Careful now, this book is extremely hot
November 26, 2006 | 12:00am
You’re probably one of a legion of Starbucks hounds around the world. You’re probably one who can’t start – and end and go through – a day without a shot of java. Now, that’s a whole latte love. You’re probably one whose idea of heaven is a tall glass of vanilla frappuccino with lotsa caramel drizzle. Well, this one’s not about you. This book’s about the people (called "partners," not attendants or waiters or storekeepers) on the other side of the counter who hand you your Starbucks coffee, served hot or cold, with the warmest and biggest smile ever, rain or shine.
It’s a sip-by-sip account of how Starbucks grew from a small store to a giant company with more than 10,000 locations worldwide (in some places, there are Starbucks outlets located across the street from each other).
Allow us to pour some facts about Starbucks:
• In 1971, the first Starbucks was opened in Seattle, Washington by three partners – English teacher Jerry Baldwin, history teacher Zev Siegel, and writer Gordon Bowker (oh, well, where there are two or three gathered together, there must be coffee). It was called Starbucks Coffee, Tea, and Spice. Before that, there was a corner coffee shop which drew a horde of caffeine addicts for its 50-cent cup – and free refills!
Writes Joseph Michelli, founder of Lessons for Success, broadcaster, and author of The Starbucks Experience – 5 Principles for Turning Ordinary into Extraordinary (available at Powerbooks): "For some of us, the morning was not complete without a visit to the convenience store, where we poured our own black, murky brew into a white foam cup. To kill the taste, we doused the mixture with gobs of powdered cream and sugar, and stirred it with a thin red plastic stick (which was supposed to double as a straw). We would hand our change to an apathetic cashier who performed the job just well enough to earn the minimum wage. It was an unvarying and uninspired customer ritual and transaction."
Until Starbucks came along and a new coffee culture was born. Suddenly, coffee lovers discovered a whole new way to enjoy coffee – with or without company. And a whole new coffee jargon came to be: Tall, grande, and venti (instead of medium, large, and extra large).
Starbucks former CEO and current chairman Howard Schultz spills the beans, "What would happen if you took the quality coffee bean tradition of Starbucks and merged it with the charm and romance of the European coffeehouse?"
The answer: Yes, Starbucks can – that is, transform a traditional American coffee experience from the ordinary to the extraordinary.
But comes another question: Who would pay six or eight times more for rich, exotic coffee blends when "ordinary" is what a coffee drinker has always known?
This was the brewing controversy of the day. An article in Fortune magazine by Cora Daniels notes, "The Starbucks story epitomizes ‘imagine that’ in every sense. When the company went public ... it had just 165 stores clustered around Seattle and in neighboring states ... skeptics ridiculed the idea of $3 coffee as a West Coast yuppie fad."
As you and I know, it’s more than a yuppie fad. The sumptuous figures tell the Starbucks story: Stores in over 37 countries; 35 million customer visits each week, with loyal patrons typically returning 18 times a month.
The Starbucks chairman will probably be the first to say that the company owes much of its success to its "partners," the people who create a special experience for every single customer who walks into a Starbucks store.
In his foreword to The Starbucks Experience, Starbucks US Business president Jim Alling writes, "The Starbucks Experience contains a robust blend of home-brewed ingenuity and people-driven philosophies that have made Starbucks one of the world’s ‘most admired’ companies, according to Fortune magazine... "
For behind a hot cup of Starbucks coffee is a heartwarming tale or two.
For instance, the book tells the story of a customer, Lydia Moore from Oakland, California, who met the love of her life – and future husband – at Starbucks. Lydia had forged a special friendship with the Starbucks staff that when she got married, she invited them to her wedding. The staff put up the picture of the couple on the board and closely followed their life together, cup after cup after cup of Starbucks coffee. Sad to say, Lydia’s husband was one day diagnosed with cancer. Through it all, the Starbucks partners were there, there to bring Lydia’s husband his favorite Grande Drip and Hazelnut Sticky Bun. Lydia was devastated when she lost her husband and there to share in her loss were her Starbucks friends.
Indeed, unique is the experience that is Starbucks.
Michelli points out, "The Starbucks Experience reflects tenets that are simple, yet not simplistic. They are results-oriented and can be deceptively powerful when applied."
And the five principles are:
1) Make it your own.
2) Everything matters.
3) Surprise and delight.
4) Embrace resistance.
5) Leave your mark.
