Passion For Service
In 2003, I was pregnant and scared. My husband was just ordered to active duty in Iraq and he was laid off from his job of ten years.
He happened to have been reading the writing on the walls at Bauer and knew it was coming so had been interviewing at Starbucks. And for anyone that has ever gone to work at Starbucks, you know, that process is not quick.
It was a bad week. We got the news that he was deploying and the very next day he went to work and was laid off. To their credit, they didn’t know the deployment was coming (I mean, you kind of had to—it was all over the news and it was the first time since WW2 that the guard was being used in this capacity—it was a big deal.)
But, alas, they laid him off. And he had to call the recruiter at Starbucks and inform them that he was leaving for up to 545 days. And Starbucks, said, okay, we still want you.
We were shocked. What? They believed in things like this—supporting families, honoring commitments, doing the right thing. If you know the history, you know that Howard’s own family had suffered hardships when he was young and providing a stable workplace was essential to how he did business.
So, Tim started at Starbucks and the deployment was cancelled. You might not remember but during the push into Baghdad, there was supposed to be a push through Turkey—that was where Tim was scheduled to go—and Turkey said, no dice. Uninvited. Don’t use us. Kindly fuck off.
So, Tim started at Starbucks and the deployment lingered over us like a storm cloud. Always there, always ready to strike.
(And yes, we also talked with the JAG officers and they informed Eddie Bauer that what they did was illegal.)
I think Tim’s first day at Starbucks was May 2. He trained on Mercer Island and Issaquah, I think. We would go and see him being a barista. It was adorable. He finally finished training and was able to move into his office in Sodo. We’d get Krispy Kreme and go to Mariners and see his space. It was a fun summer. And then . . . October came and the cloud burst.
We held the orders in our hands, 545 days. Leaving 11/15.
While I dealt with figuring out how to deliver a preemie baby via C-Section so he could meet his dad; Tim told Starbucks he had to go.
And then they did what we never expected. They figured out how to match his salary for a year and a half. They didn’t have the systems for it so they cut manual checks. It saved us. Quite literally.
Tim came home from that first deployment, safe but a little broken. He drove from our house to downtown and worried about being blown up most days. So when he heard that there was a DM position open in Wenatchee—we jumped at the chance to change the scenery a bit.
And then the second deployment came a few years later and true to their word, they matched his salary again. I cannot overemphasize what a gift this was—his army pay was at least a 50% pay cut.
Tim came home from that second deployment, safe and probably a little less broken than the first time, but eventually the job he was doing and the person he was doing it for was too much and he needed a change.
And, once again, Starbucks delivered. We returned to Seattle and he did some incredible things—city strategy, roasteries, travel, fun, innovative coffee shit. And then COVID.
My dad died and the kids went to college and we moved to Arizona to be closer to my mom and the kids and Starbucks was game. His boss was in Atlanta and the team spread across the country. They had figured out pick up and delivery, mobile order and lots of efficiencies. He even got his degree through ASU paid for by ‘bucks.
And then one day this summer came the note, because you don’t live in Seattle you can kindly return or get the fuck out. And so today, he leaves. He’s excited. I’m bitter. He’s reflective. I’m pissed.
We have given a lot to them and they to us and I’m disappointed that they don’t know what they have in him. I’m sad that they think that being back in the office is the solution. I know better. I know the research on connection. It is important, we should be together, but you can do it in other ways. I had hoped they would do better, try harder, lead, but alas, here we are.
Tim says goodbye today because, well, they can’t figure out their systems very well. A month or so of vacation and then back for a few more weeks until the final goodbye. We are grateful for all they have given us. I am personally so moved by the years of support, the people that we got in the process. His team in Wenatchee is still the closest thing to family we had during that time and even today. I just wish it was ending differently. It feels like a bad breakup rather than a celebration of 20 years of service.
But alas, it’s work. So, thank you, Starbucks. Thank you, Howard. You changed our lives.
And goodbye.
