- HOWARD SCHULTZ , STARBUCKS ’ CEO , WALL STREET JOURNAL 2011
CUSTOMER SERVICE
Creating Inspired Moments
The Importance Of A Customer Service Vision Statement
“ Putting our feet in the shoes of the Customers , [ we understood ] what they were dealing with and [ their ] anxiety . . . We were growing the company with such speed and aggression that we lost sight of the Customer experience .”
- HOWARD SCHULTZ , STARBUCKS ’ CEO , WALL STREET JOURNAL 2011
Several years back , I had one of the highlights of my consulting career : Starbucks asked me to help them re-create its Customer Service vision statement . I have worked with Starbucks in the past , but this was different . I knew this was going to be something that would live for a long , long time in Starbucks . Starbucks has always been one of my favorite companies , both as a Customer and as a Customer Service Consultant . I was so excited ! I knew that no one helped create better Customer Service vision statements than The DiJulius Group . I knew we were perfect for this project . I was so excited about taking on this project , until I asked them what their current vision statement was that they wanted to change : “ To inspire and nurture the human spirit one person , one cup , and one neighborhood at a time .”
I thought to myself , Wow , that ’ s pretty good . I honestly didn ’ t know if we could improve on that . I asked Craig Russell , Senior Vice President of global coffee , why he felt that statement didn ’ t work for Starbucks . He replied , “ We love the statement ; those are Howard ’ s [ Schultz ’ s ] words . It is more of our purpose . As far as a Customer Service vision , it is too big , too aspirational . We want something that ’ s actionable , trainable , measurable .” As I thought about it , he was right . If someone comes in and orders a venti soy latte , and the barista gives it to them exactly how they ordered it , in ninety seconds , did the barista inspire or nurture their human spirit ? Probably not . That is something that takes dozens and dozens of positive experiences . I believe Starbucks does that . But it doesn ’ t happen one time .
So we did what we do with all our consulting clients when making a Customer Service vision statement ; we started with scripting a day in the life of a Starbucks Customer . A Starbucks Customer is easy to relate to . Virtually anyone reading this book can relate , whether you actually frequent Starbucks or not . Starbucks customers are people with discretionary income who are battling the hustle and bustle of their busy lives , trying to balance everything they have going on personally and professionally — people dealing with
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