Barista art in Starbucks is dying. It’s fading away. It’s almost none existent. It has been replaced with quick, easy, down and dirty stencil art. This is very disappointing to me. Why is it a dying Starbucks tradition? I can only make guesses but the answers seem obvious: The labor at a Starbucks is stretched so thin that there is hardly time to even do the chalkboards, and with Starbucks encouraging the use of stencils, there is a push towards uniformity.
It saddens me to see chalkboard art fading away from Starbucks in favor of uniform simplistic stenciling. This has always been one of the things that gave each Starbucks its unique personality.
When I started the barista art contest in a previous blog post, I had thought that art work, as I had stumbled upon at the First and Pike Starbucks was common place. I was wrong.
Instead, as I traversed a variety of Starbucks I discovered chalkboard art is a rarity. I heard this from others all across the country. One twitter friend who wanted to join in the ‘find the barista art’ contest said this:
I primarily use Twitter to promote this website (though lots of non-twitter folks visit it too) and another regular participant here (who is here in Western Washington) at this site had this to say about finding Starbucks barista-produced chalkboard art:
And yet again, this same message was tweeted to me, this time from the state of New Jersey:
@SbuxMel Not only am I not finding original barista art I am not finding any barista art
I heard this theme over and over again, in direct messages, emails, and on twitter. Starbucks barista produced art is a thing of the past, or very rare.
Here in another tweet, from the state of Arizona, again I heard that there is no barista art:
A February 15, 2010 comment by “yukonlvr” at Starbucks Gossip also is quite telling of the same story: Customers can consider original barista-created art to be a thing of yester-year:
@Melody
chalkboard art is definitely becoming a thing of the past. it sucks because i love doing chalk signs because it allows me to be creative, but my manager hates it because ‘i take too long.’ 🙁 i hated when stencils rolled out because it just makes all the signs look blah. i recently got to do a valentine’s day sign though, so i’ll send a pic and enter! hopefully they haven’t washed it off yet! one of my favorites was a promo for brazil ipanema bourbon i did a year ago. she was beautiful!
Probably in the mind of Starbucks, worrying about the chalkboards is the least of their concerns. It doesn’t affect the quality of the drink, and it is only a drain on labor. I’m sure that no one in Starbucks will care about this kind of thing: Discouraging barista art does nothing to affect the P & L sheet, doesn’t create beverage complaints, and doesn’t affect shareholders. There are no corporate partners who would worry about this kind of thing, I surmise. Who cares?
I care.
On many occasions, I have written that every drinks has two distinct parts to it. (1) the drink itself and (2) the experience. Some of these things can be quantitatively easily measured: How fast was it made? What temperature was it served at? How long was the wait? But as Starbucks increasingly focuses on a narrow range of metrics, the qualitative part of the beverage is completely forgotten: It cannot easily be measured, but yet it too affects the bottom line. How friendly was the barista at the register? And even what was the store like? Did it feel like a cookie-cutter experience?
Ostensibly, Starbucks now attempts to recapture a sense of community and local experience in their latest store designs, and so now would be the right time for Starbucks to revitalize and encourage baristas to show off their local art skills.
Most of the things that really make a Starbucks feel like a third-place for customers, and develop store-loyalty cannot easily be measured. It is not the beverage that can be prepared with a stop-watch. The cachet of the brand is in the experience. It is true that there has to be some predictability inside the stores – Every Starbucks has the same beverage menu for example, unless by chance the customer happens to stumble upon a store participating in new product testing.
My barista art contest is still ongoing. As I write this, about a dozen people have emailed me with submissions. Hopefully more are on the way. It’s been one week since I started the contest, but I’m disappointed at the constant theme that it is very hard to find anything more than very uniform chalkboards.
Please chime in my friends…
[[Just as a reminder, it is not too late to enter the barista art contest. You do not have to be a barista or an artist! You just have to find the art, photograph it, and follow the rules as outlined in the contest.]]
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forgive my rambling;
I admit I am not a very observant person, especially before I have had my morning caffeine (grande soy chai latte!) but I know in high school the local starbucks always had nice chalk art.
Recently I can recall a few chalkboards around here that were probably original, but the rest looked the same. So I feel a little loss at losing the per-store flare 🙁 yea it’s a chain, and yes it had the same menu but i like when the store feels local.
My friendly baristas are really the only reason I go to MY starbucks – if they weren’t friendly I think I’d leave starbucks.
I’ve been an MSI member, duetto holder since it came out, a stock holder since 1998 (maybe earlier) and of course a black gold card holder since it was introduced. I used to feel like it was my little home away from home where I could unwind, and lately I feel like it’s more corporate, and more cookie cutter. I miss when almost every visit was an experience, now I get excited when I do have a wonderful visit.
So yea I am sad, and I hope there are lots of comments to come about how wrong we are and that there are still stores that embrace the uniqueness of their partners and neighborhood and offer a creative outlet among other things to enhance the experience.
