Industry Magazine Commercial Kitchen Fall 2016 | Page 27

workshop that the group of executives from Starbucks shared was that Starbucks can’t change what’s going to happen today to its Customers. Whether they get a flat tire on their way to work or they are irate because their package didn’t arrive next-day air, as promised, what Starbucks can provide (and does provide very well) is an escape—if only for a few seconds in the Customer’s day. Starbucks allows its Customers to step inside, collect themselves, see some friendly faces—whether it be the workers, friends, or neighbors from the community—and take a break, enjoy a beverage, regroup, and then go back and take on the world again. There it was. The team had it: the Starbucks’ Customer service vision statement. One of my proudest trophies as a consultant is the Starbucks green apron. The next time you walk into a Starbucks, anywhere in the world, and you see a Starbucks employee wearing that signature green apron, politely ask them to turn the inside top of the apron over for you. There is where you will see the Starbucks Customer service vision statement and pillars printed (see fig.1) Figure 1 Starbucks Customer Service Vision Why is the service vision statement printed on the inside of the green apron? It isn’t for the Customers or public to see; it is for the Starbucks employees to see. And every time they put that apron over their head, they are reminded of their job for every Customer with whom they come in contact with. for them, or it could just be a smile or a kind word. Pillars To The Service Vision Statement Starbucks trusts its employees. They can own the experience. If a little girl drops her hot chocolate, a Starbucks employee can give her a new one for free. Each of the pillars is critical, but only in conjunction with each other. Customers want their drinks made exactly how they ordered it, quickly—but not by someone with an attitude. Just the same, a customer does not want someone to greet them by name and have their drink ready for them before they order it, only to have their drink made incorrectly. The four pillars to the Starbucks service vision statement have to do with the company’s key drivers of Customer satisfaction: Anticipate This might mean that if a barista notices a Customer in a business suit, at 6:05 a.m., ordering his coffee, while barely looking up from his smartphone, he probably has some place to be. Get him his drink and help him get on his way. On the other hand, it can be a completely different pace at 9:05 a.m., when a barista encounters a few mothers who just dropped their children off at school and seem to be in no rush. Connect A connection could be recognizing regulars and having their drinks ready Personalize This means customization. With over eighty thousand ways someone can order a Starbucks beverage, you truly can have it your way. Own Big Impact The Starbucks service vision statement contributed to the company’s turnaround in 2010 and 2011. Earnings rose 44 percent, Customer visits rose by 5 percent, and more Customers were paying for higher-priced items. John DiJulius John R. DiJulius III is the author of The Customer Service Revolution: Overthrow convention Business, Inspire Employees, and Change the World, (January 2015 Greenleaf Books). He is the president of The DiJulius Group—a Customer service consulting firm that works with companies like Starbucks, Chick-fi l-A, The Ritz-Carlton, Nestle, PwC, Lexus, and many more. You can email him at [email protected] FALL 2016 27