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Professors Youngme Moon and John Quelch prepared this case. HBS cases are developed solely as the basis for class discussion. Cases are not intended to serve as endorsements, sources of primary data, or illustrations of effective or ineffective management. Copyright © 2003 President and Fellows of Harvard College. To order copies or request permission to reproduce materials, call 1-800-545-7685, write Harvard Business School Publishing, Boston, MA 02163, or go to http://www.hbsp.harvard.edu. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, used in a spreadsheet, or transmitted in any form or by any means—electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise—without the permission of Harvard Business School.
504-016
Starbucks: Delivering Customer Service
Company Background
The story of how Howard Schultz managed to transform a commodity into an upscale cultural phenomenon has become the stuff of legends. In 1971, …show more content…
The first type focused on “hard skills” such as learning how to use the cash register and learning how to mix drinks. Most Starbucks beverages were handcrafted, and to ensure product quality, there was a prespecified process associated with each drink. Making an espresso beverage, for example, required seven specific steps. The other type of training focused on “soft skills.” Alling explained: In our training manual, we explicitly teach partners to connect with customers—to enthusiastically welcome them to the store, to establish eye contact, to smile, and to try to remember their names and orders if they’re regulars. We also encourage partners to create conversations with customers using questions that require more than a yes or no answer. So for example, “I noticed you were looking at the menu board—what types of beverages do you typically enjoy?” is a good question for a partner to ask. Starbucks’ “Just Say Yes” policy empowered partners to provide the best service possible, even if it required going beyond company rules. “This means that if a customer spills a drink and asks for a refill, we’ll give it to him,” said Day. “Or if a customer doesn’t have cash and wants to pay with a check (which we aren’t supposed to accept), then we’ll give her a sample drink for free. The last thing we want to do is win the argument and lose the customer.” Most barista turnover occurred within the first 90 days of employment; if a barista lasted beyond that, there was a high probability that he or she would stay for three years or more. “Our training ends up being a self-selection process,” Alling said. Indeed, the ability to balance hard and soft skills required a particular type of person, and Alling believed the challenges had only grown over time: Back in the days when we sold mostly beans, every customer who walked in the door was a coffee
Professors Youngme Moon and John Quelch prepared this case. HBS cases are developed solely as the basis for class discussion. Cases are not intended to serve as endorsements, sources of primary data, or illustrations of effective or ineffective management. Copyright © 2003 President and Fellows of Harvard College. To order copies or request permission to reproduce materials, call 1-800-545-7685, write Harvard Business School Publishing, Boston, MA 02163, or go to http://www.hbsp.harvard.edu. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, used in a spreadsheet, or transmitted in any form or by any means—electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise—without the permission of Harvard Business School.
504-016
Starbucks: Delivering Customer Service
Company Background
The story of how Howard Schultz managed to transform a commodity into an upscale cultural phenomenon has become the stuff of legends. In 1971, …show more content…
The first type focused on “hard skills” such as learning how to use the cash register and learning how to mix drinks. Most Starbucks beverages were handcrafted, and to ensure product quality, there was a prespecified process associated with each drink. Making an espresso beverage, for example, required seven specific steps. The other type of training focused on “soft skills.” Alling explained: In our training manual, we explicitly teach partners to connect with customers—to enthusiastically welcome them to the store, to establish eye contact, to smile, and to try to remember their names and orders if they’re regulars. We also encourage partners to create conversations with customers using questions that require more than a yes or no answer. So for example, “I noticed you were looking at the menu board—what types of beverages do you typically enjoy?” is a good question for a partner to ask. Starbucks’ “Just Say Yes” policy empowered partners to provide the best service possible, even if it required going beyond company rules. “This means that if a customer spills a drink and asks for a refill, we’ll give it to him,” said Day. “Or if a customer doesn’t have cash and wants to pay with a check (which we aren’t supposed to accept), then we’ll give her a sample drink for free. The last thing we want to do is win the argument and lose the customer.” Most barista turnover occurred within the first 90 days of employment; if a barista lasted beyond that, there was a high probability that he or she would stay for three years or more. “Our training ends up being a self-selection process,” Alling said. Indeed, the ability to balance hard and soft skills required a particular type of person, and Alling believed the challenges had only grown over time: Back in the days when we sold mostly beans, every customer who walked in the door was a coffee