"They remind all of us –you, me, the janitor, and the CEO – that we are responsible for unleashing a passion that ripples outward from behind the scenes, through the customer experience, and ultimately out into our communities. Let’s take a closer look at each of these principles with an eye to how they work inside Starbucks and how we can tap into their transformational power."
Thanks for that hot tip, Mr. Michelli. Now, can you think of an experience hotter than this?
Make mine venti.
It’s a sip-by-sip account of how Starbucks grew from a small store to a giant company with more than 10,000 locations worldwide (in some places, there are Starbucks outlets located across the street from each other).
Allow us to pour some facts about Starbucks:
• In 1971, the first Starbucks was opened in Seattle, Washington by three partners – English teacher Jerry Baldwin, history teacher Zev Siegel, and writer Gordon Bowker (oh, well, where there are two or three gathered together, there must be coffee). It was called Starbucks Coffee, Tea, and Spice. Before that, there was a corner coffee shop which drew a horde of caffeine addicts for its 50-cent cup – and free refills!
Writes Joseph Michelli, founder of Lessons for Success, broadcaster, and author of The Starbucks Experience – 5 Principles for Turning Ordinary into Extraordinary (available at Powerbooks): "For some of us, the morning was not complete without a visit to the convenience store, where we poured our own black, murky brew into a white foam cup. To kill the taste, we doused the mixture with gobs of powdered cream and sugar, and stirred it with a thin red plastic stick (which was supposed to double as a straw). We would hand our change to an apathetic cashier who performed the job just well enough to earn the minimum wage. It was an unvarying and uninspired customer ritual and transaction."
Until Starbucks came along and a new coffee culture was born. Suddenly, coffee lovers discovered a whole new way to enjoy coffee – with or without company. And a whole new coffee jargon came to be: Tall, grande, and venti (instead of medium, large, and extra large).
Starbucks former CEO and current chairman Howard Schultz spills the beans, "What would happen if you took the quality coffee bean tradition of Starbucks and merged it with the charm and romance of the European coffeehouse?"
The answer: Yes, Starbucks can – that is, transform a traditional American coffee experience from the ordinary to the extraordinary.
But comes another question: Who would pay six or eight times more for rich, exotic coffee blends when "ordinary" is what a coffee drinker has always known?
This was the brewing controversy of the day. An article in Fortune magazine by Cora Daniels notes, "The Starbucks story epitomizes ‘imagine that’ in every sense. When the company went public ... it had just 165 stores clustered around Seattle and in neighboring states ... skeptics ridiculed the idea of $3 coffee as a West Coast yuppie fad."
As you and I know, it’s more than a yuppie fad. The sumptuous figures tell the Starbucks story: Stores in over 37 countries; 35 million customer visits each week, with loyal patrons typically returning 18 times a month.
The Starbucks chairman will probably be the first to say that the company owes much of its success to its "partners," the people who create a special experience for every single customer who walks into a Starbucks store.
In his foreword to The Starbucks Experience, Starbucks US Business president Jim Alling writes, "The Starbucks Experience contains a robust blend of home-brewed ingenuity and people-driven philosophies that have made Starbucks one of the world’s ‘most admired’ companies, according to Fortune magazine... "
For behind a hot cup of Starbucks coffee is a heartwarming tale or two.
For instance, the book tells the story of a customer, Lydia Moore from Oakland, California, who met the love of her life – and future husband – at Starbucks. Lydia had forged a special friendship with the Starbucks staff that when she got married, she invited them to her wedding. The staff put up the picture of the couple on the board and closely followed their life together, cup after cup after cup of Starbucks coffee. Sad to say, Lydia’s husband was one day diagnosed with cancer. Through it all, the Starbucks partners were there, there to bring Lydia’s husband his favorite Grande Drip and Hazelnut Sticky Bun. Lydia was devastated when she lost her husband and there to share in her loss were her Starbucks friends.
Indeed, unique is the experience that is Starbucks.
Michelli points out, "The Starbucks Experience reflects tenets that are simple, yet not simplistic. They are results-oriented and can be deceptively powerful when applied."
And the five principles are:
1) Make it your own.
2) Everything matters.
3) Surprise and delight.
4) Embrace resistance.
5) Leave your mark.
"They remind all of us –you, me, the janitor, and the CEO – that we are responsible for unleashing a passion that ripples outward from behind the scenes, through the customer experience, and ultimately out into our communities. Let’s take a closer look at each of these principles with an eye to how they work inside Starbucks and how we can tap into their transformational power."
Thanks for that hot tip, Mr. Michelli. Now, can you think of an experience hotter than this?
Make mine venti.
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