The rise of artificial intelligence has many worried that robots may be taking their jobs. But Starbucks is using digital advancements to foster a stronger relationship between its customers and its employees.
“Our Mobile Order and Pay platforms through digital have been fantastically successful,” Ron Crawford, the company’s vice president of global benefits told Cheddar. “It’s driving more and more customers into our stores, which is great. It’s allowing our partners to have yet even more and more interaction with our customers.”
Starbucks has long been known for the emphasis placed on its “partners”, the term the company uses for baristas and other non-corporate employees. The company announced last week a second wave of raises, on top of pay increases that had already been scheduled for this year. It also unveiled stock grants for both full-time and part-time employees, extended sick-pay benefits, and plans to add more than 8,000 new jobs.
And while some credited President Trump’s new tax policy with sparking the changes, Crawford says most of the plans were already in the works.
“Some of those things would’ve happened in the next couple of months anyway, we were just able to do it a little bit sooner,” he said. “We were still on a path to execute our longer term strategy, and we would’ve made partner investments during the normal course of our business.”
For full interview [click here](https://cheddar.com/videos/starbucks-brews-up-employee-benefits).
If you have some older comic books stashed away in your attic, basement or closet, make sure to check their condition as they could be traded for serious cash. Cheddar News' Michelle Castillo at New Yor Comic Con spoke with Chris D'Lando, event manager with NYCC for Reedpop; Andy Mourat, co-founder and president of MetaZoo; and Julian Montoya, senior vice president of The Noble Collection, to get their thoughts.
Eliott Wellenbach, vice president and institutional ETF strategist with Direxion, joined Cheddar News to explain how investors are bracing for interest rate hikes after last week's inflation report and ahead of the Fed's upcoming meeting. Wellenbach also discussed how traders are taking advantage of volatility as earnings season continues and amid geopolitical conflicts.
One of the most difficult parts of a job search is writing resumes. Cheddar News' docuseries Ready 4 Work explores the pitfalls of that and helps job seekers stand out from all those other applicants.
They are playfully called the “forgotten five”: A handful of toys — the pogo stick, the Fisher-Price Corn Popper, My Little Pony, PEZ dispensers, and Transformers — that regularly approach toybox royalty as finalists for the National Toy Hall of Fame, only to be tossed back on the pile.
Rite Aid’s plan to close more stores as part of its bankruptcy process could hurt access to medicine and care, particularly in some majority Black and Hispanic neighborhoods and in rural areas, experts say.
