Comments

thats true, starbuck has been seriously amazing people with service for a while now. i think i agree with tom.

Posted by tayo at June 15, 2006 8:44 AM

Lovely - though Mr. Starbucks Schultz is trying to shake down Seattle TAXPayers for his NBA Sonics' "new" stadium - changes his story for me! Am loyal to Whole Paycheck though.

Posted by Sean at June 15, 2006 8:51 AM

Glad you had a good experience. I have to mention: the only letter I've sent in the past year complaining about customer service was to Whole Foods. Had a bad experience with one of their cashiers.

Posted by ranpirnase at June 15, 2006 9:42 AM

Don't get me wrong, I am as Canadian as they get! I love; hockey, a good Canadian beer, a George Bush joke (well who doesn't) and 3-down football.

So why do I go to Starbuck's over Canada's own Tim Horton's (i.e. Canada's National Coffee chain)? And trust I'm asked this quite often by family and friends and I keep answering them with… …it’s all about the service! I can honestly say that I have never had even mediocre service at Starbucks… …and it boggles my mind. How is it possible to always have outstanding service when I am buying a two dollar coffee, while when I’m buying a cell phone, or a airline flight or a even a car, I consider myself lucky to get a sales person that will even give me 50% of the service that the Starbucks barrister gives me day in and day out.

Posted by Michael Warner at June 15, 2006 10:16 AM

As my pseudonym implies, I'm also one of the converted on the quality and consistency of the Starbucks experience. As someone who travels a LOT, I'm curious Tom as to how many you've been to, and your assessment of how well the consistency holds up across many stores. As for Whole Foods, you should see the smile on my wife's face every time we step into one - it's like we've arrived at the mother ship! Take a peek at their web site - there's a "Declaration of Interdependence" that says volumes about their path to such a quality customer experience. I agree, you couldn't pick two better companies at getting it right.

Posted by Starbucker at June 15, 2006 11:35 AM

starbucker--it's precisely the consistency that stuns me. For instance, recently ... MADRID. "It"-"third place" seemed to work as well there as on Charles Street Boston.

Posted by tom peters at June 15, 2006 12:06 PM

It goes back to the golden rule. Starbucks employees get treated well by their employer and pass the love onto the customers. I wish more employers would figure this out.

Posted by Macy at June 15, 2006 12:30 PM

Starbucks made a 'splash' here in Indianapolis today by trucking in 22 tons of sand to make a virtual beach right on Monument Circle. Check out the picture:
http://www.douglaskarr.com

Posted by Doug Karr at June 15, 2006 12:32 PM

I'd suggest that the success of both organizations ties not only to their customer and employee-centric values but also to rigorous (Big R) selection of employees around those and the willingness to cut their losses when their selection process fails. So cliche but but it comes down to eliminating the one apple that has the potential to spoil all the others in your barrel. I'm with you, Tom. Both the Starbuck's and the Whole Food experience work not only at home but everywhere else you encounter them.

Posted by Ed Di Gangi at June 15, 2006 2:03 PM

Strabucks - good coffee? good service?
Ignorance is bliss.

Posted by JA at June 15, 2006 3:10 PM

OK...this isn't going to be popular...but I think Starbucks is losing the shine on their brand. I have noticed a decidedly "corporate" approach rather than your neighborhood coffee shop. Such things as talking about how many tons of beans you can roast in your factory as opposed to the home roast I get in my new favorite, independent coffee shop. I am not sure I can quantify this, but Starbucks is becoming the Sears of coffee to me. (no offense meant toward Sears..) A boring but efficent purveyor of coffee. Besides the wireless is free at Panera...Rumor has it that the baristas are now being timed on how quickly they can turn an order...Can't substantiate that, but heard it from a barista. Beware operational excellence!!!!

Posted by mike neiss at June 15, 2006 7:18 PM

Starbucks? Good Service? You're joking right? I've had everything BUT good service at Starbucks. I avoid Starbucks stores like the plague just because of their notably bad service.

