Starbucks workers usually seem pretty happy with their jobs, but when it comes to managing worker hours, Starbucks comes under much of the same scrutiny as other “great places to work.” How can retail operations like Starbucks run profitably while providing good work/life balance for their employees?

For its first store in Colombia, Starbucks opened a 2,700-square-foot flagship location replete with a heated patio, concrete columns, mirrors on the ceiling and walls of colorful plants. It’s apparently part of a plan to open more flagships in major cities. Do you see similarities between Starbucks approach and that of Apple and Nike?

If you want another reason why people want to work for Starbucks, look no further than the company’s recently announced College Achievement Plan, intended to help thousands of part- and full-time workers at Starbucks to get their degrees without the strings typically attached to most employers’ tuition reimbursement plans. How do you think this plan will affect employee recruitment and retention at the company?

Starbucks has long positioned itself as the place between home and work where customers can buy themselves a coffee and hang out for an extended period of time. Now, the chain announced it is rolling out wireless phone chargers in its cafes across the U.S. How does offering “early adoption” tech services affect Starbucks’ brand image?

All’s fair in love and retail. With a growing list of restaurants looking to grab share of the out-of-home breakfast market, who could blame Dunkin’ Donuts and Starbucks for going after the lunchtime opportunity. What do you think of the prospects for Dunkin’ Donuts and Starbucks to be successful during the lunch day-part?

The results of a poll of 2,503 college students in early April certainly don’t bode well for the mobile payment industry. “Somewhat” is not a ringing endorsement. Is credit aversion, particularly with Millennials, a significant barrier toward greater acceptance of mobile payments? Do you see it as more of a long- or short-term challenge?

Tech companies and national retailers have approached Starbucks about whether the coffee giant would consider licensing or white-labeling its successful mobile application, CEO Howard Schultz revealed during the company’s first-quarter earnings call. Should Starbucks license its mobile application to other retailers?

In 2004, Starbucks announced a company plan to use 10 percent recycled material in its coffee cups. In 2008, the company set a goal of implementing recycling in all its locations by 2015. But now all is not fine on the recycling front for Starbucks as its 2013 Global Responsibility Report makes clear that the coffee chain is not going to meet its 2015 goals. Do you think Starbucks’ failure to meet its goal will be seen as green washing?

Starbucks, which has made repeated attempts in recent years to find the right menu items to pair with its java drinks, is making adjustments again, bringing back some of the items removed from its menu when pastries and other items were added from La Boulange, the bakery business Starbucks acquired in 2012. What do you find right/wrong about Starbucks approach to food?

Today is George Anderson’s birthday. If somehow he’d forgotten the date, he would have been reminded by the many emails and postcards sent by retailers and various service providers. Do you also feel that some attempts by retailers to become more personal reinforce the opposite image?

Starbucks announced that it would expand its rollout of alcohol sales to thousands of locations over the next several years and that it had reached a deal with Oprah Winfrey to begin selling a line of tea under her name. Will alcohol sales or its association with Oprah Winfrey have the greatest impact on the Starbucks brand and the company’s sales?

Starbucks is updating its iPhone app to give cardholders easier access to their account information as well as adding digital tipping and “shake to pay” features. But the most interesting mobile news coming from the chain involves an app test that the company is not discussing publicly in great detail. Will mobile ordering apps become commonplace at foodservice operations in the near future?

Despite free WiFi, McDonald’s doesn’t attract the laptop crowd. More likely patrons are the elderly needing a place to go, teens hanging out, or homeless people escaping the cold, and seating limits are rarely enforced. How should local McDonald’s owners deal with elderly loiterers?

On last week’s conference call for Starbucks’ first-quarter earnings, Howard Schultz, president and CEO, made some waves by claiming brick & mortar retail was at an “inflection point” in losing traffic to e-commerce shopping. Do you think other top retail executives are finding it difficult “navigating the seismic shift” to online as admitted by Howard Schultz?

When Starbucks introduced its limited edition stainless steel Metal Card in 2012 at a price of $450, the company sold all 5,000 offered for sale on Gilt.com. This year, the coffee chain is back with a card at the same price, but it’s making it even harder to get them. Are there opportunities for other retailers to make better use of forced scarcity programs?

