Quick comment丨 "Starbucks superstition" was shattered

The Starbucks incident shattered the "Starbucks superstitions" that prevailed.

On December 13, it was reported that the reporter found many food safety problems in the undercover investigation of two Starbucks stores in Wuxi City, such as the ingredients continued to be used after expiration, and made a variety of best-selling drinks for sale; the supervisor and the clerk "taught by example" to tamper with the shelf life, and some ingredients were artificially "extended" for a week; and the pastries that promised to "not stay overnight after opening" were secretly on the shelves the next day. Whether these problems have made Starbucks, which has always called itself the "ceiling of the industry", is not known to the outside world, but obviously, Starbucks has sensed that things are not good.

At noon on the same day, Starbucks China's official Microblog released a message saying that it had paid attention to reports about two Starbucks stores in Wuxi and was deeply shocked. "The two stores were closed as soon as possible and an in-depth investigation was immediately launched." Starbucks itself stipulates that its stores conduct food safety self-inspections every day, at least once a year to undergo third-party surprise inspections, and 20% of stores will undergo a second flight inspection, but still do not eliminate the problem. There are two Starbucks stores in a city that have problems, and the proportion is not small. I don't know what kind of investigation this so-called investigation is, is it a "ceiling" level investigation?

Obviously, Starbucks may have a kind of obsessive confidence in its store management. This is the "superstition" that should be broken first.

Indeed, as a management model that only directly refuses to "join", it seems that there is a management advantage. However, in the case of strict assessment of turnover and profit margin, the store completely follows the rules and takes the initiative to scrap expired ingredients, which will inevitably affect the performance of the store, so if the store wants to use its brain to be self-interested, it does not lack motivation.

It should be reminded that in 2015, Starbucks was reported by the media about the "live worm" mooncake incident. On the China Quality Miles consumer complaint platform, there are not a few complaints about the odor of Starbucks coffee, resulting in discomfort after drinking.

As the world's leading FMCG coffee brand, it is naturally quite difficult to admit that its management mechanism has serious loopholes, not just that "individual stores" have problems and are accidentally exploded, but this pass must be passed. Starbucks must recognize that its own management model, if it does not make major changes, it will be difficult to avoid the explosion of similar problems.

The harm to consumer psychology in this incident is also very obvious. Many fans can't believe that such a big brand can also have problems. This simple "superstitious" perspective shows that blind trust in the brand with its own "golden light" may hurt itself. The level of quality control has no absolute relationship with the size of the brand. Small workshops can create delicious and safe food, and large companies can repeatedly "overturn". Consumers only have a rational view, scientific cognition, and active rights protection.

More importantly, this matter was only revealed through a media covert visit. This once again reminds the relevant regulatory authorities that they must not relax the supervision of large brands and "foreign brands". In recent years, with the tightening of supervision in related fields, the products of some famous enterprises have been sent to the "black list" of food safety. Facts show that the consciousness of large enterprises is also unreliable, and under the premise of poor management and poor supervision, the so-called "ceiling level" management may also be a paper tiger. Only by continuing to increase supervision, relying on the support and cooperation of consumers, actively focusing on various clues, tracking the root causes of problems, and pulling out the "stores" of fake problems one by one can we curb chaos and give consumers a fair share. At present, the relevant departments have launched actions, which is expected. May such actions be more than a movement war, a gust of wind.

Starbucks has long been highly regarded. But it is worth reminding that in the field of food safety, there will never be a "god". Once artificially sent to the "altar", it may not be a good thing.

Modern Express commentator Dai Zhishen