Introduction:Since March this year, Starbucks has reintroduced its hand-drawn takeaway paper cup service in stores across North America and some other regions, aiming to recreate the warmth of a decade ago and attract many customers to relive that familiar feeling. However, this thoughtful initiative has left many employees who are not skilled in drawing feeling stressed, with some even wishing to see it abolished. Is this service a demonstration of brand warmth or an additional psychological burden on staff?
In recent years, Starbucks has frequently adjusted its branding strategy. Since the new CEO took office last year, the "Return to Starbucks" initiative has been launched, aiming to rekindle customers' emotional connection to the brand through a series of people-friendly measures. Among them, the "hand-drawn takeaway paper cup service," which began as a trial in North American stores in March this year and has since been gradually expanded to other regions, is one part of this effort.
Many customers have been pleasantly surprised to find cute doodles or warm greetings on their paper cups when picking up their orders—such as little cats, stars, or even a simple message like "Wish you a wonderful day." These hand-drawn elements have reminded many of the time, about a decade ago, when Starbucks baristas would handwrite blessings on cups, before stickers completely replaced the handwritten service.
However, behind this customer experience-enhancing initiative lies significant pressure for many employees. For those with limited drawing skills, improvising artwork on each takeaway cup is far more headache-inducing than memorizing drink recipes. Some staff say they struggle to create cartoon-style drawings worthy of social media aesthetics and fear being criticized for being too simplistic or careless if their drawings appear too basic—resulting in considerable psychological stress.
Especially during peak hours, when order volumes surge, many employees can barely keep up with basic drink packaging, let alone draw on every cup. Some staff have privately said, “Drawing is harder than making drinks; I really don’t want to do it anymore.” A number of employees have even called on customers via social media platforms to give feedback to management, hoping to cancel this service that is “seemingly warm but actually overwhelming.”
Interestingly, it’s not just employees who find the hand-drawn cups troublesome—some customers are also unimpressed with the service. They feel that while the doodles may look cute, the fact that the cups are handled multiple times during the drawing process makes them feel unhygienic. Especially when baristas use watercolors or colored pencils, some customers worry that if the cups aren’t used immediately or are stacked, the paint might smudge into the drink inside.
In response to these hygiene concerns, a Starbucks employee explained that according to internal operating procedures, completed hand-drawn cups are not allowed to be stacked to avoid paint transfer or seepage into the cup. However, he also admitted that because hand-drawn cups must be made on the spot and cannot be pre-prepared, the overall service speed is slowed down, particularly during busy periods, affecting service efficiency.
In summary, Starbucks’ hand-drawn paper cup service does bring surprise and emotional resonance to some customers, reviving a sense of the past human touch. But for frontline employees, this “value-added service” has become an extra psychological and work burden. As the brand pursues a more personal touch, how to balance employee execution pressure with practical operational feasibility remains an ongoing challenge for Starbucks to refine in the future.
The above content is compiled by CoffeeHunters, a coffee news website.
