Economic Snapshot: New Training Sessions At Starbucks

Those accustomed to the personal touch Starbucks (SBUX) employees put into every Frappuccino are about to face a Venti disappointment.

Scott Heydon -- the company's proclaimed "Vice President of Lean Thinking" -- is spearheading a new initiative to minimize the time spent processing customer orders. Preferring the well-oiled machine of the Toyota (TM) production system, Heydon is looking to boost efficiency with quicker service, thereby increasing the time employees may spend interacting with patrons.

But as much as customers enjoy being asked about their day with faux sincerity, concerns over food and drink quality have risen in light of this new Starbucks standard. Many are surprised that a company which spent years trying to distance itself from the perfunctory service from fast-food chains like McDonald's (MCD) and Dunkin' Donuts would choose to adopt their service behavior.

"Lean and mean" seems to be the key to the uptick in Starbucks' bottom line. The company saw ways to reduce costs by $175 million in its third quarter and turn a $151.5 million net from a loss of $6.7 million a year ago.

Speaking with Yahoo Finance, Starbucks president Cliff Burrows said, "We continued to add things, but we'd never had a real pressure on us to look at an optimal way to do the work. Lean has helped us relook at what we do every day."

Personally overseeing this efficiency push is Heydon and a 10-person crew who implement unorthodox challenges to get the most out of the teams. In one contest, managers are pitted against a stopwatch to assemble and disassemble a Mr. Potato Head in less than 45 seconds.

No word on if blindfolds and a typecast R. Lee Ermey are also involved.

But in order to streamline and improve every facet of the Starbucks experience, employees must undergo various training sessions. Minyanville takes a look at the lessons taking place at your local branch.

New Training Sessions At Starbucks