Starbucks stores reopen after computer glitch

SEATTLE – Starbucks was back in business Saturday after a computer outage forced thousands of its stores to close early the night before.

The company said the outage was resolved Friday night after several hours. The glitch affected registers at 7,400 company-operated stores in the U.S. and 1,000 in Canada, and prompted some stores to give away drinks.

“All Starbucks stores in the U.S. and Canada are expected to open for business as usual on Saturday,” the company said in a statement late Friday. “We apologize to our customers for this inconvenience.”

Starbucks said the outage was caused by “a failure during a daily system refresh.” Jim Olson, a company spokesman, stressed it was an internal issue and that no external breach was involved.

The problem began in the evening Friday on the East Coast, with workers posting handwritten “Cash Only” signs on windows and giving away free drinks and food because they were unable to ring up orders on registers. Starbucks initially said stores would remain open during the outage, then changed course and said it decided to close stores early.

At a Starbucks in Seattle, customers were told workers couldn’t process orders and were offered coffee at no charge.

“I’m not going to complain about a free cup of coffee,” said Suveer Sharma, who stopped in before heading on a trip to Idaho.

Others at a Starbucks in Phoenix weren’t as happy.

“I have a sleeping baby in the back and I’m waiting for a prescription,” said Claudia Larson, 40, of Scottsdale. “I wanted a coffee! I’m bummed!”

Starbucks stores are typically busiest in the mornings when people are on their way to work, meaning the impact of the outage on sales could have been far worse. Still, the company has been trying to attract more customers in the late afternoons and evenings with an expanded menu of food and drinks.

Most fast-food and restaurant chains have some type of computer system that lets them track sales at registers companywide, said John Gordon, a restaurant industry analyst and consultant. But Starbucks is different from many others because it owns the majority of its locations in the U.S., whereas chains like McDonald’s are mostly owned by franchisees.

That could mean the sales register system Starbucks uses is far more integrated across stores, Gordon said.