The company justifies significantly lower pay rates than comparable positions at competing companies by touting a "total compensation" package that employees are encouraged to participate in. This ranges from a free pound of coffee (or box of tea) every week, health insurance and discounted stock purchases, to "deals" with other corporations for discounts on goods and services. However, considering the lower hourly rates, once premiums are paid for the insurance, there is barely enough to live off of, let alone spend anything on co-pays, prescriptions, or doctors visits. If the only concern for having insurance is for medical treatment in case of an emergency, then even the cheapest option is adequate. (One employee needed a root canal, which would have been $900 out of pocket after insurance, and was deemed unfit for a payment plan by the dentist's office because their hourly salary did not afford any non-essential spending.) Management also tended to entice employees with promises of future advancement, even during times when they knew such advancement would not be possible. The pattern I recognized during my time at Starbucks was that the employees who bought into the "Starbucks culture" the most, were the ones who most often felt burned by the company.