Good Morning Mel and Friends, Unfortunately I think the chalkboards/free hand Barista art has gone the way of the “Comfy Chairs”… non-existent … It really saddens me as I watch the transformation of what was a genuine coffee experience with all the smells, sounds, sights and comforts of a “real coffee” house to the generic, fast food, pictures on the menu, hard chairs, get ’em in- get ’em out mentality. For us true, long time Starbucks fans this has been a slow road of decline. Too bad! 🙁
(Reply to AmazonV and StarbucksTweets) – I have the perfect idea that would really show that Starbucks appreciates store-level creativity: They should have their own contest. Next drink promo, don’t send the stencils, give every store like an extra 20 or 30 minutes labor for chalkboards and have their own art contest. Now that would be amazing.
I am so disappointed, because I was so so excited to go on my local Starbucks tour and once I did their was nothing exciting to find. 🙁
So depressed…crying in my Casi Cielo. 🙁
People ask me why I go to Starbucks every morning when I could brew my own coffee at a fraction of the price. You hit the nail on the head – It’s also about the experience. I love walking into the place, saying hello to my favorite baristas, maybe grabbing a chair and “holding court” for a little while.
It’s a shame to hear about the loss of things like barista art and comfy chairs, since this positively helps the overall Starbucks experience.
The best Starbucks, in my mind, have super friendly baristas (usually backed by a great GM), and something about the store that personalizes the experience a bit. A local bulletin board, for example, or perhaps a collection of customer and barista holiday cards.
While I understand what you’re saying about losing the unique-ness of each store… I’ve been in retail for a long time, though at Starbucks for only a short time. When you have a company as large as Starbucks, you want to have a consistent message going out to your customers. Especially as these boards generally are advertising the current promotion.
And a note on the stencils. While I have have flair for merchandising, if I have to produce something artistic myself? It would be a monumental disaster, with the help of the stencils they send out, I’m able to produce something that I’d be willing to hang up and allow customers to see. It doesn’t always happen that you have a great artist on staff afterall.
Melody – I witnessed the demise of the old-school barista art a few years ago when SBUX began cutting back on what I believe is called “non-coverage” hours.
Baristas used to be able to work on the art work “on the clock” and it was built into the schedule. Now, it’s all about speed and most of the “artwork” is either a template or in some cases, cardboard cutouts that are taped to the chalkboards.
I miss the old drawings. Some were amazing and it was a great way for baristas to find “ownership” in their stores.
I couldn’t agree more Melody. The signs in our cafe add so much warm and personality. I was just saying this yesterday as I came in to our little sign drawn up with the jaguar for the Sumatra-details matter and customers notice!
On the same note, too much freedom can be a bad thing as well. As I dmed you on twitter, those who post things very un-coffee and appealing to a narrow audience can turn customers away and take away from the appeal of a place.
I love your idea for a contest instead of stencils by the way 🙂
err tiger? mmmm anyway 😉
I totally agree. Stencils are horrible for many reasons. (1. They’re usually messy and hard to make clear and concise 2.They’re cookie cutter 3. Its extra plastic going into the trash 4. loss of locality and community feel 5. etc.)
But.. I don’t think I’ve read it on here yet… but a couple years back Starbucks held an internal chalkboard contest. The winners artwork was supposed to be featured in grocery stores. They artwork submitted for that was so lovely.
The site didn’t 100% work for me, but maybe it was my computer, but you can see the barista gallery at http://www.starbuckscoffeeathome.com/
I’m sad, too, that I haven’t found much in the way of artwork. I have one that I’m pretty sure isn’t a stencil drawing, but I’ll have to try and get a good picture of it before I can submit it and see!
I love the idea of Starbucks as a company doing a chalkboard art contest! I imagine we’d see a lot of really cool work on display. 🙂
@Cameron – the artwork in that gallery you linked to was incredible. Reminds me of the Starbucks I knew in the 1990s…
Recently I’ve been talking to some higher level people at a few independent shops, and I’ve noticed that they mourn (yes, mourn) this very same thing about Sbux, but in a broader sense: a publicly traded company has to, in certain aspects, sell itself to the stockholders. As a stockholder, I understand that. Further, Sbux could not be the size that it is if it weren’t publicly traded (more accurately, it wouldn’t be…it is technically possible). This, as you said, does not affect the P&L. We need to remain profitable, which is unfortunate. I was discussing this with someone from Stumptown today, and he, like many other indy shop higher-ups, loves Starbucks and has been deeply inspired by it. However, we need to conserve time, etc in order to raise the profits. Unfortunately, it’s the way the system works.
Also, I have to agree with Michelle: my store is blessed to have Heidi, but not all stores have someone who can do amazing signs. I’ve seen some pretty bad signs created with stencils, so I don’t even want to imagine what the non-stenciled signs would look like.
I’m still looking for something worth entering. I intend to continue the SEARCH!
I had a hard time finding art, and the art that I submitted wasn’t overly great I don’t think, but it’s all I can find currently. Maybe I’ll find more before the closing date.
thanks Cam-those are awesome!
