Starbucks baristas are already complaining about doodling on your cups

New York CNN — Kermit the Frog. Starbucks baristas are scribbling on customers’ to-go coffee cups again, part of new CEO Brian Niccol’s “Back to Starbucks” strategy to humanize the global chain and reposition Starbucks as a coffee shop, not just a place to pick up mobile orders for coffee. Starbucks has instructed employees to write simple, personalized messages on cups, such as affirmations, well wishes and “hello again” for regulars, and the company is spotlighting the return of the notes and names — sometimes misspelled — with a new commercial called “Not My Name.” In the past, Starbucks encouraged baristas to write social messages such as “Race Together” to encourage conversations about racial inequality, but these efforts were mocked, and Starbucks ended the campaign. Joshua Trujillo/Starbucks Some Starbucks baristas, however, told CNN that writing out messages on every cup has slowed down the pace and is a “forced” way to build connections with customers. “Is that really connecting?” Starbucks said it is adding extra hours for workers to accommodate employees writing on cups.