Page 78 - The Starbucks Experience

Everything Matters

variety? Is it shade grown? What’s the yield per hectare (a
unit of measurement equivalent to approximately two and
one-half acres)? What are the farmers like? Are there buffer
zones between fields and streams? Is there is a mill there?
What are they doing with the wastewater? How much water
are they generating that needs to be processed? Does the cof-
fee move through, or are there hang-ups that can create prob-
lems with quality? We want to know how transparent people
are in terms of sharing money all the way down to the cof-
fee picker. All of this is considered before we buy our crop,
because anyone can buy coffee; it is how we buy coffee that
makes Starbucks special.”
For Dub Hay and other Starbucks leaders, quality lives not
only in the coffee they can buy today, but in the relationships
they forge for the future. It is through these relationships that
Starbucks can work with farmers to continually improve 63
product quality. Rather than making impulsive business deci-
sions that address only short-term business needs, Starbucks
leadership is willing to forgo stopgap measures in favor of
longer-term relationship-based solutions.
In essence, the Starbucks management approach teaches
that quality business relationships are essential to long-term
growth and survival. Being vigilant and careful about those
with whom you associate ultimately protects your business
and your brand. Looking into the details of how potential
business partners conduct themselves safeguards you against
developing relationships that will fail in the future. Starbucks
coffee buyers say “no” to coffee farmers who don’t fit with
the values and quality priorities that Starbucks demands over
the long term. While some relationship details can be over-
looked in the short term, stockholders, partners, and future
generations of customers will be adversely affected if sus-