Why is customer service at Starbucks consistently great - while the service at most other take-out joints sucks?
You go to Starbucks and the energy is positive, the service friendly, and experience somewhat consistent from store to store. You go to Bruegger’s and there is no energy to speak of, the service is chaotic at best, and the consistency - let’s say non-existent.
Now if you think that that is bad, and happen to live in a town like mine - try placing an order with Papa Gino’s or Domino’s - it will not only be the chaotic service and low energy or the “I don’t care” attitude you will have to deal with - it’s pure stupidity! Never do I know whether I will fall within their delivery zone or whether some new driver will decide that I am just outside of it, and usually I do not find out until well after I placed my order and have a house full of hungry/angry kids.
So what do you think makes up the difference between those outfits?
One theory, put forth by management consulting guru John Hagel says that too many companies focus on the transactional view of economics instead of the relationship view of economics. Makes sense! The fact that Starbucks employees get more benefits, stock options, and promotional opportunities not only makes them happier employees - it results in an energy that can be “experienced” by most customers who visit their stores.
Another reason is that the marketing execs at those companies who cut corners in customer service are probably not grokking marketing the way Burger King’s CMO Russ Klein does - where every “out of home food dollar” is considered to have a “social component” to it!
[Tags: marketing social currency customer service hr relationship view> transaction view economics]
You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
June 12th, 2006 at 10:09 pm
As a regular visitor/customer at Starbucks, I too am always struck by the high level of engagement between employees and their customers. Although I definitely agree that many other similar food/drinks establishments have much to learn from Starbucks, I have to wonder if the coffee giant’s service is related much more to its *type* of business and not necessarily an approach all should follow.
Great post! I’ll have to explore this one on my blog as well.
June 17th, 2006 at 10:58 pm
Pumping more oxygen into each store’s ventilation system would have about the same effect.
June 21st, 2006 at 3:41 pm
Starbucks knows that they have better employee benefits than most other restaurant chains: they know that this higher cost is the cost of better service. Even if you convinced the company owners of Wendy’s or Bruegger’s that a relationship-focus were necessary, execution of any changes would rely on the franchisees, who don’t see that far, and would bear the cost of increased service.
All Starbucks stores are company-owned, while for many other chains they are franchised. Hence, service and staffing standards can be decided one with one management decision rather than the management of each store. (That this is true, note that the Starbucks in airports and in hotels — which are licenced stores, and the only ones that aren’t managed by Starbucks — have, IMO, lower service than regular cafes.)