Many books have been written about the “Starbucks experience,” some criticizing it as lacking authenticity, and others heralding it as a gold standard. This blog post is Melody’s take on what the “Starbucks experience” means. This is not scientific. It’s just my own experience and observation. Yes, I believe the “Starbucks experience” is real, and not some mythical Sasquatch that only leaves footprints but cannot be tied down. I’ve actually written about this in the comments to this blog but it is worth exploring here as its own post. Melody’s theory: Breaking the Starbucks experience into its root pieces:
There are three pieces to the “Starbucks Experience”:
1. The connection between the customer and the barista and the store – The Felt Sense and emotional part of the experience
2. The persuasion of the drink – The romance and theater
3. The drink itself – Quality and satisfaction
1. The connection between the customer and the barista: The felt sense and the emotional part of the experience:
This the part of the experience that is the hardest to pin down and describe. In my mind it has to do tremendously with how genuine and real the barista interacts with the customer. The reason that this is hard to describe is that many customers and baristas aren’t quite sure how to put into words what went wrong in an experience, if things go sour. Conversely, when things go right, it too can be hard to describe. Even harder, the part of this that is really important may vary slightly from customer to customer, though I am utterly convinced the cornerstone of the connection is “be genuine.” I fully believe that the overwhelming majority of customers can sense and know if a smile is fake, if a barista sounds scripted, and if the “yes” really means “no” when the “yes we can do that” has been delivered with a roll of the eyes. We live in an era of pretty sophisticated customers.
Remember, this part of the experience has nothing to do with the actual beverage but relates to lots of non-spoken clues and signs. It may even be that the customer is aware that the baristas green apron doesn’t look very clean. Subconsciously, the customer might be a little more suspicious of the beverage that he or she receives. A dirty store might send the same signal.
This part of the Starbucks experience cannot totally be taught. I honestly think that there are some people who will never enjoy being a barista. It is an occupation that has a service element to it, and if a person doesn’t like service, perhaps this is not for them.
2. The persuasion of the drink – The romance and theater
Every customer has to believe that there is value in their beverage purchase. They have to believe they’re getting something wonderful that cannot be easily replicated in their own kitchen. This is not just the genuine smile and good service but it is about the art of the beverage. Some of the examples surrounding this are customers who enjoy watching shot glasses being used in stores. About a decade ago, when Starbucks started ripping the manual espresso machines out of stores and replacing them with automatic ones, for sure, some customers were forever lost to small independent coffee houses which manually pulled their shots. These customers loved watching the barista gets the beans from the hoppers, grind them, hand tamp them, and watch the shots being meticulously timed, and then the whap whap noise as the barista cleaned out the portafilter. There was a ton of theater and romance in that process. It doesn’t matter that many of those customers very likely would never be able to taste any difference when they’re drinking a Grande extra sweet white mocha, with so much milk and sugar that the espresso flavor is barely noticeable. It was the theater and romance.
Starbucks seems to discount theater and romance, as if it doesn’t count for much, and only requires precious labor. But when we pay a premium for a beverage, we have to have some assurances that we’re getting something made just for us. Nobody wants a Big Mac that has been sitting under a heating lamp. Mind you, I want to make it very very clear that the theater of the beverage is SEPARATE from the actual taste of the drink and the emotional connection that the barista has with the customer. I’m sure plenty of grumpy baristas can make fabulous drinks. These are all independent variables.
I’m going to give a couple more examples of the theater and romance of the beverage: On MyStarbucksIdea.com, it is not all that unusual to have customers make threads upset that their beverage has been stirred, not shaken.
I sometimes wonder that if these customers would taste a difference between a shaken and a stirred drink in a blind taste test? Well, maybe some would and some would not. The point only being that watching the drink being shaken is integral to the theater and romance of the drink. It’s part of what persuades these customers that the beverage is worth spending money on.
