Page 241 - The Apple Experience

 Ceilings in many stores are made of specialized, one-piece plastic material

stretched over perimeter frames.

 Tiles are thirty-inch squares of Pietra Serena sandstone mined from the
Sienna district of Italy (outside of Florence).

Design details should matter to everyone, regardless of what field they are

in. Design matters. Is your website easy to navigate? Good design will make

it easy for your customers to find what they want. Is your content easy to

understand? Is your product simple and intuitive? Design counts and details

matter in all areas of your business, but especially in the area of customer

service. Let’s look at how two companies, one large and one small, pay

attention to design details to create unique experiences in one of the most

commoditized categories—coffee.

Rekindling the Romance at Starbucks

On January 8, 2008, Howard Schultz reclaimed his title as CEO of

Starbucks after an eight-year hiatus. The brand had lost its way. Sales were in

a free fall, the stock price was plunging, fewer people were going to
Starbucks, and those who did visit were spending less. The company had to

eliminate 12,000 positions and close 600 stores. Over the next three years,

Starbucks would regain its mojo, recording its highest sales ever and seeing

its stock price hit all-time highs despite an ongoing global recession.

Schultz’s return to Starbucks started nearly a year earlier on February 14,

2007, when a stinging memo he wrote to internal leadership was unwittingly

made public. In the memo, Schultz had expressed his displeasure with what

he called the commoditization of the Starbucks experience. When I read the

memo, Schultz’s attention to details stood out for me. Read through the