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).
Summer camps across the country will open this month, but parents may experience some sticker shock. With the cost of goods and services rising, so is the price of camp. Cheddar’s Ashley Mastronardi spoke to experts who shed some light on how this will affect your wallet.
Living in New York City, working full time and without a car, Jessica Ray and her husband have come to rely on deliveries of food and just about everything else for their home. It has meant more free time on weekends with their young son, rather than standing in line for toilet paper or dragging heavy bags of dog food back to their apartment.
Cheddar News checks in to see what to look out for on The Day Ahead as Campbell Soup and Vera Bradley are due to report earnings while economic data, including the April trade deficit and consumer credit, are slated to be released. And Wednesday is World Food Safety Day.
Financial services company Marqeta released its fourth annual state of payments report which reveals how widely Americans have adopted new technology like mobile banking and wallets. Marqeta CEO Simon Khalaf joined Cheddar News to discuss how common digital payments have become.
Katherine Rooney Vera, chief market strategist with StoneX, joined Cheddar News to discuss what investors should expect as the S&P closed near a nine-month high with volatility levels at their lowest level in over three years.
