Page 107 - The Starbucks Experience

PRINCIPLE 3

Unconventional Surprises Are Often the Best
Senior Starbucks management understands that one of the
greatest things about surprises is that they are original. You
can find them anywhere, which has the added benefit of
allowing you to offer them to current customers, future cus-
tomers, and even people who would never have anticipated
being in your place of business. Surprises can go where you
find people, not just where people find you.
Such “traveling surprises” also provide an opportunity to
reach what management guru Peter Drucker called “noncus-
tomers.” A group of district managers decided to organize a
citywide coffee tasting. According to one of the managers,
“We called it a citywide coffee break. We had 10 Coffee Mas-
ters, partners who are certified based on their knowledge of
the coffee, the growing process, the processing, and so forth,
92 actually go to the train station and set up a table. We gave
away free coffee to all the commuters—everybody getting on
a train, everybody getting off a train. People were surprised,
and it was a great opportunity for us, too. . . . We were cel-
™
ebrating Fair Trade Certified coffee; Starbucks was one of
the first companies in the United States to offer this product.”
The main goal of the giveaway was to surprise and celebrate.
As a result, the commuters were offered a pleasant experience
that was not used as a gimmick to get them into Starbucks
stores. One of the district managers at the event explains, “We
didn’t try to sell Starbucks. We just wanted to do something
fun and enjoyable, although I imagine that through the process,
some people may have learned about our involvement with
™
Fair Trade Certified coffee, our commitment to support the
farmers, and that we take social issues seriously.”
The power of that day for Starbucks partners and train
passengers alike came from the totally unexpected nature of