Yet another example relates to the Clover coffee brewer which also is loaded with theater and fun. You can pick any coffee. The barista rips open the flavorlock bag. Your beans are ground fresh before your eyes, and definitely you’ll get a nice aroma if you’re anywhere near the grinder. The barista hand produces your drink just for you, and you get to see the puck of grounds come up magically on the filter. The barista dials in the right settings on the Clover for the coffee. There are lots of great steps.
If, hypothetically, when you ordered your beverage, the barista could turn to a food replicator and utter the words, “tea, earl grey, hot” and then your drink would magically appear, for many many customers all the theater of the drink would be lost.
This is also the area where sometimes short cuts have an unseen cost. I have no doubt that often times the customer cannot taste any difference, but the customer who feels like some shortcut was taken with his or her beverage will often times be left with a nagging feeling like it wasn’t worth the money.
3. The drink itself – Quality and satisfaction
Last but not least, part of the Starbucks experience is the actual drink the customer ordered. No matter if the store is full of really great baristas, and no short cut was taken, it is still possible that the customer might not be satisfied with the beverage. If a customer runs into a store, sees a friendly barista, pays for a cup of drip-brewed coffee, and gets back to his or her car and realizes that there are grounds in it, and it’s not hot enough, then that’s going to be a disappointment. The promise of a perfect beverage wasn’t met.
I want to make it clear that it is really possible that both of the above two things go perfectly right, and the customer is still unhappy with the actual beverage. If a barista is making a iced mocha, and for some reason either the mocha or the milk has gone bad or is not up to par, the drink satisfaction won’t be there. It won’t really matter that the customer got to see it being shaken.
There are a million and one ways that a barista can do everything perfectly right (or at least totally appear to do everything right), and yet still not produce a perfect drink. There will be times the barista might miss a watery shot, brew old beans in the Clover inadvertently, have bananas that don’t taste right or too under-ripe or over-ripe, the barista failed to follow the right recipe proportions for the new Frappuccino… the list goes on.
The remedy here is simple: Remake the drink. If the drink can’t be remade to the customer’s satisfaction, it would seem that that would be the time to give the customer a sincere “I’m sorry… It looks like all of our bananas are not ripe enough! Here: Your next drink is on us …” and a customer service recovery coupon.
Conclusion:
Everything is important. And each customer is going to place a different level of importance on the three above segments of the experience. Some partners might be reading this and wondering, “where does speed of service fit in the above three things?”. I would categorize it as part of number one because some customers just want their experience to be fast. I feel though that sometimes the speed of service conversation is a little exaggerated. I genuinely believe that many customers will slow down for a moment, and wait patiently when convinced that they’re getting something special at Starbucks. After all, who wants their momentary special break in the day to last three minutes? We forget that there are people who want to savor the experience.
The bottom line though is that “retail is in the detail” and everything is important.
Your comments are welcome! Do you agree or disagree with my theory? (Hopefully I won’t totally get torn apart in the comments over this blog post!)
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I do agree with 1. and 3. being the most important to the STARBUCKS experience – for me personally, 2. is a perk.
We live in a mostly “to-go” and in a rush environment where they want the happy and genuine bariasta (although maybe they don’t treat them as nice as they should) and want the consistent and good (i would not currently dare to say excellent) comforting drink.
2. may draw in a number of customers, but I think, from all the Starbucks I have visited in the past 5 years (we’ll skip the 7 years before that) customers aren’t paying attention to the theater as much, and would keep coming back without much theater.
I personally am saddened by the loss of some of the theater, but I think Starbucks knows they can use lean and skirt away with a Starbucks experience of only 1&3, however I think this is where they start losing mind share and market share to McCafe and others, if you don’t have that perceived value and romance, why not switch to someone else?
did that make sense? 3 is important, and might save them from themselves, but I don’t think they’re going to pay it the attention it deserves and as a result it will become less a part of the starbucks experience and more an amazing perk when it does occur.
