Getting good coffee in the US in a challenge. Just about every cup is a reminder that in Australia we are spoilt. Here, the dominant Starbucks model is more about the meeting place and how they can trick a coffee into something beyond the drink I love.
I heard Howard Schultz, CEO os Starbucks, speak at a conference on Monday. He was inspiring. he was also proud of the level of employee ownership of the company and that every employee has access to health care – vital in the US.
Howard Schultz’s speech got me looking at Starbucks in a different light. While their coffee does not taste better, I now take more notice of what goes on inside the business and how their employees engage.
This morning, in a Starbucks on West 53rd and Broadway, I had my best Starbucks experience ever … all because of one employee who clearly loved what they were doing and loved making customers happy.
This young lady helped manage customer traffic – important to keep the wait down – and she had a good banter with shoppers. Then, when a song came on their in-store radio, she sang at full voice and busted some dance b=moves behind the espresso machine.
Here is busy manhattan in one of thousands of cookie-cutter Starbucks outlets across the US, I got an authentic, engaged and enjoyable experience. This is the Starbucks I want to come back to. This is where I felt most welcome. The coffee didn’t matter. This felt real.
Being a customer in a chain store can feel heartless. The employees can appear zombie like and the appreciation bland and meaningless. It’s tough serving in a mass market from a store that is one of thousands under the same shingle.
This morning in Starbucks, the lesson I got was that a great employee can make for a great experience and be key to building a great business.
Often newsagents complain to me about employees. We need to remember we hire them, manage them, motivate them, train them and fire them. We business owners determine how good our employees are.
Footnote: the screen in the photo is updates with each song played. It displays what you can see and other information through the song. Clever. Music is an important part of the Starbucks experience and has been for many years.
Second footnote: In 2008 I read How Starbucks Saved My Life – about a guy down on his lick and being picked up by Starbucks. I recommend it.