Page 102 - The Starbucks Experience

Surprise and Delight

a client or colleague for no other reason than that he was
in your thoughts. It’s not a calculated marketing strategy;
it’s just the little things people do when they take the time
to care.
Starbucks leadership often initiates a surprise event that is
not primarily aimed at self-promotion. For example, on one
occasion, Starbucks partners surprised customers in their
stores with a product you can’t even buy there. To celebrate
summer and National Ice Cream Month, baristas served one
million free cups of ice cream at 6,000 Starbucks locations
for an unadvertised “ice cream social.” Even though Star-
bucks sells ice cream in supermarkets, it doesn’t sell it in its
stores. So to make this event happen, ice cream was sent to
stores via FedEx overnight delivery.
The ice cream social was simply an opportunity to treat
customers. Starbucks leadership sees great value in creating 87
positive surprises, as evidenced by the effort involved in
orchestrating the complexities of an ice cream social. And this
extra effort definitely worked to get the attention of cus-
tomers. Martta Rose appreciated the ice cream, saying, “I
never expected to get ice cream at Starbucks. It was wonder-
ful, probably the best ice cream I’ve ever had. It was a nice
break from the day.”
The event also succeeded in bringing in people who had
no plans to visit Starbucks that day. Jill Davis admitted, “I
was actually leaving my job at a rival coffee shop across the
street, and I was walking home. A Starbucks barista was
standing outside handing out samples of the ice cream to
passersby. I am a Starbucks fan—as well as an ice cream
fan—so I accepted the barista’s offer and enjoyed it on the
rest of my walk home. How great is that?”