When the Cool Lime Refresher was brand new, I discovered that one fun modification was to have a “no water, substitute Orange Mango” Cool Lime Refresher. My own experiences surrounding ordering that beverage were what starting me thinking about moments at the Starbucks registers that are ambiguous and uncomfortable. I fundamentally still believe that as much as possible, the customer should be enjoying both a great beverage and a great experience.
When I ordered my Cool Lime Refresher with Orange Mango, I had a variety of experiences. About 90% of the time, baristas just rang it through and I was charged for a Cool Lime Refresher only. But, a small percentage of the time, the barista is perplexed what to charge for and is sure there must be an extra charge for this drink. There is no way to do that with the Orange Mango button. Trust me, I didn’t know that when I started ordering it. I don’t know why there is no charge. It could be that Orange Mango has such a high profit margin that Starbucks doesn’t worry about this circumstance. There could be other reasons. I don’t know the answer.
Nonetheless, the experience at the registers of baristas turning into the Starbucks-Pricing-Sheriffs is actually not great for the customer experience. And, I am going to say something that is a bit counter-intuitive. I know, and agree, that is important to treat every customer the same. However, with Starbucks, the 80/20 Rule of Business seems to fit. About 20% of customers drive way more than 20% of the sales. So it is a situation where there isn’t totally a one to one relationship from one customer to the next. If Starbucks loses their customers with the highest level of purchases, it takes more than acquiring one new customer to replace him or her. The average customer only visits Starbucks about six times a month, according to this Business Week article. Of course, the partner standing at the register usually has no idea what the customer’s larger purchasing habits are from that one snapshot moment in time. This is actually true of many, many retail business. Fundamentally, you still want to deliver the same experience to everyone, but it explains why a moment of losing a customer over a trivial thing sometimes just is not worthwhile.
Back to the ambiguity at the registers: If there were some way to improve this, that would be great.
My question to is this: if you could correct or change one way that Starbucks charges things, what would it be?
I asked my readers (on Facebook) to help me work through this question. The imagine attached is my favorite snippet from that conversation. Via Facebook, and a couple of emails, these were some of the items that stood out:
- * What to do about charging for milk instead of water in oatmeal?
- * Passion Tea – Apple juice beverage?
- * The person who wants “one pump” of a syrup? (I will weigh in on that one: since the register is totally clear that you charge for syrups, I think this is charged for. But my understanding is that it’s one charge “per category.” So if I wanted a Tall Chai with one pump of Vanilla, then yes, I should be charged for the syrup. If I wanted a Tall Chai with one pump of Vanilla, one pump of Raspberry, and one pump of Caramel Syrup (not sauce) then it is still one syrup charge. I have been charged many times for a Chai with one pump Vanilla, and that’s fine by me. That’s not so ambiguous to me.)
- * The person who wants extra, extra, extra, extra, extra, extra caramel sauce in a Frappuccino.
- * The “one pump” mocha.
- * Free water? (My own thinking is that water should remain free. It’s free in dining establishments. It’s a cost of doing business. It creates goodwill. And again, you rarely know what a customer’s purchasing habits are from one snapshot in time. (Though I think there are some downtown Seattle baristas who know mine!)
There were many more that came up. Maybe someone at Starbucks will read this and change some of their register buttons! Starbucks is unlike other businesses because it thrives on customization. If you think about other food establishments, there are some opposite extremes of Starbucks. There are so few menu items at In-n-Out Burger that you can’t really customize much! Very few businesses boast how much customization is offered the way that Starbucks does. This is become part of the Starbucks experience over time.
If you want to weigh in on the one thing that you want to change at the registers, remember I will strictly enforce the comment discussion policy. I don’t want to dissuade you from weighing in, however please do not use expletives, write in all caps, or taunt, or attack others.
Pardon typos. I typed this out quickly before work.
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I would really like consistency in getting ten cents for bringing my own cup. I wonder if this isn’t the same as you comment on — perhaps the register training simply isn’t detailed enough.
Melody what a great post! In the last few weeks I have had such craziness with partners and the register. Was never sure if it was the register, the partner or what. I find that in general I see partners struggling with the register and especially since the new pastries have come on board. I also find that the partners want to continue to make my drink the way they think it should be which can cause issues. Most of the partners at my local SB do not blink an eye but we have had new partners. I would suggest SB try to simplify the process. Thanks again for a great post.
I wish, when you hit “sub” to put a sauce in a beverage that normally contains syrup (iced coffee sub white mocha) that it would just add 10cents. The way it is now, we either have to give the sauce away for free or charge the full 60 cents.
Thank you Melody to put this post out for us! Greatly appreciated for the person who brought out this issues I have to deal with when customers order custom handcraft drink. The software writer need to see down with a Barista to create more options. Passion tea and green tea no water or smoothie no protein or no banana or oatmeal with milk? Also I am surely wants to bring out this dark roast button. We should change it to coffee of the week! Because a lots of time we have coffee which is not a dark roast we push dark roast. We also need a decaf urn for decaf customers too! Thank you!