Amazing post! I would add that there is a trickle down impact from 1 through 3. If the connection isn’t there, the theater won’t be there and the quality can actually suffer (re-heated milk, milk that’s been standing “just a few minutes, tea that isn’t shaken, etc.)
I think one of the biggest challenges Starbucks now faces (in spite of a return to “growth” in the recent quarter) is the damage that has been done to item #1 over the past few years.
The front line partners bore the brunt of many of the cuts and changes that have been made during the “transformation” process. To be sure, they were impacted by labor cuts and increased challenges to get health care coverage, but they were also impacted by product and process decisions made by “corporate” but executed at the front line. The front line partners were the punching bag for customer reactions to the loss of bold and decaf in the afternoons, the removal of the shot glasses, the policy changes with returns and rewards programs, wi-fi, etc. And it has taken its toll.
If a partner is not feeling the love, then it’s easy to see why your tea may be stirred not shaken. And if it’s stirred not shaken, while you may not be able to taste the difference, you’ll feel the difference because you could have bought a less expensive stirred tea elsewhere. Shaking is part of the value – you’re paying extra for the theater and the rest of the experience.
The Starbucks saying about the passion that goes into the cup being transferred to the person who receives the cup is a core part of this conundrum. If you have problems at the barista level, you’re not going to have any passion to be transferred.
Now that the financials are improving, focus on the passion Howard – shore up barista morale!
I really agree Melody. I think too, as far as “speed” goes, you can usually tell if people are in a hurry and still take care of them well. Sometimes you can see toes tapping behind someone you are talking to (even IF they are still running their card!), but, I usually find that I nice smile and friendliness when it’s their turn alleviates that 🙂
I DO miss pulling shots by hand honestly (former job)…but I still think the theater is still there.
Melody a really amazing post. I really believe the relationship between the barista and the customer is the key to the whole experience. I go regularly to one particular SB and can see when the baristas are tired, in great moods, in bad moods, etc. it very much reflects on the customer and the drink. The interaction between the two is important. Of course, the quality of the ingredients has to be top notch and fresh. To me, customer service and making you feel welcomed and part of the experience is important. And as you have said, someone goes to SB to get something they might not make themselves at home. Also, I like to sit down and relax and there are times when it is not possible to feel relaxed in the store. SB needs to go back to thinking about the customer. I think that has been somewhat lost.
i want to add a couple of thoughts really quickly while i have a couple minutes…you’d think i’d have tons of time now, working from home, but no…
1. if the barista is grumpy, it can definitely come out in the quality of the drink. it’s just like any other job, where your attitude totally comes across in the end product, whether you’re a phone support rep or a mailroom employee. happier baristas make better drinks, hands down. that’s why, when i was a barista, i tried my hardest to never let angry or rude customers get to me. every emotion i felt would affect how i did things, so the best emotion to keep was ‘happy’ 🙂
2. with my background, i could totally make myself coffee every day. so why do i bother to still buy coffee drinks elsewhere? convenience. i have the beans, the grinder, and all the fixings right here in my own kitchen, and i definitely have the skill and knowledge to make something excellent, but i often don’t have the time, or i am just lazy on occasion. and, at these times, i would rather hand some happy person $5 to make a coffee for me that i can enjoy without a care in the world!
i know, i’m selfish. i admit it.
I really appreciate all the thoughtful replies – It seems like most people think that #1 (the relationship) is the most important. I tend to agree because a good barista can overcome all those other problems where the drink isn’t perfect or something else goes wrong.
I’m a little sad that so few people are reading and reply to this blog post. In my mind it was one of my better recent entries. 🙁 I guess fundamentally, people have more to say about the Frappuccino than the “Starbucks Experience” as an abstract concept. I hope others will weigh in though.
Though despite all of the above, I have no doubt in my mind that a grumpy barista at times can deliver a perfect drink. If the coffee was freshly brewed, and perfectly made, it should taste awesome despite the expression on the barista’s face.
