People drink coffee on the way to work, at work, and on the way home from work. They sit at outdoor cafés and drink coffee for hours on end. Friday and Saturday nights and Sunday mornings will never be the same since Starbucks built shops on almost every corner of every major city across the United States.
Starbucks has worked hard to create its multi-layered image over the years. They have become a destination for coffee drinks, a place between work and home that people can go to relax, unwind, read a book or newspaper, meet people and of course have a few cups of coffee along the way. One of the mainstay strategies for creating and maintaining this image is to listen to its customers. Then respond as much as possible.
Starbucks Slows Down its Baristas
The Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday, October 13, 2010 that Starbucks has told its baristas to slow down. Focus on making one drink at a time, regardless of how long the line might be. Why would Starbucks risk angry customers waiting extra long in line to get their morning coffee?
Because Starbucks customers started complaining that the company had “reduced the fine art of coffee making to a mechanized process with all the romance of an assembly line.” In addition to slowing down, baristas were told to steam milk for one drink at a time instead of a doing an entire pitcher of steamed milk. Other changes include:
- Rinsing pitchers after each use.
- Staying at the espresso bar.
- Not moving around and away from the espresso bar.
- Using one espresso machine versus two.
Responding to Customer Feedback
While the changes Starbucks expects to implement next month will make a better cup of coffee, the employees, according to WSJ, are worried about the amount of extra time customers will have to wait in line. The company’s decision makers must feel that responding to customer feedback regarding the quality of the product is worth the risk of customer feedback about waiting for the product.
Regardless, it is nice to see a company that has grown as big and as fast as Starbucks trying to please its customer base. They may well have to respond with another strategy if customers do get tired of waiting but for now, Starbucks are addressing a concern voiced today.
Starbucks a Model Company
Starbucks has long been a favored company by authors, employee motivation consultants and other types of business consultants. The model used by Starbucks has been a success both from a customer standpoint and from a happy employee side as well as being a profit maker.
Their success has been dependent on a quality product and a quality experience. Prices for any one of their products is much higher than competitors’ pricing. Writing this while drinking a morning cup of Starbucks is better than writing while drinking just about any other coffee brand. It’s the smooth, bold taste. It’s the cup. It’s the fact that it’s a place to go where everyone knows your name and listens to your complaints.