At the starbucks I worked at for 9 months, we were well known in the city for having good drinks and customer service. Granted there are times where you just can’t please the customer, but for the most part it was if you can in anyway try to take care of the customer and see it from their point of view, even if you think they’re wrong. We did things differently then some starbucks did I think though. Water as always is free. One pump mocha, changed a few times, depending on the manager of the store, but for the most part we let the one pump slide. Extra caramel yes they were charged for extra caramel because they REALLY wanted a lot. Like take the lid off the bottle and dump it in a lot. If you want different sauce pumps, but they equal up to the normal amount of pumps, we also let that slide and just wrote on the cup the ask me to tell the barista what to do. Same with the syrup. That’s also what the ‘sub’ button is for. Milk instead of water in oatmeal, the oatmeal is already expensive and it’s not a lot of milk, so it’s really easy to let that one slide as well. Now if they want soy instead in their oatmeal or extra blueberries or whatever then we have to charge for it.
It’s dumb to charge extra for little things when they add up to the normal amount anyway, there are ways around it, and if you look at how much is actually dumped/lost anyway because of food product VS. the fact of the customer being unhappy and not returning it’s worth giving them what they want and catering to their needs instead of extra petty charges. You’ll have some customers who want to have it so specific it’s very hard, but then you’ll have some who are just there for some coffee, so it’s hard to judge them but it takes the work of everyone in the store to make each and every persons day good even if you only see them for a few minutes, because that’s what we’re supposed to be about, coffee, and bettering peoples lives.
Like David mentioned, I have also not been given the $.10 discount a few times even though I bring the same reusable cup. It’s one of those things though that I won’t make a big deal out of because it’s a small amount.
This topic reminds me of a time a few years ago when a co-worker and I ordered drinks and he asked for an iced mocha with light ice. I think he was hoping to get a little more mocha in exchange for the lesser amount of ice. I recall the barista saying something like she would do it this time but next time there would be an extra charge for the light ice because the drink was going to be a little bigger now.
I think for partners, the lack of options for ringing in some of the modifications can become a big source of frustration, not towards the customers, but to the system. There are just some things that I accept we won’t be able to account for in inventory. But I think it is most frustrating for the customers, because there isn’t consistency in how things are rung in, because partners are often left to their best guess how something should be rung in, if at all.
At the end of the day, the partner is simply trying to do what is right and making their best judgment call, although I do know that there exists the “Pricing Police Barista” who refuses to let anything slide. In most cases, I would just refer to just say yes, and if there was an issue with a charge, I’d just give them the discount that time, apologize and not make an issue about it.
There is a lot of room for human error with these customizations, but the truth of the matter is, in my mind, that customers who have a LOT of customizations are often the ones who are highly frequent visitors to Starbucks and we do not want to lose those ones. I really liked your insight about the 80-20 Business Principle. Good thoughts, Melody!
What great comments! This opens for me some thoughts about how should a partner treat a loyal regular customer vs. a customer that just comes in once in a blue moon. I suppose the issue is does SB want to lose any customer whether a loyal one or just one that comes in once in that blue moon. As we have touched before, word of mouth goes so far. I do think that SB is due to revamp their software in the register. DadCooks I bet you can weigh in on this! And for me each customer should be treated on the same playing field. And something as simple as ringing up your order should be seamless and easy. With this new system in play around here, the lines have increased and the wait time to get to the register has increased so if customer is finding issues at the register this does not help the experience at a SB.
I wish that we had an “Add Lemonade” button that would add 60 cents to the order. That way, you could get a tea lemonade refill for a $1.10 or just pay the lemonade upcharge with a gold card.
Every customer that walks into Starbucks should receive the same high level of service. Loyal customers that want preferential treatment over everybody else tend to be the reason why Starbucks partners and customers come into conflict, because they feel entitled and want to be treated differently, when that is exactly against the Starbucks motto. I believe every time I walk into a Starbucks I should receive personalized service tailored to my needs, but the cost of something should not change because I’m a loyal everyday customer or a brand new customer. Plus, I’ve seen blow-ups at the register with the threat of not returning, and low and behold the next day i walk in to get my latte, they are there again threatening the same thing. I do believe that they should create more option buttons. I do know that just created new buttons around the refreshers to charge for extra inclusions and mixed refresher mixes, ect. But it boggles me every time i go into Starbucks and see a customer literally having a blown out temper-tantrum like a 12 year old, because Starbucks is now charging 10 or 50 cents for extra inclusions in their refreshers and similar drinks. Starbucks in the end is a company and needs to make money and keep track of inventory, they arent in the business of giving away everything for free.
The biggest problem I’ve seen is consistently. People get so frustrated that they pay one price one place and a different one elsewhere. That’s why we try so hard to ring everything consistently. The store down the way that doesn’t charge for 1 pump makes my customers really annoyed that we do. Whose fault it that? The store down the way for doing it wrong.
You also have to remember some stores with labelers have to ring everything. Whatever you don’t ring in isn’t put on the label and won’t get made.