“…I have no doubt in my mind that a grumpy barista at times can deliver a perfect drink. If the coffee was freshly brewed, and perfectly made, it should taste awesome despite the expression on the barista’s face.”
But if that happens too much, I would not likely go back! There’s an indie coffee shop near here, and the three out of the four times I’ve been there, they’ve been slow & sullen. The drinks were fine, but I haven’t been back since. Who likes being served a grumpy cup of coffee? Like elly said above, I would rather hand my money over to a happy (or, at least, civil!) barista!
I love how you are such a geek sometimes. Picard’s tea routine. LOL I love it. Gr8 post from a not so un-regular customer that has time to formulate a history of views as it has progressed. Be careful of trying to break it down too much though, LEAN eyes might be watching. Keep them coming.
Love it, sharing it with partners in my store. I like how you’ve represented actual everyday occurrences and shown what effect they have on a customer. Almost like those Conversations and Connections but better
Melody: MOST beautiful and wonderful thread so far. I wish this could be printed up so I could hang it in the board at some of my stores….. (can you e-me the text of this? I would LOVE for this to be seen…….LEARNED….. by so many more)
Anyway, I think all 3 aspects equally important. Of course, #1 helps ALOT and also usually has to do with #2…the drink, and if it’s not up to par, how easily it will be re-done for you.
BEST topic yet, to me. altho, it’s not easy to choose.
Shaking does affect the taste. It mixes it better, and also chills the drink better.
Wow, so much I could say on this one. I don’t even drink coffee and I thoroughly enjoyed this post. The section that really stood out to me is the part about “the art of beverage.” My partner is a coffee enthusiast, to put it lightly…he owns no less than a dozen completely different coffee “creators” including an expensive espresso machine, siphons, etc. If I’ve learned nothing about coffee over the hours of listening to the ins and outs of it all, I know that the “theatrics” are important, ha. Some of it always seems so unnecessary to me, as a noncoffee drinker, but if I so much as say a peep, I know I’ll get an hour long lecture about ‘why’ this or that affects the outcome. Shaking would most definitely be different than stirring….just as pouring any cold items into the cup ‘first’ is completely different than putting the hot coffee in first and then adding the cold. So anything that Starbucks does may look like theatrics to the average coffee drinker and make a difference to them….but it’ll also make crazy coffee enthusiasts laugh and lecture.
To your point Jessi although I like coffee beverages, i honestly would not be able to tell you if they were done wrong! (Tea is a different story) so the happiness and romance are most variable to my personal Starbucks experience. If the drink is not done terribly wrong I won’t notice!
Which is why it’s an experience, everyone brings something different and gets something slightly different even if it’s the same external inputs.
So if Starbucks wants to keep the knowledgeable bold drinkers (Melody) and the ones of us who just adore the company (Me) they need to balance and play all 3 points Melody pointed out in concert and well to keep everyone happy.
I am utterly convinced the cornerstone of the connection is “be genuine.”
A truly exceptional analysis of the value developing a sincere (genuine) relationship with your customers.
Hi Dave! Thank you for finding my blog. I appreciate all the comments, and props. I just found you on twitter, and I’m following you there too. Take care and hope to see you back soon. 🙂
Tea, Earl Grey, hot.
Coffee, Sumatra, French Press.
Have you considered writing a book about Starbucks? It would be a fantastic book. You already have great material from this blog to start you off.
The whole “romance and theater” thing is one that slightly eludes me, mostly because I’m the sort of person who views that as unimportant trivial crap. I’m not denying that there is such a thing, or that some people find it important; I’m just a practical person and find that sort of drama as trivial.
The one subtle thing in the “romance and theater” thing that I do kind of get is the subtle factor of putting people’s names on cups. Most people don’t care, and I’ll admit I don’t always put everyone’s name on a cup, but it can add a personal touch…especially if they have a difficult name and you manage to spell it right, or when you ask to verify the spelling if it can be spelled multiple ways. Alternately, people have fun with the names; one of our regulars is “trouble,” and I don’t think I’ll ever forget when a customer told us to write on the cup: “Optimus Pimp.”
