Starbucks (NASDAQ: SBUX) made the bold (and bizarre) decision to close 7,100 of its company-owned stores throughout the United States yesterday to re-train Starbucks baristas in the fine art of making the perfect cup of espresso. Wise decision or pathetic publicity stunt? I vote for pathetic publicity stunt. 
Instead of owning up to the real problems Starbucks has, the marketing and PR teams are trying to divert consumers' attention. The buzz prior to the mandatory re-training yesterday wasn't so much about Starbucks' coffee quality deteriorating as it was about a laundry list of other issues. Do the powers that be at Starbucks really think closing 7,100 stores to retrain baristas is going to turn the company around? If so, it's time to clean house from the top down. Somehow I don't think the 200 people who got their pink slips from Starbucks last week were the ones who have been making the key strategic decisions. Just a guess.
In the meantime, McDonald's (NYSE: MCD) and Dunkin' Donuts have been challenging Starbucks left and right, and their challenges are working. In fact, I love the new Dunkin' Donuts ad that so blatantly pokes fun at Starbucks' elitist product names and attitude. If you haven't seen it, check out the video below. It's very funny and so true.
So what can Starbucks do? They can start by listening to their customers and making the necessary changes to meet their customers' needs. It seems that's the one thing Starbucks hasn't done yet. Perhaps they've been too busy drinking their deicis.
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