Due to the coronavirus pandemic, many things have changed for businesses and how they interact with their customers and employees. However, Starbuck's is making it known that its pledge to its customers and employees will stay the same.
In a March 22 letter to Starbucks customers and partners (employees), CEO and president of Starbucks Kevin Johnson said, all U.S. and Canada retail partners will continue to be paid for the next 30 days whether they are working or not.
"We believe no partner should be asked to choose between work and their health," Johnson wrote.
As more jobs are moving to work from home, those in the restaurant and food industry are seeing layoffs, cut hours and lots of uncertainty but at Starbucks, Johnson said they are continuing to care for its partners. They have done this by "extending childcare benefits, offering a new mental health benefit, and introducing catastrophe pay" among other things.
"Partners are the heartbeat of Starbucks, and we will continue to do whatever we can to support them," Johnson wrote.
Starbucks made the decision to close all dine-in areas of their stores to further stop the spread of COVID-19. Along with this, they are also no longer accepting personal cups and all refills are given in new cups.
These changes have all been made in a united effort to "mitigate the effects of COVID-19" and Johnson is optimistic that we can get through this.
"I am optimistic that together we can overcome this challenge.," Johnson wrote. "The human experience is about overcoming adversity by being resilient, and that is certainly on display across the nation. We will overcome this. Our resilience will be rewarded."
He then signed the letter, "With optimism, Kevin."