Starbucks Corp. (NASDAQ: SBUX) has struggled over the past year. Its stock is down by 25%, which compares poorly to the broader market. Labor troubles have left some employees bitter. Interim CEO Howard Schultz says he plans to reinvent the company to improve it for employees and customers. New CEO Laxman Narasimhan will not start the job until April 1 of next year, when he inherits Schultz\u2019s changes. That boxes him into a corner from his first day on the job. One challenge for both men is that people often have to wait in Starbucks lines too long.<\/p>\n
Starbuck has two types of lines. One is inside stores. The other is the cars that use drive-up windows. Anecdotally, cars have left these lines because they are too long. That means a customer probably goes elsewhere. McDonald\u2019s may be an excellent alternate destination.<\/p>\n
Customers will not know what triggers these delays. One cause could be disgruntled workers. Another could be the long time it takes to make drinks, a problem Schultz says he can fix with more advanced coffee machines.<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t