors make customers think the shop is shut. The policy arrives as the chain faces weaker sales in China.

The push reflects Starbucks' long-standing "third space" idea, a comfortable place to relax, socialize, and work, not just buy coffee, a concept tied to the company's coffee origin country heritage. Rising competition and softer traffic have forced harder choices, from seat-then-order rumors to open doors, and the debate now centers on whether hospitality can be maintained without hurting store conditions.

Starbucks has always placed the "third space" at the core of its brand, providing customers with a comfortable and relaxing coffee experience. Recently, however, Starbucks stores in multiple cities have received instructions from the company requiring them to keep their doors fully open during business hours, a move that has sparked complaints from both employees and customers. Issues such as air conditioning loss, noise disturbance, and flying insects invading have followed one after another, while management believes that closing the doors would make customers mistakenly think the store is not open—what lies behind this reflects the harsh reality of declining performance. From financial report data to rumors of "seat-then-order," and now to "opening the doors to welcome guests," Starbucks is facing unprecedented challenges in the Chinese market. This article will delve into the reasons behind this policy and its impact on the brand.

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"Why is the door open so wide?"

"It's tough, we can't go on like this—welcoming guests!"

"And this is supposed to welcome guests?"

"Exactly, didn't you just walk in?"

……

When it comes to running a coffee shop, Starbucks has always emphasized the "third space"—it is not only a place for consumers to drink coffee, but also a gathering place for people to relax, socialize, and connect. For example, on a hot summer afternoon, walking into a coffee shop to buy a drink, listening to soothing music, sitting under the cool air conditioning, quietly playing on your phone or reading and studying or working—these are the reasons countless customers walk into Starbucks.

But recently, Starbucks partners in multiple cities have taken to the internet one after another to complain that, per a decision notice from senior company management, they are required to keep the doors fully open during business hours so that customers can enter directly without pushing the door.

However, in this season where temperatures easily reach 30 degrees, opening the doors not only lets all the indoor air conditioning escape and lets in the noise from outside, but also allows flies and bugs to sneak in and dart around the store, triggering customer complaints. As working employees, they simply cannot understand this "open the doors to welcome guests" decision from the top brass.

In fact, aside from employee complaints, from the customer's perspective, it can also be felt that recently Starbucks stores in many parts of the country have implemented this "open the doors wide" policy. For example, some people have seen small bugs flying around in stores and called on Starbucks to close the doors; some belatedly realized that today entering Starbucks seemed to skip the step of pushing the door open, feeling it was a bit odd; and some witnessed a fly landing right next to their coffee...

When it comes to why Starbucks wants to keep the doors open, partners with firsthand inside information also state bluntly that it is, of course, because performance has declined. Management believes that if the doors are closed, customers will think the store is not open, so they issued the directive to "open the doors to do business," though ultimately it will be decided based on the actual situation of each store whether to implement it.

Regarding Starbucks having store partners open the doors to increase foot traffic, some netizens commented that what stops customers has never been the door, but the price.

Also primarily selling coffee, there is a huge price difference between Starbucks and other domestic chain brands, and for non-loyal consumers, there is hardly much appeal. Therefore, even if Starbucks never closed its doors all day, it would do nothing for actual sales. In addition, some netizens even joked about Starbucks, saying, "Is the next step going to be arranging two people at the door to clap and welcome guests?"

In the past month, from declining revenue data in financial reports to rumors of "seat-then-order," and now to the "open the doors to welcome guests" policy, all reveal a cruel message: fewer and fewer people are drinking Starbucks.

Once, every Starbucks store was part of the urban landscape, filled with white-collar workers holding laptops and businesspeople in negotiations. Yet today, Starbucks in the Chinese market has not only lost its former glory but, in comparison with its peers, is a Waterloo.

Perhaps before long, you will see such a scene at Starbucks: someone walks in wanting to order coffee, and then all the staff shout in unison,

"One VIP guest, welcome to Starbucks!"

Image source: Internet

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The above content is compiled by CoffeeHunters, a coffee news website.