Hi Mel, yet another great thought provoking post. There are some great comments too. I’ve been on both sides of the counter for may years with alot of these ringing “ambiguities” and I, for one, think it falls into 2 categories. The first being the cashier doing his or her best to ring properly. We all use the same IMS system and there is little to no variance in the way we should ring a drink. More often than not, we are faced with customers ordering drinks that they have been taught over the years won’t incur additional charges (1 pump syrup/sauce, sub milks, no water etc) and that’s no fault of their own. We also do things for our regulars that other stores do not and then that puts our regulars and fellow partners in awkward situations that neither should be put in, but it still happens. The 2nd scenario is the cashier that feels they are being taken advantage of. The examples I can think of are far and wide, but I’m going to steal an example from Panera. A baguette is a complimentary side item, but ask for a 2nd piece, you’ll be charged $.50, but go back up at any point during your meal and they will give you a second piece for free. I feel this can be the same case for Starbucks. Once a customer gets charged for something they feel should be free, they’ll address it with the cashier and we get upset or they’ll go down to the handoff plane and ask for extra caramel or an extra pump etc. Once again, it’s not their fault, but in our attempt to “be right” we lose focus of world class customer service and we become nickel and dimers. As for milk in oatmeal, once we control our waste in making lattes, maybe we can worry about milk in oatmeals.. We are challenged by Starbucks to make it easy to be a customer, unfortunately, we don’t always deliver a great experience. But kudos to the partners who go above and beyond.
I tried so hard to not comment on this post but I just can’t seem to walk away. Every drink and item should be rung in according to standard every time. When baristas “let things slide” you are creating an angry customer for your fellow baristas. When the customer sees consistency across stores, they accept what they are being charged simply as the price of the good they are receiving. When it varies, they take it out on the barista who is actually following Starbucks guidelines. It’s why I have seen full on yelling in stores, and people who INSIST on paying 1995 prices for their white mochas. I might be that crazy register person, but I charge what Starbucks has told me to charge, and I know they never get angry at another hard working barista just trying to get through another hard day on their feet.
I am so confused on upgrades and add ons and extra costs on drinks that I simply ask BEFORE I order my finalized drink. I am addicted to the new Shaken Sweet Tea and I am also a fan of the Black Tea Lemonade. Well, I wanted to see if I could just add a splash of lemonade to a trenta Shaken Sweet Tea and would it add cost and the barista and the cashier both immediately said, “No extra charge” and added the lemonade to my tea. I walked away happily sipping my drink and will try to order it again and see if it meets with success.
Melody, you have sure taken on a hot subject with this one. You are getting some good comments.
The key is consistency and that is mentioned in many of the comments above. And training is the key to consistency.
All retailers today have decided to forgo training (some more, some less) and rely on the programming of the POS system. The problem here (which I believe was touched on in one of the comments above) is that the programmers very seldom spend any time with the people who will use and the customers who will be affected by the software.
The saying “to err is human but to really screw things up you need a computer” becomes more and more a problem as training continues to be minimized and/or neglected. And I am not talking just about simple rote training, but training in the reason why things are done in a certain way. In the end, I will trust the judgment of a thoroughly trained person over a computer any day.
Melody! There are a few customers at our store who order an iced tea, no water and no ice, in a venti or a trenta cup. I essentially pour them a huge amount of tea, for the same price as a customer who gets a standard tea (actually about 1/3 the amount of tea). I’m not sure if these customers really should be charged more, or just commended for knowing how to work the system!
@Steve – Your example with the light ice is a good example of something trivial, that should not be an issue. There isn’t a way to charge more for that drink.
Fundamentally, if the register cannot charge for it, I don’t think that baristas should get into a war over price. All that does is cause a mess, and poor experiences.
Where it’s clear that the register does charge for something (adding a syrup to a drink, for example) then yes, it should be charged.
And Scooter, people everywhere look for discounts and sales. However, Starbucks is totally unique in that the pricing for a drink can be totally ambiguous and vary from store to store where the register doesn’t have a clean way to charge for something (like a Cool Lime Refresher, no water, sub lemonade). Yes, people will express their displeasure if they’re constantly getting charged differently wherever they go.
I like the “Veggie Grill’s” burger (a very tiny chain) and often ask for extra pickles on my burger. So far, no one has charged me more for extra pickles. If one of their restaurants did, and one did not, it would cause this kind of angst that happens routinely at Starbucks.
This thread though is really about the gaps where the register has no way to charge. I recall reading on MSI a thread about a customer who wanted a latte with brown sugar (not sugar in the raw, but brown sugar) steamed in. One store apparently refused to make it because there was no way to charge for that one packet of brown sugar. That’s the kind of thing that shouldn’t happen, imho.
Reasonable minds may differ on many of these topics. I hope to focus on how to improve the process for both customers and partners.
I tend to go with what the register thinks… the problem is that the register is only sort of intuitive… once you get into customizations, it is not intuitive at all and so I understand a lot of new people being frustrated and not knowing what to do.
I also figure that there are many things that aren’t worth me standing up for… really at the end of the day I could either get an extra 60 cents in my register, or build good will with someone who will come back and tell their friends to come.
