Comments on: Re-Experiencing Starbucks, Update 7 – Listening to Customers http://customersrock.net/2008/06/26/re-experiencing-starbucks-update-7-listening-to-customers/ Focusing on customers, their experiences, and how businesses can make sure their customer experiences rock! Fri, 30 Jul 2010 13:43:57 -0500 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.4 hourly 1 By: Meikah Delid http://customersrock.net/2008/06/26/re-experiencing-starbucks-update-7-listening-to-customers/comment-page-1/#comment-2380 Meikah Delid Mon, 30 Jun 2008 07:13:29 +0000 http://customersrock.wordpress.com/?p=527#comment-2380 Hi, Becky! Wow, this project is really making good progress. I checked out (my first time, and apologize for that) MyStarbucksIdea, and it's a good move! Let's keep at it! Best regards, Meikah Hi, Becky!

Wow, this project is really making good progress. I checked out (my first time, and apologize for that) MyStarbucksIdea, and it’s a good move!

Let’s keep at it!

Best regards,
Meikah

]]> By: Esteban Kolsky http://customersrock.net/2008/06/26/re-experiencing-starbucks-update-7-listening-to-customers/comment-page-1/#comment-2382 Esteban Kolsky Sun, 29 Jun 2008 17:10:54 +0000 http://customersrock.wordpress.com/?p=527#comment-2382 Here we have at work, the quintessential problem with 99.5% of experience management and customer feedback problems today: the lack of improvements. Yes, it has been a relatively short time since SBUX "relaunched", but the changes they made, at least on my part of the world, have not stuck. Pike Place Roast was good for the better part of a week, now it is back to being old and burnt. Food is back to being not-that-good and stale in some cases. And the drive-thru lost what they had gained in getting the drinks right to go back to almost reminding me of that scene in Lethal Weapon 2, when "Leo" (Joe Pesci) says "you never go to the drive thru, they always get your order wrong... by the time you realize you so far away you don't go back". (paraphrasing - in case you have seen the movie). This post made me think about it, and I can see the problem is the same that repeats in plenty of places across the world: changes are not implemented because they go "back to committee". In other words, SBUX in my corner of the world has no power to make changes to their own store. SBUX is so concerned with becoming the MC Donald of coffee that, unfortunately, they are getting there. Each small store should have leeway in making the changes they see fit, and in (within reason) accommodating their customers. Maybe someone else gets that experience (which means my local stores are run by lazy, careless people) but I seriously doubt it. They are stuck to franchise methods for brewing and serving, that even if they can make it better they won't. This is the same across corporations globally. The results of feedback events go back to a "committee" or similar entity that is lacking two things they need to make the changes: 1) the constant contact with the customer (which will let them understand what is going on at that level), and 2) a customer-focused approach to improvements. If the changes don't affect me personally, I will go ahead and recommend them... thus, the SBUX loyalty program is born, which most customers don't care for, nor agree with -- and it is not even supported by their POS! Anyways, I digress... I don't want to turn this into a rant... this is not about SBUX, it is about just about every organization in the last few years that decided to "listen" to the customer. It seems it is done from inside a sound-proof booth, with noise-reduction headsets on... and blinders (just in case, we don't want to get distracted with them customers - you know) Here we have at work, the quintessential problem with 99.5% of experience management and customer feedback problems today: the lack of improvements. Yes, it has been a relatively short time since SBUX “relaunched”, but the changes they made, at least on my part of the world, have not stuck. Pike Place Roast was good for the better part of a week, now it is back to being old and burnt. Food is back to being not-that-good and stale in some cases. And the drive-thru lost what they had gained in getting the drinks right to go back to almost reminding me of that scene in Lethal Weapon 2, when “Leo” (Joe Pesci) says “you never go to the drive thru, they always get your order wrong… by the time you realize you so far away you don’t go back”. (paraphrasing – in case you have seen the movie).

This post made me think about it, and I can see the problem is the same that repeats in plenty of places across the world: changes are not implemented because they go “back to committee”. In other words, SBUX in my corner of the world has no power to make changes to their own store. SBUX is so concerned with becoming the MC Donald of coffee that, unfortunately, they are getting there. Each small store should have leeway in making the changes they see fit, and in (within reason) accommodating their customers. Maybe someone else gets that experience (which means my local stores are run by lazy, careless people) but I seriously doubt it. They are stuck to franchise methods for brewing and serving, that even if they can make it better they won’t.

This is the same across corporations globally. The results of feedback events go back to a “committee” or similar entity that is lacking two things they need to make the changes: 1) the constant contact with the customer (which will let them understand what is going on at that level), and 2) a customer-focused approach to improvements. If the changes don’t affect me personally, I will go ahead and recommend them… thus, the SBUX loyalty program is born, which most customers don’t care for, nor agree with — and it is not even supported by their POS!

Anyways, I digress… I don’t want to turn this into a rant… this is not about SBUX, it is about just about every organization in the last few years that decided to “listen” to the customer. It seems it is done from inside a sound-proof booth, with noise-reduction headsets on… and blinders (just in case, we don’t want to get distracted with them customers – you know)

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