It also amuses me when kids specify that “I want my name on the cup!” For them, this is a big deal, because it means that the drink was made just for them.
(It doesn’t help me, though, that I’m absolutely horrible with names. Most of the time, when I don’t put a name on the cup, it’s because it’s a regular who’s there all the time and whose name I should know – and should have known for some time – but for the life of me can’t remember, and I don’t want to ask for fear of pissing them off or making them feel unimportant.)
I think you have hit upon the key points in this post Melody.
I distinctly recall that day in early 1989, when a roommate and I visited the Starbucks on University Way NE in Seattle and walked and talked me through the purchase of a Braun Grinder, Krups Coffee maker and from the bin, a pound of Kona Blend. It must have taken 20 minutes to get through all that, and I try to imagine taking up that much of a barista’s time now.
Even though time has passed, and Starbucks has gone from 6 stores in Seattle to tens of thousands worldwide, I still feel that first initial contact is vitally important. In a store I now frequent near work, there is one partner that if I see is on register, I want to turn around and drive to another location…my past interactions with her have bordered on the bizarre…and I have heard it from other employees in my office and other customers sitting at the coffee bar. Yet another partner, a couple months ago I was having the worst day imagineable…and just her smile and demeanor completely changed my outlook that Friday (and probably brightened my weekend.)
With regards to point two, I also remember the days of tamping the espresso and pulling shots, steaming milk and even some early latte art. I am afraid those days are long gone for Starbucks, with a sort of lowering the bar that came with Starbuck’s increased workload, popularity and training expenses. Plus I am not sure too many customers would appreciate this theatre while waiting in a long line….if they do, they go to Intelligentsia or similar shops and pay $7/drink.
Since I now almost always drink a Iced Venti Latte, I do notice the subtle different tastes depending on how a barista finishes the drink. Sometimes my drink will have solid white milk on the bottom and has trouble mixing….I am not sure if the milk is really cold, or what causes that. Other times if a latte tasts “off” I wonder if the milk is old, or been left out (nearly every time the cup seems “warm”…any ideas?)
Also, lately I have been noticing how much better a latte made on a Mastrena machine is than one made on a Verismo. The two Inewer) stores I most frequent are Verismos….but other older stores in the area have Mastrenas (I guess theyve been remodeled) Also all the licensed locations around me have the newer Mastrena machines also..which seems odd.
There are a few stores in Los Angeles I will never go back to…the experience was so bad or the place was filthy. One is Sunset and Gower in Hollywood.
And the other two are UCO stores in the San Fernando Valley. I once asked a District Manager about them and he wouldnt talk about them.
(I have also seen an increasing trend in business cards, headshots (for actors), ads for dog walkers, yard sales and other non-Starbucks stuff posted or placed at the drink pick up area or on the bulletin boards)
@ Karl D. – Well, now I’m going to have to go out & compare lattes made on different machines. Really never thought about that, always assumed slight differences depended on the baristas. A good project for the next few weeks.
I’ve noticed that a certain local Starbucks has a small area to display local art. Yay! Asked the barista about it, he said that a few artists are usually lined up to display. Another project to work on for the next few months.
And I agree with Camspi, Melody – someday you’re going to have to write a book!
@Enlightened Coffee Sage – I think my name is “No water soy chai” 😉 and i’m fine with that, knowing my drink and knowing other random things (like you are always talking about that Melody blog or gossip blog) work for me and mean more to me than knowing my name
Another great post – I really like the way you successfully deconstructed the experience. All three aspects are clearly independent, yet also play into each other.