What I do object to is the people who selectively charge for things based on whether or not they like you. You can’t have it both ways.
At Starbucks, customization is a great way to really personalize and “own” your beverage. As many partners and regulars know, Starbucks does have a multitude of different drink options but a bit of creativity does help to keep beverages “new.” The down side to this is with the launch of so many drink components, the registers simply haven’t been updated to include them all. This is where the problem ultimately lies and I hope that corporate finds a way to roll out an update to allow baristas to handle and properly ring in the numerous drink modifications.
I am a firm believer that if a drink is properly rung in, the pricing would take care of itself. Any additional concerns about when to charge to dairy, syrups, and whatnot can be currently found in the Beverage Resource Manual that is located in the back of every store and can be accessed through the portal.
I agree with Devin, customization is definitely a benefit of Starbucks. However, my go to drink is a quad espresso with 3 pumps of white mocha on ice in a venti cup which i fill with skim milk from the pitchers. I have been charged between $2.10 and $4.48 for the exact same drink and it does annoy me when they can’t get the pricing the same.
Melody, I’m wondering if you’ve seen any changes/improvements to this since we rolled out Service Basics in January? A major theme of Service Basics is how to empower partners to make the right decisions for the customer and the business and I’d be curious to see what effect you believe it’s had, as a customer. (Obviously, you might not know what Service Basics are – but, I have a feeling that you do!)
C5401,
Your drink is a Quad Iced Venti nonfat, no whip 3 pump white mocha. That’s what you make it when you fill up the cup with milk. Of course you should be being charged the $4.48, as your drink is not simply espresso on ice with a flavor. The milk is a condiment, not a vessel with which to get out of paying regular price for a drink.
@Betsy and @C5401 – I don’t think partners are supposed to charge for the fact that customers are using condiment bar milk? Trust me, I see why you’re calling this a quad iced venti NF WM – but this is kind of an example of what inspired this thread.
I have to comment about some comments here. Some it seems to me are saying that customers (they feel) try to work the system and get more than they should. Maybe I am reading it wrong, but I always thought that SB established that the customer could get a drink the way they want it and the way they enjoy it. Does that mean they are abusing the system? I am not really believing that. I do understand that there will always be some customers that try to get the most out of whatever they ask for, but I really think these people are in the minority.
Melody! This is a great issue that I believe the company simply must address, especially now that we are transitioning our stores to playbook. I have dealt with these moments of “ambiguity” at the register more times than I could count and I know that customers sometimes have a less than positive experience when they get charged for what they ordered at a different rate than the last time they made a purchase. I hope we do get more clarity and resolution concerning this issue. Thank you for puttign this issue in the limelight!
Ok, I’ve been a partner for 8 years and RARELY do we have this issue at my store thankfully, but I have gone to other stores and had issues. My store is a cafe & drive-thru and so our partners are used to punching in as many modifications as possible, be it a drink for the cafe or DT. Fortunately, all of our partners just trust Symphony to make the right decisions based on what should be charged or not and the customers follow suit. We rarely have problems from customers about the total they’ve been given. And if we do, the customer normally frequents a licensed store or is from a different state. I’ve seen a few new partners come in and be confused here or there but I just tell them, if Starbucks wanted to charge for that-they would. Let Symphony do the rest. And that’s that.
The POS is constantly “refreshing database” and updating the menu. If Starbucks wanted to charge for something, they would! Partners, pick your battles…in fact, just let Symphony pick them for you. If you enter something in, and it rings as a charge (excusing the milk issue part of the menu) then charge it – if it doesn’t charge then yay for the customer! I don’t understand why some partners throw a hissy over some things not being charged because honestly, what’s it to them?? It’s not coming out of their pocket, and things like extra iced tea, lemonade, sauces, etc are obviously VERY low cost items to Starbucks. Which they are already making a huge profit out of and don’t feel it necessary to charge for extra tea. Kind of bothers me that some partners decide to make it an issue when it doesn’t have to be. It’s simple. You ring in the drink, charge what is supposed to be charged. End of story. And if it’s not a “normal” price to a customer, then simply ask what store they usually go to. A lot of times people don’t realize prices vary by state/region and also between licensed stores & company owned stores.
And might I just point out that Starbucks is ALWAYS sending out action items on the portal for how to ring certain things in. And if partners don’t know this-maybe they should make it a habit of checking on there more often. For example, over the summer a lot of people started getting refreshers with lemonade instead of water – so a few weeks in – Starbucks sent an action item to ring in “Sub Heavy Lemon” to account for inventory purposes & no charge should be added. I went to a store that was not my own and asked for a Cool Lime with Lemonade and no water and they wouldn’t give it to me because there was “no way” to ring it in but they made it for me after I told them I was a partner… and I told them there was an “Action Item” about it… and told them about the “Heavy Lemon” button and still… nothin. Lol.
