Starbucks Baristas Case Study

Many Starbucks baristas can tell you stories about the immense amount of diversity in their customers. Men and women, young and old. Numerous people enter these coffee shop many times and slowly gain knowledge of their store and their baristas. Different customers have different relationships with the baristas. Sometimes, it’s a person who has a bad day and needs to rant to a stranger. At other times, people just need a laugh. Some ask questions about every little thing. As a result, baristas often get to know the people of their community and coffee shop in a more personal way. Moreover, customers often get to look into their baristas lives. From Inquiring Irenes to Loquacious Lindas to Hoity-Toity Hailees, customers relationships with …show more content…
Though they aren’t yet regulars, they do frequent the stores more often. Lindas frequently have a favorite barista and know more about them than they do the other baristas. These customers come in and tell the baristas their life story as if the barista needs to know every aspect of their lives. From time to time, they are just wanting to share exciting news like their daughter’s new baby or getting engaged. At other times, they are just chatting. They aren’t usually rude but instead stressed to the breaking point. The people that often are Loquacious Lindas have stressful jobs or home lives. A school teacher came in one day and ordered a latte. I took her order and asked her how her day was going, as I did with most customers. Unexpectedly, she jumped into a panic-stricken rant. She told about her classes and how stressful they were. She ranted and raved over troublesome students. By the time I had finished her drink, she had tears running down her face. At the same time, she seemed relatively calm. She thanked me before she left. I still wonder if she was thanking me for the drink or for listening. Loquacious Lindas rant about their lives and the stress in them often, but at times, they are just looking for a good conversation. The more they come to the store, the more they learn about the baristas and the more prone they are to advancing on to …show more content…
With the Inquiring Irenes asking an abundance of questions, they learn the ins and outs of the barista’s everyday lives. The Loquacious Lindas tell stories upon stories helping the baristas learn about them and their lives specifically. Finally, the Hoity-Toity Hailees throw an extra bit of sass the barista’s way and take notice in day-to-day changes. All in all, every customer affects the baristas in a certain way and each barista leaves a small but significant mark on each patron’s