‘Additional Human Touch’: Starbucks Has a Turnaround Plan That Includes Buying 200,000 Sharpies. Here’s Why.

Starbucks reported its third consecutive quarter of declining sales in the U.S. on Wednesday.

To turn things around, Starbucks’ new CEO, Brian Niccol, is making some changes to the company’s menu, atmosphere, and customer service, including removing olive oil coffee drinks and not charging extra for non-dairy milk as of November 7.

Starbucks is now also buying 200,000 Sharpie markers for close to 17,000 locations in the U.S. so that employees can write the names of customers or personalized messages on cups.

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“It’s going to give them the opportunity to put that additional human touch on every coffee experience,” Niccol said on Starbucks’ Q4 earnings call on Wednesday.

^{Brian Niccol. Credit: Robin Marchant/Getty Images}

Other changes include offering customers who stay to drink coffee the choice of a ceramic mug, and bringing back the condiment bar by early next year so customers can put milk and sugar in their coffee on their own.

The goal is to make Starbucks feel more like a “third place” or a site where people want to sit down — so comfortable seating and redesigned layouts will make an appearance at Starbucks too in the coming months.

“We’re reclaiming the third place so our cafes feel like the welcoming coffee house our customers remember,” Niccol said on the earnings call.

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These changes follow what Niccol called a “very disappointing” quarter for Starbucks. Revenue was down 3% from the same time last year, hitting $9.1 billion, and foot traffic to stores declined, especially in the afternoon. A 6% drop in U.S. sales drove the bulk of the revenue decline.

Niccol stated that in order to make a comeback, Starbucks would have to go back to its roots.

“We have to get back to what has always set Starbucks apart,” he said. “A welcoming coffee house where people gather and where we serve the finest coffee handcrafted by our skilled baristas.”

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