And ALSO, @c5401 & @Betsy Gaynor, if C figured out how to get a white mocha at a cheaper price – then kudos to him – I’ve been a partner for 8 years and see people do this here and there. And maybe to him, it’s really just a quad with white mocha and he likes a whole lot of milk up in there. A lot of customers don’t know the recipes for drinks either. But Yeah, when I see that happening – I kind of do an “aw geez” kind of thought in my head but at the same time if they’re smart enough to think of that then whatever! what’s it to me? the espresso/syrup has been accounted for & we dump out SO much 2% & Non-fat milk from our carafes so @C can account for our milk variance. There ya go, Fair enough. I’m sure Starbucks would have taken care of this by now in some way if it were THAT much of an issue. And I think if it did start to become habitual among customers, they would do something about it. But it happens so far and few between that it’s clearly not hurting the bizz.
@Kate. It will be nice if all the Register is in Symphony (the one we are now) work THE SAME as Drive Thru POS thru out the store. It will be easier and faster then having an additional a “new role ” ORDER SUPPORT to WRITE down order and hang it over to the bar. I think it is time consuming and create a long line for heavy volume store. My idea is having a DRIVE THRU system definitely save time and money for Starbucks.
Hey Melody, Long time no post. It’s been super busy lately so I haven’t had a chance. Thank you for this post as I believe there’s many ways to uphold the (kind of out dated) Just say yes policy to avoid those awkward moment. The program that the registers run is about 3 years old and has the ability to do all those functions. The problem is unskilled Baristas that can’t navigate through the menus. I just know that MY store manager requires EVERYTHING be rung in, including creamer for your coffee. Our variances are low because of this. Even the double cup button, takes another cup out of inventory. Anyway to touch on a few things starting with your Cool Lime. If I rung you up it would be CLR add Strawberry because they don’t have an Orange Mango button. But it’s the same principal but wrong flavor. (I used to order Passion Tea with Orange Mango). For customers with one pump. Since no recipes have one pump as a base except Frapps, we sub syrup, update quantity 1 pump no charge to the customer. Though if a guest orders a 1 pump mocha I will ring it in as such and update quantity mocha. If the order a Latte with 1 pump Mocha I ring it in the way I mentioned above. The computer program is designed to ring in something EXACTLY how the customer speaks their order. For all dairy oatmeal it’s no water add dairy buttons. With that said my big pet peeve still is when customer order steamed milk and then complain that we charge them. Steaming milk is a Baristas job and we should pay them to do it. Anytime a ringing situation comes up we as a team fix it so every transaction is accurately capturing all data and not impacting the customer experience
@Kate – Your post is perfect! Let symphony pick the battles!
@Patrick – If you told me that you “had” to charge me for strawberry when I was getting OM in my refresher, that would be disconcerting to hear – it is the kind of thing that I don’t think baristas should do. I don’t feel like partners should “make up” a price for something because Simphony hasn’t yet. And, that’s essentially what is happening. If Simphony charges for it great, but if not, then all is fine.
By the way, on Facebook, I had a private conversation with a partner who was frustrated by one-pump mocha orders (imho, that IS a Mocha – that one is clear on Simphony, as far as I know) and that was part of the inspiration for this article. And, he hasn’t been seen in the comments. Oh well. You charge for a mocha.
I recall that over the summer when LB was new, I wanted to try a Vanilla Bean Frappuccino with the Lemon LB frosting blended in – two of them. I am sure those little frosting packets are some sort of cost to the business. But there was no way to charge for them. I was incredibly surprised. I would have been happy to pay for two frosting packets, but the partner put his foot down and said that there just wasn’t a way to charge for it.
@Melody – I’m surprised the partner balked at blending the frosting packets because they couldn’t charge for them rather than balking because it’s expressly forbidden per the Beverage Resource manual 😉
I must say it can be hard to get a solid answer from the top!! I love a good customization, and sometimes they are a bit crazy, but it is also fun to try to make that perfect beverage!. Hot water add matcha? Is that what we ring through? Not bad for what? .60, is that the charge?…. Pick your battles, its a lesson I’m learning everyday.
I feel like I will write a whole blog post in response to this.
The line I use with my team is that a great partner knows the rules, and knows when to make an exception to the rule. The rules in this case, are the beverage resource manual, various action items (or in the case of the matcha add hot water, an archaic email, lol), and the POS itself – it really is very intuitive.
For the exceptions, I almost always coach them to give the customer what they want in the moment, if it’s not a matter of food safety, or doesn’t cause potential harm to customers/partners. We’ve been asked not to be the register police, not to mention we don’t know all the information, and the chance that we unwittingly anger a customer who genuinely was trying to customize their beverage, or a whole crowded cafe of people behind who didn’t catch the whole interaction isn’t worth it. We then decide as a store (or rather usually, I as the store manager decide) what the best way to deal with this particular scenario is in the next instance of it.
Depending on the situation, I have taken the following courses of action.
1) Followed up with individual SM’s – Did you see this action item? Are you aware that some of your store partners aren’t following it? A lot of the time it’s store partners making decisions without the SM’s knowledge. Sometimes I find out the back story on a particularly persistent customer and why they’ve allowed him/her to get said deal, which allows me to make a better decision with regards to that customer next time, or know whether to get my DM involved.
