Brian Niccol, Starbucks’ new CEO, has been sprinting to pull off a turnaround. (Credit: The New York Times, Sept. 9, 2025). He’s already dumped $500 million into more baristas, new tech to speed drink orders, and revamped stores. On paper, it looks like progress.

But let’s be blunt: without customers, there is no business. And customers don’t care about how many millions you spend, they care about their experience.

The NYT highlighted the infamous Strawberry Matcha Strato Frappuccino as the poster child of the new Starbucks. Six ingredients, two blenders, a handwritten message on every cup, and a forced smile in under four minutes. Great in theory. In practice? Exhausted employees, long lines, and frustrated customers.

Here’s the hard truth: management must be ruthless about profits and standards. If the uniform says green apron, you wear the apron. If the drink requires six steps, you follow the recipe. Consistency builds trust. As Dan Kennedy said: “You must be ruthless in your management of people and profits.”

But ruthless doesn’t mean blind. Burned-out employees don’t deliver great customer experiences. If Starbucks really wants engaged baristas, they need to do more than hand down rules. They need to ask:

• What slows you down?

• What frustrates customers?

• Which policies actually work in the real world?

Engaged employees create engaged customers. That’s the equation. If Starbucks forgets that, all the tech and remodels in the world won’t save them.

Business lesson: Be ruthless about accountability and profit—but smart enough to include your people in the process. Customers can’t be happy if employees are miserable.