Posted by Helen at June 15, 2006 9:17 PM

Starbucks is great I love thE placE -
but all this stuff that gets talked about -
inovation (target's cool new medicine bottle for example)
won't cure cancer or find out if global warming is something to worry about (it is) -
what is wrong with actually knowing something and using this knowledge to solve real problems -
I mean people like Ann Coulter are geniuses when it comes to marketiing and understanding what
thier customers want - but what would be wrong with actually making things and selling things that actually solve important problems (and for me, starbucks does solve an important problem - but there are even more important problems and they require real knowledge, not just cheery happy people (having said this, starbucks still amazes me)
Design is important - ask any genetitsist (sp?) - and If that makes no sense, I've made my point -

Posted by bill at June 15, 2006 10:59 PM

I completely agree with Tom. I'm always overwhelmed by the upbeat attitude each member of the Starbucks carries in order to make our visit there pleasant. Of course tho, sometimes it varies from store to store. Here in Penang, Malaysia..I'd say the one with the best service so far would have to be the store at E-Gate, Penang, Malaysia. The barista's there really do their best!

Posted by Vivian at June 16, 2006 1:13 AM

They are an excellent example as a company but when I got to the section "The Way I see it" I was unpleasantly surprised by the following:

"Please note: The opinions put forth by contributors to “The Way I See It” do not necessarily reflect the views of Starbucks."

Is this a: "We really do take our "contributors" seriously, but if you are offended, don't agree or whatever... remember... they may not reflect our views".

You can't have it both ways - either stick your neck out for the good and bad or don't do it at all.

Reminds me of e-mail footers from companies that say their people are their greatest assets but then remind you that what they say could actually be totally false... we still have a long way to go...

Posted by Nuno Lopes at June 16, 2006 4:25 AM

I like this - When Tom spoke in London he said; Question to Howard Schultz – ‘How come you have so many staff who smile?’ Answer from Mr Schultz – ‘We recruit people who smile’

Simplicity really is the key and the basics are definitely the new cutting edge

Posted by Trevor Gay at June 16, 2006 3:44 PM

As to Whole Foods the PC folks have gotten to them and you can no longer buy live lobsters. Pity

Posted by Captain Marvin at June 16, 2006 4:43 PM

I've been a Whole Foods groupie since day one, mainly because of their quality standards—e.g. they don't stock genetically modified food—though they've made some compromises in other areas to accommodate mainstream shoppers. But they've also earned my respect for being one of best companies to work for in the US year after year, for having no salary higher than 14 times the average salary, and for their team-based profit-sharing plan. They also have an innovative hiring policy: every new hire has to win a 2/3 yes vote from fellow team members after 4 weeks before being allowed to permanently join one of the 8 functional store teams. http://www.fastcompany.com/magazine/84/wholefoods.html

Posted by John O'Leary at June 16, 2006 9:32 PM

FREE THE LOBSTER - YES! FREE THE DUKE LACROSSE TRIO - YES!

Posted by Sean at June 17, 2006 11:21 AM

Starbucks sells CONCEPT along with COFFEE. Cool (oops HOT!)indeed!

Posted by K.Sriram at June 19, 2006 4:35 AM

Someone ought to check out the Starbucks at London Stansted and London Luton airports, where the staff at both places, in my recent exerience, are plain ordinary. Which - sadly - still makes them about 5% better than their competitors in both locations!

Maybe it's the airport environment, which generally seems to attract very transient staff and where retail seems to be affected by Big Airport Service Malaise.

Tom - maybe you should pitch to the airport operators: they're one of the last bastions of, "We're a fixed assets operator - who gives a hoot about service - where else are you going to go?"

Posted by Mark J Foscoe at June 19, 2006 9:47 AM

"for having no salary higher than 14 times the average salary"...this alone makes me want to direct deposity my next paycheck to Whole Foods.

Posted by macy at June 19, 2006 4:12 PM

Is it service, or is it incredible cuts of meat in a world of declining availability of butchers and less than satisfactory pre-wrapped meat at chain grocery stores? I would argue that having incredible products that are exactly what people are looking for is just as, if not more, important than a friendly checkout counter.

Posted by Jason Dolenga at June 19, 2006 10:19 PM

I love both, but I agree with many of the posts about Strabucks losing a little of the luster. Howard Schultz has created a culture of service excellence, but it still comes down to the leadership skills of the store manager. I live downtown Seattle where the service is awesome, but my trips out of state have allowed me to "feel" a different attitude than I have in past years. I have never had a poor experience at Whole Foods. Their "60 Minutes" piece was an especially exciting analysis of retail excellnce.

Posted by Dave Sovde at June 23, 2006 9:06 PM