2) Escalated it to my DM who can remind several stores (or several of their peers, haha) of what policy is or help us come up with a good, consistent solution to a particularly thorny problem.
3) Come up with a store policy/or a store response to particularly persistent issues. (Ex. ice water. As a mall store, I am besieged with requests for free water. I have set a consistent store response to it, and I coach my partners on it. We put all ice waters in line. It means customers who paid for their beverage don’t get bumped constantly by teenagers coming in and asking for free water, it keeps my till person on till and ringing through customers, and it also is partly because of where my water tap is. In and around our main espresso machine, which means we have to move the bar partner out of the way every time we get an ice water. Does not work for my business, especially when you’re not paying for it in the first place 🙂 My partners have all been trained to tell you that your ice water (with your name on it) is going in line and will come up at the bar. Anyone who expresses concern at the wait is given instructions to the free water fountain just inside the mall :)) Someone who walks up to the bar and asks for water gets a “sure – I just have some drinks to make first”, and then I put it in a spot in line that’s easy to fit in an ice water (ie. after an americano, or frappuccino))
4) Had conversations with persistent customers. Usually, I’ve bought their drink for them, and listened to what they’re really asking to see if I can help them find a beverage that meets their price/taste needs, and allows my partners to ring it in properly. I’m also usually able to explain in greater detail *why* we ring things in a certain way – chai is not a syrup – it’s a tea concentrate. There is more labour involved in having chai in the store – cartons take up more space, more labour in cleaning the chai pump daily, it is only good for 24 hours therefore incurs more waste, there is more fluid in 1 pump of chai than 1 pump of syrup, it is more expensive etc. I’m not going to chat your average customer’s ear off about that, *but* if I have someone coming in consistently ordering ‘chai steamed milks,’ I’m going to pull her aside and explain.
5) Said no to a customer (it was a short, 4 pump chai steamed milk, in a grande cup with hot water half way – uhh, no. You may have a grande chai tea latte for the price of a grande chai tea latte). I try not to say no, even when I’m refusing to honour someone’s request – I try to compromise with them, meet them halfway etc – but bottom line is that I run this business, not my customers.
@DadC – I both agree and disagree that it’s a lack of training that leads to most of these issues. Our training is excellent and covers all sorts of areas of ambiguity, is, and in my area at least, executed well, but it assumes basic common sense and intelligence in the area of reading people. And as I hire more and more people from this generation of tech-savvy people, who google answers on their smartphone to tell them what to do instead of their own common sense, sometimes our training doesn’t make sense to them. I can tell them the reason why I said yes to this customer and no to that one, and they can understand, but they can’t figure out how to make that judgment call in a different situation. I love training, I have no problem explaining/re-explaining, role playing, practicing etc. but even I have come up stumped against several partners who, for the love of all that’s good and holy, can’t see the difference between saying “sure I’ll make your kid’s hot chocolate extra hot” to the soccer moms who trekked over from the nearby soccer field in the snow and “oh, your store doesn’t charge you for an extra shot of espresso – sure, neither will I”. I want to start teaching a class “Common Sense:What Is It and How Do I Get Some?” as part of our basic training. Or, I want to go teach those classes at a local rec centre as part of job prep courses.
My pet peeve is the soy as a condiment charge. I worked for SBUX for 5 years and never charged for cold soy as a topper for hot or iced coffee. As a customer I get charged $.60 by many stores on a regular basis. Somewhat curiously, I am 3x more likely to be charged when ordering a soy iced coffee with milk than I am when ordering a pike place with cold soy on top. Usually a don’t contest the charge as it brings bad karma to my day, but on the other hand, the price of the drink is expensive enough as it is. It always leaves a bitter taste in my mouth to be overpaying to enjoy my beverage in peace.
I guess what I meant was that the strawberry and orange mango are the same inclusion aside from flavor with only one button for it. So, I think out of fairness I would have to use the strawberry button in place of orange mango. For example Black Tea with strawberry. If one day you changed your mind to Black Tea with orange mango, no charge for that modifier? I don’t “charge” for a lot but DO ring in all modifiers. And you’re right a mocha is a mocha. And a 1 pump mocha should be the same as a latte with 1 pump mocha but I’ve been yelled at by so many customers and gotten the memos from corporate over the years about charging for items customers are clearly purchasing. I still “just say yes” and surprise and delight. I don’t want to wreck a customers day for over-charging. I just don’t like it when customers are mean to Baristas about charging if they aren’t in their neighborhood store. That’s why a customer is a regular. I can’t gauge if “Latte with 1 pump mocha” person is going to lose their mind if I charge for 1 pump but it happens all the time.
Rebecca you sound like an amazing Manager! A consistent customer experience form situation to situation and transaction to transaction.
@Patrick Coffee Master – I want to say that no matter what I say here I respect you as a partner and love your store in Calif! It’s just that if 90% of the time, there is no charge for Orange Mango, and 10% of the time a barista says, “oh we have to charge you for strawberry,” all that does is create the inconsistency that’s described above.
