Page 114 - The Starbucks Experience

Surprise and Delight

Delighting Your Customers
It has been said that the only two things one can count on
are death and taxes. Wouldn’t it be great if consistent qual-
ity and experience were an equally sure thing? Since consis-
tency is rare and valued, companies that master it ultimately
thrive.
Predictability produces customer delight. People are
pleased when they know that a company will deliver what it
promises. And even when something goes wrong, an
employee or manager can still delight the customer by going
the extra mile to make things right. Delight is the result of an
unwavering commitment to creating a comfortable and
trusted customer relationship.

Creating the Familiar: Predictability in Product 99
Great businesses deliver a quality product in a predictable
manner. Starbucks executive Martin Coles is well aware of
the importance of consistency. He emphasizes, “What we’re
really looking for is that you take your personal Starbucks
experience—something we call the ‘My Starbucks Experi-
ence’—as you travel, and have a good percentage of that
experience no matter where you go. It’s not the same part-
ners serving you, but if the experience overall is similar
enough, you will have that visceral connection with Star-
bucks. You’ll be able to take a little bit of it home with you
and have delight and comfort in that.”
It’s this consistency that is recognized by patrons from city
to city and country to country. One such Starbucks customer
is Paul Viapiano, a musician who has toured internationally
with the Los Angeles Philharmonic and Hollywood Bowl
Orchestra. As Paul points out, “Starbucks is really consistent