I particularly like the way you consider the “theater” as part of the experience. For the last two weeks I’ve been spending significant time at an independent coffee shop down the street. As you highlighted above, this is really where they differentiate themselves from Starbucks. They manually calibrate the espresso maker several times a day. Shots are hand-tamped and manually pulled. Milk is frothed for each individual beverage, and poured to produce very wonderful latte art. As much as I think Starbucks continues to execute on your first and third points, they’ve sacrificed the theater to be able to widen their offerings (i.e. custom frappuccino and hot food) while decreasing labor costs. (As an aside, a few of the baristas there left Starbucks because the romance was lost. They were expected to quickly turn out drink after drink and didn’t have time really engage with customers.)
But it’s beverage quality and consistency that will keep me going back time and time again to Starbucks. The Americano I order from my home Starbucks is (usually!) exactly the same as the Americano I order from my work Starbucks, Starbucks in my hometown… You get the idea 🙂
As long as Starbucks can strike the right balance between the three elements they’ll continue to succeed.
Melody,
Really interesting piece. I bet many people hadn’t really thought about what makes the “Starbucks Experience” and why we return like lemings! Your post really made me think about why I choose Starbucks despite my natural afinity for supporting small local businesses.
Thanks for another great post!
Melody, I think this is great, and you really pinned down the Starbucks Experience, at least how I see it. It also kind of relates to the new frappuccinos.
I work as a shift supervisor at the highest volume store in my district, so we’ve received all the excess product from the other stores, which means we’re still making old frappuccinos. I’ve been helping out at another store that already has the new custom frappuccinos. I got upset at a barista for not notifying me when a customer asked for a refund on his white mocha frappuccinos. He was not told ANYTHING about the new product, not asked what was different…nothing, but NOTHING was done to enhance his experience, or to at least try to get the guy to tell us what he didn’t like about the new frappuccinos.
Baristas have GOT to educate their customers. There’s nothing more frustrating than a barista who doesn’t really give a customer then knowledge they can use to improve their experience every time.
@Hallie and ALN – Thanks for the replies! Hallie you sound like you’re great at what you do. There is definitely going to be a fine art to recovering close-to-lost customers over the new Frappuccinos.
Wow, this is really an excellent post, Melody! I have never heard the Starbucks experience described in terms of these 3 components before, but now that I read it, it makes perfect sense. They’re not the same, but they’re all related and all important (depending whom you ask). For me, #3 is definitely the most important, while #1 and #2 are less important. I’m polite but reticent, so the initial connection doesn’t usually do much for me, but sometimes the right circumstances and the right interaction with the barista make a moment just “click” for the customer… (I’m sure we all have a story to tell, either as customer or as barista.) Sometimes I don’t notice the interaction and the theater unless they’re extraordinary, and it makes me want to stop and say, “This is what it’s all about, this intangible moment right here!” That’s my $0.02, at least.
You make some really good points in favor of Starbucks.
They actually just started to appear in Portugal, and it’s actually really close to my house.
I don’t drink coffee, but i think i will use to get my friend to come here more ahah!
Cheers!
“Baristas have GOT to educate their customers. There’s nothing more frustrating than a barista who doesn’t really give a customer then knowledge they can use to improve their experience every time.”
This annoys me. I’m a very frequent — daily, sometimes twice daily — SB visitor. I don’t want a relationship with a barista other than a pleasant good morning / thank you. I don’t want to be educated on what interests them. I want what I want, and I want it quickly, and my private moment / me time is AFTER I get the drink / food and retreat to the corner of the store with my newspaper or magazine and enjoy that me-time. Procuring the drink / food isn’t part of the me time at all, and I want it as speedily as possible, and please stop chatting with the people in front of me and wait on me, thank you.
@Sharon – When Hallie wrote that, I interpreted it as the kinds of things that baristas can say that directly improve that specific customer’s experience. If you like soy in your drink, then that’s the perfect opportunity for a barista to talk about card benefits and getting soy milk charge waived with a registered card. If you’re one that always wants almond milk, the barista could refer you to mystarbucksidea.com to make that suggestion – And a million people constantly write on MSI that they want almond milk. If you are looking for a coffee to pair with desert, the barista might lead you to Verona.
