Page 100 - The Starbucks Experience

Surprise and Delight

A perfect example of this comes from a neighborhood
library branch that was relocating. A number of librarians
from that branch were daily customers at a nearby Starbucks.
When the Starbucks manager found out about the relocation,
she decided that she would buy the librarians coffee and take
it to them at their new branch. She also found the closest
Starbucks store to the new library and introduced the librar-
ians to the baristas at that store. Leadership sets the tone for
the importance of anticipating needs and surprising those
whom the business serves.
Whether it’s brewing coffee, designing software, or mop-
ping floors, a commitment to Surprise and Delight literally
transforms the very nature of work. Employment stops being
about the words written in job descriptions and expands to
include offering unexpected experiences.
These unexpected experiences occur often in a company 85
like Starbucks, which is rich with employees who are look-
ing to give customers positive surprises. Dr. Peter Nicholls, a
British professor of cell and molecular biology, found this to
be true when he slipped and fell in the street outside a Star-
bucks in Kuala Lumpur while running during a rainstorm.
Three Starbucks partners—a store manager and two female
baristas—weren’t just serving coffee that day; they were seiz-
ing opportunities. The manager saw Peter fall, and he raced
out to help. He and his team got other partners to cover their
store, hailed a cab, took Peter to a clinic, and stayed with him
while he was being treated.
Since Peter had left most of his money at his hotel earlier
in the day, the store manager initially paid for Peter’s care and
got him medication and a sling for his injured arm. As Peter
puts it, “They clearly worked together in an astonishing way.
At least one of the baristas had just finished work, but there