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February 28, 2008 Leave a Comment

Training Can be Fun

I made a quick stop at my local Starbucks yesterday morning to see, first hand, if there was any noticeable changes after the training session Tuesday evening. Granted, this was 6:00 AM and the store was just opening up. I did notice a few more smiles and a more energetic approach to greeting the customers. It will be interesting to observe changes over the next few weeks.

In order to get a better assessment I searched the web for news stories on this topic. Not much beyond the basic reporting. However, I did come across this “fully tongue in cheek” article on the www.howto.tunafish.com website. It illustrates creative ways to really irritate your customers – who said that thy come first? (laughing out loud)

Click here – http://howto.thetunafish.com/?p=18 – to go directly to the article. I hope that you laugh as much as I did.

If you don’t have the time to read the complete article, here is an excerpt:

In order to better prepare you for this sort of “customer handling” we here at Starbucks offer these helpful tips:

    Make sure the customer waits in line for a minimum of 5 minutes before receiving service- even if he/she is the only one in the café.
    Anything over 8 minutes before the customer receives service is too long, the smooth jazz music will only relax him/her for so long, and they may leave with our money.
    Be extremely apologetic with large dashes of sarcasm in the voice. Add different flavors of syrup or make the drink decaf if the customer talks back. You don’t deserve this kind of treatment!
    Call out drink name very loudly, even if they are sitting at the table next to the bar. Walk away before they can ask you for a straw/extra syrup/napkins.
    Correct the customer if they call a drink by the wrong name, even if it is only off by one word.  

As the late, great political satirist Art Buchwald used to say, “I don’t have to use my imagination to be funny. I just report what actually happened today in Washington. I don’t have to make it up – people wouldn’t believe me if I did.”

Do you have a funny story about customer service? Share it with our readers.

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Filed Under: Business Communications, Customer Service, Main Page, Training Tagged: , , ,
February 26, 2008 Leave a Comment

Closing Your Business to Work On Your Business

News Flash! Starbucks is closing all 7,100 of their USA stores today at 5:30P.M local time! Incredible!

Except … They are not permanently closing up shop. That would be drastic!

Rather … They are holding a 3 1/2 hour mandatory, company-wide training session for all 135,000 store employees. That is dramatic!

That takes guts! And Howard Schultz, the founder and CEO has consistently demonstrated his vision and leadership. We know he has guts!

(Click here to read more about this dramatic event.)

I am sure that many business owners are saying, “How much is that going to cost them to close down all stores for 3 1/2 hours?”

The bigger question – one that I am sure they will be addressing during their training session – “How much will it cost Starbucks if we don’t invest the time to restore our enthusiasm, improve our service and revisit our company’s culture?”

Starbucks has two choices :

  1. Allow themselves to sink down and accept that they have become a commodity as they face increased competition.
  2. Rejuvenate themselves through special training. Re-visit what they must do to elevate the “Starbucks Experience.”

Happily, they chose Option #2.

Whatever short-term loss they have in lost revenue will be gained back in long-term profits and improved customer loyalty.

Here’s my resolve – First thing tomorrow, I am visiting my local Starbucks to see first-hand how they have changed as a result of today’s training!

I realize that it will take some time to rebuild the romance of the “Starbucks Experience.” I am eager to watch it evolve!

What do you think about this? Please add your comments below. This is a great topic for discussion!

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Filed Under: Business Communications, Business Practices, Customer Service, Leadership, Main Page, Marketing, Training Tagged: , , , ,
October 24, 2006 Leave a Comment

Why We Belong to Organizations

“People want to be part of something larger than themselves.  They want to be part of something they’re really proud of, that they’ll fight for, sacrifice for, that they trust.”

– Howard Schultz, Chairman and Founder of Starbucks

I found this quote this morning during my usual wandering through favorite websites.  It appears on business guru Tom Peters’ website – in his “free stuff” section.  I got to Tom’s website via another excellent site – Speaking on Speaking.

The Internet is something larger than ourselves that we want to be a part of – at least “our favorites” or the “blogs” that we participate in or the multitude of friends that we associate with through My Space and other social networks.

However, Mr. Schultz was really talking about what sets his company – Starbucks – apart.  Why do people want to work there?  Why do people like to buy their products and hang out in their cafes?

Job satisfaction is not directly related to how much we get paid for what we do.  Certainly money is important and we must all feel that we are being compensated on a fair and equitable scale.  But that is not job satisfaction.

Why do we choose the companies or industries that we work in?  The causes that we support?  The people that we want to be around – or to be like?  What gives us satisfaction?

People, Products, Reputation

We want to work with people that we like and respect.  We want to produce products and services that we are proud of.  These help to establish our reputation.  This is what give us satisfaction. This is why we choose our associations.  This is why we fight for what we believe in.  This is why people will trust us.

From today’s web-crawl and finding Tom Peters’ treasure trove of “freebies”, I have a stack of quotations to add to my database.  But I also have found motivation to get my day going.  I hope that this blog is help you as well.  If so, please share your thoughts with our readers. 

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Filed Under: Advocacy, Associations, Business Communications, Main Page, Quotations Tagged: , ,