I took Hallie’s statement to be written in a positive tone of voice rather than meaning that customers should be corrected, or need to be deluged at the register with conversation.
I think getting to know the baristas and as well them getting to know you is important and makes the SB you frequent more of a community. I am sorry that Sharon feels it should be more of a sterile environment. Are you really saying you don’t want conversation- just your order?
@Sharon,
Like I said, I work at a high volume store, so my time is mostly spent getting every customer’s drink order made and made perfectly. Moments of connection on a deep level are few and far between. I certainly don’t want to hold up other customers who do want the “come and go” experience, most of my customers want that. But think about this- in the situation I spoke of in my previous post and in every situation regarding customer education, means that when a customer orders a drink that isn’t satisfactory, it is my JOB as a barista to help the customer get what they want, and sometimes, that requires a little bit more than a “pleasant goodmorning/thank you.” If you were in that situation, I would hope you would appreciate the barista taking the time to help you find what you want.
@Sharon @Hallie i think educating me about what i am about to drink / eat /order is a great way to connect and help the customer – and i think most baristas can tell if the person cares about hearing about it or not (i’ve never been chatted at when i was in a rush, i get a nice, hello what can i get for you). I also must disagree that the barista must rush through all patrons to get to you most expediently – some of us really do want connection and do want to hear that yesterdays via sales were great and have a short conversation about the new iced via while paying. If you are in that much of a rush to get your drink and leave perhaps you should go to a starbucks you know is not going to be busy and have a line at that time. Although I can agree that it should never be a long conversation if there is any kind of line, as that is rude.
@Sharon A good barista is good at tuning in to who wants a conversation and who does not. Because some don’t want it does not mean that it’s not a necessary part of the experience. In fact, while you may not want the conversation, you want the relationship, whether or not you realize that that’s what it is-you barista remembering your drink is a relationship. Your barista tuning in to the fact that you just like to get in and out, quickly getting your drink to you and getting you on your way is part of that relationship.
@Amazon chatting in a rush takes time 😉 as it, you can’t do it when you are first hired, but with time you can-and I’ve found customers REALLY appreciate it. Just even a “how’s your day going” really brightens their day! It’s SO worth the extra effort!
@CABarista right! most of our regulars come during the morning rush…they don’t chat us up like they usually do during their second visit, but there is still a connection. if they see us really busy, they usually cheer us on. it’s pretty awesome. my regulars are so awesome!
@AmazonV- but we do have to move fast! we have to move fast, be legendary, make the customer feel welcome to stay as long as they want, and we have to be accurate! a good barista gets to all of his/her customers expediently AND without shortchanging any of the customers on good service.
I so agree that the bottom line to a good experience at SB is the relationship with the barista and the community of people. Sure, it is not worth it if your drink or food is awful (then why go there!), but I want to feel welcomed and feel like the barista enjoys the interaction with the customer. Doesn’t that make the difference?
Melody!
I LOVE this blog post! I think all of these things are important.
In my experience, the relationship and beverage quality rank higher than the theater and romance. However, people definitely notice if you don’t shake their tea, don’t stir their White Mocha (even if you’ve swirled it so it is all mixed,) and they definitely appreciate their tumbler or to-stay cup being warmed before pouring their beverage in it. So I guess these things qualify for theater.
It’s all good. 🙂 I love being a Starbucks Barista, mostly so I can deliver the experience!
As always, love the blog.
Hi JLove! I just wanted to say thanks! Your comments mean a lot to me. And I love having my cup pre-warmed! That is an important step. 🙂 ~Melody
Melody not sure where to put this comment but it seems perhaps a good place. Was thinking about the passion of SM and even further was thinking about what happens when there is no connection between the SM and the ASM. I really feel that if that happens then the partners in the store also have no passion. I have seen where the SM and ASM just go through the motions and interact but do not have a common goal for the store or their customers. What is the responsibility of the DM in this case? It is not really that they are workers that have to be replaced.