If the register doesn’t charge for it, and the baristas say that they must, I feel the barista is saying that they know better than the 16 billion dollar corporation. Let the register decide your battles. That’s my take on it.
And, absolutely, I say this with 100% respect to you. Actually, if you were at the register, I’d melt a little bit, and you could charge me for anything. I was so disappointed that we didn’t connect on my last trip to the OC.
I think that the only difference in this case is that there is no button for orange mango – lemonade has a button, and that button doesn’t charge. Before there was a kids lemonade button, when a kid ordered a lemonade – I didn’t say no – I rang in a kids apple juice and gave them lemonade instead – allowed me to charge them for the beverage, but didn’t stop them from getting something I could very easily give them. This could be seen as the same type of thing – orange mango & strawberry are in the same category – I wouldn’t be at all surprised to see an action item with those official instructions. I wish they’d send one so the potential for ambiguity (at least in this case) would be gone.
I really like @Kate’s response. As a long time Starbucks customer I also worked at two different stores for a short period of time. In my opinion Starbucks did a great job of training & if you didn’t know how to do something they had lots of great resources. I did find that the management from one store to the next had very different ideas on how things should be done. One of the things I like the most about Starbucks is the Consistency & one of the things I dislike the most is the inconsistency. Both as a customer & as a partner & have experienced overzealous partners who think they know better or can make the rules up as the go & they are my pet peeve. I’m sure there are customers who try & work the system and take advantage, but that is a very small few. I believe that as a company Starbucks encourages customers to customize so when I pay one price at one store & another price at another store it’s very frustrating. I am not talking about a .60 charge but a difference of several dollars. I have even had partners at one store advice me on the best way to order my drink only to be told at another store that I’m ordering it wrong. Personally I don’t like my drinks very sweet so I only get one pump. I used to get extra caramel on my drinks & while I didn’t mind being charged, if you are going to charge me don’t skimp on it. I stopped ordering extra caramel because sometime they would only put a tiny bit & other times sickening gobs. Again it’s that inconsistency. I don’t like my drinks too hot to drink so I order mine 135 degrees & still sometimes it’s luke warm & other times I burn my mouth. So frustrating. It’s funny that you mention In n Out & their simple menu, but there is a lot of customization going on there too. Have you ever been in line & overheard someone order their burger or fries “animal style”? I order a “grilled cheese” which is a cheese burger without the burger. Google In n Out secret menu & you will find all sorts of sites, but this is their official post. http://www.in-n-out.com/menu/not-so-secret-menu.aspx
Thank you Patrick Coffee Master for your comment about steaming milk.:
“my big pet peeve still is when customer order steamed milk and then complain that we charge them. Steaming milk is a Baristas job and we should pay them to do it.”
We had a customer come in and order a tall Pike Place Roast with about 1/4 to 1/3 of the cup with steamed half and half. Therefore I charged him for a tall Misto + Breve. He claimed I was charging him wrong – that our recipe states that a misto is half coffee/ half steamed milk, so apparently no variation is allowed to be charged as such (funny considering that Starbucks thrives on customization.) He also claimed that our DM (couldn’t even get his name right) told him that he was right and shouldn’t be charged. Apparently, my having worked for the company close to 11 years and knows the “POS ropes,” means nothing.
It is frustrating, to say the least, when customers try to get around the system when all we are doing is our job plus so much more.
@Sheri, Thanks, I totally get the customer frustration aspect of our menu. Including the glare from the menu board lights which customers find it “OK” to get mad at us about as well (with 4 more extra menu boards. At least they aren’t magnet strips anymore).
I’m pretty good at reading customer cues on when they THINK they shouldn’t be charged. Now 14 years later the moment that “why are you charging me for soy or dairy look comes across their face I just don’t charge. I know that it perpetuates the inconsistency thing but I really don’t need to have ADULTS loose there minds over milk. Sadly nothing’s changed in 14 years. I was always leaving my shift so bummed that customers were getting mad about the steaming milk and I (or my Company) were charging them for products they are buying, like steamed milk. I finally asked an Italian person what Misto means. it simply means “mixed” not half milk, half coffee it could be as much or less of either…..in Italy.
Maybe that’s why the Italians hate us and won’t allow our stores in their country. Look what us Americans have done to the Macchiato….putting Carmel in it sheesh lol
@Patrick Coffee Master – good comments and perspective. Your point about the Italians is so true. Maybe not for long though, the youth of Italy have forgotten their espresso roots and keep asking for “Starbucks” without realizing what they are doing. It is also too bad that there is a big disconnect between the original Howard, the “Onward” Howard, and what Howard’s creation has become. Don’t get me started on change, there is evolutionary and revolutionary change in the world of business and that is good for business. The change for change sake and the change brought about by entitled customer whining is bad for business. Know your direction, do not follow the wind.
