Page 12 - The Starbucks Experience

acknowledgments

It seems fitting that I would be
writing these acknowledgments in “my Starbucks” on Gar-
den of the Gods Road in Colorado Springs, Colorado, where
store manager Mitch Disselkoen and his team consistently
create the Starbucks Experience for me. Just as my venti non-
fat latte is the result of the efforts of many whose names I will
never know (including coffee pickers and farmers a world
away), so too is this book the product of gifted and passion-
ate people whose names do not appear on its cover.
The Starbucks Experience is the culmination of nearly two
years of collaborative effort that started when I called the cus-
tomer service number on the back of my Starbucks card.
After a little effort and persistence, that number led me to the
embodiment of all that is good and right about Starbucks,
Chris Gorley of Global Brand Communications. Chris has
taken on this project with fervent intensity. She has created
opportunities for me at every level of Starbucks, from the
president and CEO, Jim Donald, to the baristas behind the
counter at the store where I am sitting. Chris’s heartfelt
respect for her company is matched only by her kindness,
competence, and patience.

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