Retailers have certainly become attracted to mass transit of late. The latest news on the retail/transit connection front is that Starbucks has opened a full-service coffee shop on board a Swiss train. What do you think of Starbucks’ test of a store on a train in Switzerland? Do you see a day when the concept might be expanded to the U.S.?

Starbucks wants to do the same thing for tea that it did for coffee. That’s the intention behind the grand opening of Teavana Fine Teas + Tea Bar today on New York’s Upper East Side. Do you expect Starbucks to be successful in its goal to do for tea what it has done for coffee?

What do you do when you’re a retailer and you’re faced with a customer more interested in making political points than buying products? If you’re Starbucks, you try to find a middle ground, which quickly gets turned against you. What is your assessment of Starbucks’ request that gun owners voluntarily not carry weapons into its stores?

A little controversy can indeed help generate some word-of-mouth buzz for a brand, but too much controversy turns people off, according to a study from Georgia Institute of Technology and Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. Generally speaking, are brands and retailers hit by controversy better or worse off as a result?

The better burger trend is not a new concept. But Smashburger has even loftier goals, believing it can do for burgers what Starbucks did for coffee. What would Smashburger have to do to become the Starbucks of the burger world?

A new trial of phone charging mats at Starbucks suggests that the coffee chain sees this as an opportunity to draw and keep more people in its shops for longer periods of time. Do you see it as important a service as the availability of Wi-Fi?

Starbucks has announced a joint venture with Danone to develop new yogurt products that will be available in Starbucks and grocery stores. Do you see reason to be concerned as Starbucks breaks into a growing number of business and product categories?

When Starbucks revealed it was not only going smoke-free inside its stores, but 25 feet outside them as well, people both happy and unhappy with the announcement took to Starbucks’ Facebook page. Do you think Starbucks’ ban on smoking outside its stores is a wise move?

During Starbucks’ last conference call in January, chairman, president and CEO Howard Schultz was pumped about the growth of the My Starbucks Rewards program, as membership of the program grew 86 percent. What is your reaction to Starbucks expansion of the My Starbucks Rewards program to grocery channel purchases?

Beginning today, Starbucks will begin selling $1 reusable plastic cups in its stores in Canada, and U.S. Consumers who purchase the tumblers will receive a 10 cent discount with every order. Will Starbucks’ new, $1 reusable coffee cups catch on with consumers?

Just last week we discussed Starbucks’ use of scarcity to build the perceived value of select estate coffees. Now the chain is offering a limited edition gift card that is sold only through the Gilt luxury products website and costs $450. Do you think the Starbucks Metal Card aligns with the company’s brand?

Starbucks, the company that convinced consumers to pay more for coffee drinks than they had ever done before, is appealing to the small luxury mindset along with the allure of limited supply to get consumers to pay $7 for a 16-ounce cup of coffee. What do you think of Starbucks’ marketing of Costa Rica Finca Palmilera coffee?

In the old days there was only one kind of audience — the ones that media created. These audiences are still significant, but now there is a new type of audience in a digital and social age — one accumulated by the brand itself. Do you find it helpful to view brands as “media”?

As Superstorm Sandy blew its devastating winds through much of the Eastern U.S., retailers had to deal with it just like everyone else. But few seemed to have anticipated the extent of the disruption. What IT or backend lessons did Sandy provide for retailers?

Starbucks announced an energy-saving pilot project in conjunction with Lucid, a provider of real-time information feedback, to teach, inspire behavior change, and save energy and water resources in buildings. Will structured energy-saving goals become notably bigger incentives for retail staffs over the next three to five years

Starbucks has become synonymous with coffee in a big way over the years. Now, the coffee company is looking to branch out and plans to open its first coffee-free/tea-only store in October under the Tazo brand near its headquarters in Seattle. What do you think of the coming Tazo store experience as described in reports?

It’s a small step from a manufacturing standpoint, but Starbucks is looking to do something big when it comes to putting Americans back to work. The company announced yesterday that it was introducing four new items manufactured in the U.S., as part of the Create Jobs for USA program. Do you see more brands bringing their manufacturing back to the U.S. in the years to come?

Starbucks has the coffee thing down pretty good, but food — not so much. But the coffee giant announced yesterday that it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Bay Bread, LLC, operator of the 19-store La Boulange bakery chain. What do you see as the key challenges and opportunities of running the La Boulange chain?