Melody – thank you for reminding us of the old, Starbucks days. The chalk art was amazing and unique. I believe the change happen to unify the artwork as you stated. Sign of a big corporation.
Thanks for that barista gallery link!
re: the posts that mentioned their drawing would be bad – I notice & enjoy “bad” art as much as the stunning work – it’s the heart behind it (or the frustration!).
Would rather see “bad/interesting” original art than poor stencil drawings…
Hi Cam! I couldn’t get the barista gallery to open up. 🙁 I’ll try from a different computer tomorrow. One thing I miss about the old barista art was that it was so real, complete with poor grammar and misspelled words at times. I miss that. Edit: WOW. I got the barista gallery to open up!! Those are amazing!! I miss those days. I remember being told that the first coffee stamps that came out (pre-1997 coffee stamp revisions) were all barista art or barista designs! I liked the first, original coffee stamps better than the 1997 ‘revised’ stamps which continued to the demise of the coffee stamp just recently with the new packaging that basically completely eliminates that ‘stamp’ image on them. For me, Italian Roast will always be the leaning tower of Piza, and not a motorcycle, and Sumatra is a completely different tiger than the one now. 🙁
@CD That site is pretty cool, too. Barista artwork aside.
@CAbarista Its cool, huh? I remember drawing on the board and wanting to enter them… I just didn’t have a camera with me and eventually the contest was over. Love all the entries, though.
@Melody Have you heard about the new customer passports??? As soon as I heard we were passing out new customer passports (coming March) I thought of your old V2V About Me section. I hope these new passports (along with coffee stamps) inspire customers to see coffee in different ways.
Melody, I completely agree that chalkboard art is one of the things that sets each Starbucks apart and makes the customer experience unique! I am a partner and artist and entered your contest last week! As an artist, when I do a chalkboard, it’s very important to me to maintain my artistic integrity and do my own work! When the stencils came in, I told my manager flat out (respectfully of course!) that if he would like me to continue doing the chalkboards then I REFUSE to use them or else someone else could take it over. Luckily, I have a very supportive manager so I now spend about 3-4 hours working on a board during my shift so as not to use up non-coverage. It’s hard bouncing back and forth from the floor to chalkboard but it’s worth it knowing that the end-result is a reflection of my artistic abilities and something I can be proud of! Sorry this is so long but I’m just really passionate about this!
collaboration throughout a closing shift of five baristas .
no off floor. customers invited.
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y140/Nekromance/DSCF0231.jpg
@kaleoki
Yeah I think it is a bummer that most stores just feature generic signs, rather than original barista art. There is something homey about the handdrawn signs and so stores are missing out!!!
Saving labor makes more profits, yes, but the more Starbucks loses what makes it special, the more it’s vulnerable to competitors from above (the fancy bakery or cafe or chocolatier with waited tables and china cups?), below (McDonald’s?), and on its own level. (Peet’s? Independent coffee shops?)
Without the comfy chairs, the sensation of relaxed luxury, and the touches like the chalkboard art that remind one that Yes, Real People Work Here… are people still going to pay a premium price for a drink? Or if they are going to pay that premium price, are they going to go pay it somewhere else?
I realize that if I don’t actually drink coffee, instead of chocolate, I may not Get It. But already, many Starbucks give me a “meh” feeling instead of an “ahhh…” settling-in one.
There’s a sad, badly-maintained Starbucks near a place where I sometimes need to wait around, and I can either go into Starbucks and settle down with a hot chocolate, or go to the featureless, boring pharmacy almost next door and get a carton of chocolate milk to take a walk with. Last time, the pharmacy won.
i used to be work as a barista. And my favorite job is to draw at daily brew board or some kind of that..hahahaa..i really love to find what picture that fit to the coffee highlight and sometimes it would take a longer time but my manager and partner supported it..but sometimes my partner help me with the idea and tell me if the drawing isnt good enough or something. and why i love doing this so much, cause i had a customer once, they were a couple with two kids, they told me “you have to be a kindergarten teacher, your drawing is so lovely” or just some customer smile and sometimes wait for you to finish the drawing. i support the contest, but the drawing should fit the atmosphere too then.
I enjoy 15th Ave precisely because it doesn’t feel like a cookie-cutter Starbucks store. Perhaps allowing more barista art would make me more apt to visit other Starbucks stores so I felt a little more like it was a unique experience. But, the almighty clock and dollar prevail again!
I am super inspired by the artwork featured in the gallery mentioned above. Thanks to Campsi for posting this link! Makes me wish that Sbux would hold another contest!
I have to say that I love being able to do the chalk signs for my store. It is perhaps my favorite part of my job. I definitely feel a high sense of ownership for my store, and getting to create artwork for the store both reflects and increases that feeling. I would also hope that original art (as opposed to stencilled and/or cardboard cutouts) gives my customers and my fellow partners a feeling that their store is special… that someone took the time to create something for them and the management feels that it’s important enough to pay someone for it… it shows a commitment to customers on a different level.