I thoroughly enjoyed reading this blog as well as the additional comments that have ensued. I have only been a partner a little less than 2 years, and find that the register role is my least favorite! As one of the above commenters mentions, customers (especially our daily regulars) are used to 1995 prices and any additions they choose to refrain from or add should be “on the house”… After all, they are a “regular” customer and Starbucks makes sooooo much money off of them…. Blah, blah,blah… It simply is beyond my pay grade and position to argue if today we should start charging for their extra syrup, if in the past they have not! I’m only getting paid $9/hr, it is not worth and argument and losing my job over a dissatisfied customer. In fact, in my particular location (a heavily entitled and wealthy LGBT community I might add) there so used to just making eye contact with the barista, that they immediately scan to pay before the barista makes ready the POS touch to pay…
Secondly, I feel even in my comfortableness with the company, I simply have not had the proper training to ring in “double cup”, “no water”, “Splendas”, etc…. With the rush a busy cafe store has, customers are impatient with you and sometimes snippy. In an ideal world all of these drink orders would be properly accounted for, but with the pressure of making 40-60 transactions/hour, I think there has to be some give and take on what’s more important. In fact, I am not at all impressed with the Symphony POS system because it actually makes baristas look as though they don’t know what’s going on… It constantly refreshes during peak times; buttons are oddly placed, and it’s glitchy making the transaction afterwards slow to respond!! Perhaps it’s our particular system at the store; but I wish it would be revamped (yet again) to have a more efficient flow. At the end of the day, I feel that our $3-4/hour tip pool jar, is well worth the hassle we receive at the POS station and I don’t want to mess up that flow for a $0.60 up charge to a regularly benevolent customer. **okay steps off soapbox**
In my second fit of rage… We have huge bouts of ambiguity about the apparent refill policy!!! Regular customers will purchase from the morning (or even days before), leave and come back at least 3 or 4 times a day, and expect to be charged a 0.53 refill. Even though, I’m sure the policy is a 2 hour sit in courtesy…. Our SM and DM refuse to contest this battle, as they claim we would lose a vast amount of our customers…. Any thoughts on this?… Whenever I see regular “Joe” with his obviously bone dry Trenta cup with eyes of desperation for an iced coffee … If I’m on register, I only charge 0.53, because I don’t have the mental capacity to argue over the inconsistency of charges. Plus, I know it’s hot, and we will see “Joe” again tomorrow… I find that if the store manager doesn’t back you up, then it’s not in the barista’s right to be the police. Just go with the flow… We are in the industry of customer service and ultimate satisfaction; and sadly Starbucks rewards those who complain about policies they don’t agree with… Sad but true…
James, thanks for weighing in on the discussion. As one who can remember what the Starbucks of 1995 was actually like, I don’t think customers expect the latte of 18 years ago prices. Back then, there was only whole milk, a tiny number of syrups, and no such thing as Venti cup.
In fact, I would say that most customers genuinely are confused – part of it just is that there 1,000 times more permutations of drink ingredient combinations than ever before. There are like thousands and ten thousands of possible drink orders. I still assume genuine confusion (and some of that comes from mixed experiences, which is what this article is about) and rarely some malicious intent.
If symphony can’t charge for it, that’s Starbucks’ problem in Seattle, and no one elses.
As to the refill policy, there is no two hour limit.
http://www.starbucksmelody.com/2013/01/06/the-refill-policy-clarified-starbucks/
http://customerservice.starbucks.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/1882
^There is the real policy. No two hour limit. And I remember the day Howard introduced the first version of rewards in 2008, and clearly him saying, “Stay as long as you like …” — There used to be a 2 hour limit on wifi, a long time ago, and I would say as bad information, it forever got passed around that the same must be true for refills.
The real catch is just one thing: if you leave the store, it’s not a refill. And you’re right, it’s not enforced. I cringe when I hear downtown Seattle partners ask, “Is that your first coffee of the day?” or even explain the refill policy as “Just come back with your cup.” I’ve heard it many times, and I have to wince. If you leave the store, it’s not a refill.
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Feel free to weigh in any time!
Thanks Melody for responding… You sound like a Starbucks aficionado! I’ll be sure to check out your other blog articles, they are quite insightful as are the commenters.
In regards to the POS system, as someone commented earlier, you must pick and choose your battles. Rules are rules, but I think the ambiguity lies in keeping customers returning to your particular location. I’ve heard countless customers tell me and other partners, that they drive passed other stores just to come to ours because of the experience they have at our location (but secretly, I think we do let a lot slide)… All in all, I think the POS system is a guide, but it’s also an evolution of learning and adjusting to customers needs and not so much about being the charge police. We want returning customers getting premium drinks on a regular basis. I think that’s more profitable than steering people away, because of conflicts with pricing. But perhaps my business acumen is off…
James, I don’t think for a minute that your business savvy is off. There’s a fabulous section in the book Onward where Howard talks about pulling Sorbetto from national launch partly because the margins weren’t there. Meaning, profit margins. Starbucks won’t launch a beverage that doesn’t have high profit margins – I think a lot of the forgiveness of ambiguity is built into those profit margins. And still, when it’s all said and done, it’s not worth any stress to have a fight over something that should be the battle of those programming Symphony.