Remember when retail coffee brands ruled the roost? The best part of waking up is Folgers in your cup. The world cups of Maxwell House. The iconic El Exigente for Savarin coffee? Now all the cup of joe mojo is with Starbucks and Dunkin’ Donuts, with a bit of Keurig thrown in. How important is a strong social media presence for well-established CPG brands?

Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz announced an initiative last October with the Opportunity Finance Network (OFN) called “Create Jobs for the USA,” to both cheers and jeers. Now, Banana Republic and Google have announced they are getting behind the jobs effort. Will we see more retailers and consumer brands getting behind the “Create Jobs for the USA” campaign?

According to reports, Starbucks is expanding a six-location West Coast test of beer and wine sales to as many as 25 locations around the country by the end of the year. Will Starbucks adding beer and wine at some locations be a success or will it alienate core customers at the chain?

It is a truth universally acknowledged that Americans pride themselves on exporting their best-loved products and services. Now Starbucks plans to open drive-thru stores in the U.K. Have drive-thrus helped or hurt the customer experience positioning that Starbucks has cultivated over the years?

Starbucks last week acquired juice maker Evolution Fresh Inc. for $30 million as part of a plan to launch a new chain of health and wellness stores in the coming year. How translatable is Starbucks’ coffee business model to a juice and health foods concept?

Two of the hats in Edward de Bono’s book, Six Thinking Hats, are: Information: (White) – considering purely what information is available, what are the facts? Emotions (Red) – instinctive gut reaction or statements of emotional feeling. Are most marketing decisions too white-hat or red-hat driven?

Starbucks has announced a new initiative. On November 1, it will team up with the Opportunity Finance Network (OFN) on an initiative called “Create Jobs for the USA” to collect donations at its stores that will be used to fund lending to small businesses across the country. What do you think about Starbucks and the “Create Jobs” initiative?

Starbucks last month admitted that it has started covering some electrical outlets at some busy Starbucks coffee shops in New York City to discourage laptop users from overextending their stay while freeing up seats for others. What should Starbucks do about laptop loungers?

Howard Schultz wants other companies to join his and stop giving money to politicians and use those funds to put people back to work. Do you agree with Howard Schultz that companies should stop contributing to political campaigns and use those funds to grow their businesses and create jobs?

The semi-long awaited introduction of a mobile payment app for Android phones at Starbucks is finally here. The coffee chain said the new Android app would be available July 15 at all of its stores in the U.S. and its locations in Target and Safeway-owned stores. What is your assessment of the progress Starbucks has made in mobile payments?

In early March, Church’s Chicken closed all of its Nashville locations for 18 hours for employees to attend “an intense customer service training boot camp.” In 2008, Starbucks famously closed all 7,100 of its American stores for three hours to train staff. When are more extreme measures such as staff-wide, one-day training or even group training during non-store hours useful?

Starbucks announced last week the launch of mobile payment in its 6,800 U.S. company-operated stores and more than 1,000 Starbucks located in Target locations. What do you think of Starbucks mobile payment option, especially its link to its loyalty program?

Facebook has become the ultimate online commune. In fact, the web in general has in many ways become the truest expression of the idea of equal access and egalitarianism — the democratization of everything. What do you think of the potential for more exclusive brand communities?

Why won’t they just leave those logos alone! Starbucks’ decision to update its logo hasn’t generated the hostility that Gap faced but it’s still a big deal based solely on how powerful the coffee chain’s brand is around the globe. What do you think of how Starbucks has introduced its logo change?

With thousands of locations in the U.S., there is no question that Starbucks is all “stored up” here, so where does the company turn for domestic growth? Is Starbucks on the right track by looking to grow through CPG brand acquisitions?

Starbucks wants its customers to stick around awhile. The chain has launched a new digital network in partnership with Yahoo that offers free e-books, movies, local news, access to paid websites and more — all to give its customers reasons not to leave. Will the Starbucks Digital Network bring new consumers to the chain’s coffee shops?

After hearing complaints from customers about their coffees, Starbucks is telling its baristas to stop making more than two drinks at a time and to take other steps that may very likely prolong waiting times for customers. How important is speedy service versus ensuring a quality product for Starbucks compared to other foodservice operators?