Starbucks is on the hot search again.
On April 12, according to a number of netizens, the Starbucks App had a bug today, and a number of coupons were suddenly issued in the account, including birthday invitation coupons, anniversary invitation coupons, etc.
As for whether the coupon can be used normally, Starbucks said that it can be used if the store can be written off normally.
Previously, netizens have successfully placed orders with coupons for this event.
The reporter then logged on to the Starbucks App and found that it could not be logged in, showing: "Something went wrong, please try again later." ”
At noon on April 12, Starbucks China issued an apology statement on its official Weibo, saying that the system did have a bug today and was making every effort to repair it, "but today everyone can't use the Starbucks App and WeChat Mini Program, as well as the coupons in the account." Starbucks said that it was repaired and told everyone at the first time.
Starbucks has become a frequent search customer
Previously, Starbucks responded to drinking coffee machine parts in the drink and also rushed to Weibo hot search.
On April 9, a netizen in Beijing reported drinking coffee machine parts in a Starbucks takeaway latte. The Starbucks store manager involved responded that the coffee was made by a deaf-mute employee, and the sound of parts falling was not heard during operation, because the parts were heavy, they sank to the bottom of the cup after falling, and the parts were similar in color to coffee. In response to this matter, the entire order has been refunded to the consumer and five drink coupons have been given as compensation.
For the coupon issue, many netizens questioned the bug problem of the Starbucks App, believing that Starbucks was marketing.
It is worth noting that Starbucks has become a regular on hot searches. It has been on the hot search twice because of the use of expired ingredients, eviction and complaints about eating at the entrance of the store, which has aroused heated discussion.
Can the "Father of Starbucks" win back the Chinese market?
In addition, on April 4, Starbucks announced that founder Howard Schultz officially returned to take over the position of CEO of the company and will enter the company's board of directors.
It is understood that on March 16 this year, Starbucks announced that the current president and CEO Kevin Johnson is retiring, and he will be replaced by Starbucks founder and former CEO Howard Schultz. For his successor, Schultz, this is his third stint as CEO of Starbucks. He joined Starbucks in 1982 as Director of Retail Operations and Marketing; in 1987, he acquired Starbucks with investor support to become one of the founders, where he became CEO for the first time; and Schultz resigned as CEO of Starbucks in 2000 and returned in 2008 until 2017.
Schultz's "three top priorities" for this return include suspending the share repurchase program; traveling to stores and factories around the world with the leadership team in the coming weeks to discuss with partners how to shape the next generation of Starbucks; and inviting partners at all levels of the company to explore and discuss how to create the future in such an increasingly diverse era.
Schultz also takes the Chinese market very seriously, and Starbucks is being challenged by local players in China. At the beginning of this year, Luckin officially announced that the number of its stores reached 5300, surpassing Starbucks to become the largest coffee chain brand in China; in addition, new players in the coffee track such as Manner, Seesaw, M stand, %Arabica, and even some new tea brands have begun to eat the cake in front of Starbucks.
On the other hand, Starbucks has fallen into a word-of-mouth crisis in the Chinese market. In December last year, Starbucks was exposed to a series of food safety problems such as selling expired coffee and ingredients, and scrapped cakes continued to be on the shelves, while the verification results of the Wuxi regulatory authorities showed that there were 15 problems in Wuxi City alone, including "employees not wearing work hats" and "incomplete disinfection records"; in February this year, Starbucks was repeatedly on the hot search because of negative news such as "evicting the police incident" and quiet price increases. The perfunctory and ungrounded public relations treatment afterwards shows the arrogance of the overseas giant.
For Starbucks, the Chinese market is a vital part of it – in fiscal 2021, the Chinese market contributed 12.7% of Starbucks' global revenue, making it its second largest market. Therefore, how to adapt to the ever-changing Chinese market is still a huge problem for the godfather of coffee.
Right now, the changing environment is challenging Starbucks' proud quality of service, and the post-millennial operational crisis seems to be back on the head of the coffee giant.
In the face of challenges, can the nearly ancient Schultz once again get Starbucks back on track?
Upstream news synthesis