Page 85 - The Starbucks Experience

PRINCIPLE 2

do all the things they do every day. If I can make a difference
for them while I am there and do so in a fun way, they can
come in the next day and give that type of service to our cus-
tomers.” In a sense, it is just as important to create an expe-
rience for employees as it is for employees to create an
experience for customers. Facilitating a playful workplace
keeps work teams engaged and motivated to do their best.
In addition to demonstrating playfulness by leadership
example, Starbucks managers motivate partners simply by
taking the time to recognize the partners’ accomplishments.
Sadly, this critical detail is often missed by business leaders.
Starbucks management encourages and nurtures a playful,
positive culture by opening up formal and spontaneous
avenues to acknowledge and praise the company’s people.
District manager Amy Tingler reports, “One of the things we
70 do with our partners is recognize great Green Apron
Book–type interactions they have with customers and with
one another. We celebrate those in front of the other partners
during monthly meetings. For us, playful recognition is
offered not just in terms of customer service, but also in how
our people treat one another, in and outside the store.”
Amy observed and acknowledged “a partner who, while
working in the store, looked out the window and saw a reg-
ular customer standing by her car, visibly upset. That part-
ner went out and asked the customer if everything was okay,
and she told him she had locked her keys in her car. The part-
ner went back into the store, grabbed a cordless phone and
a phone book and made the woman her usual beverage.
Going back outside, he told her he hoped things would get
better and gave her the drink, phone, and phone book to
make needed calls. She hadn’t even entered the store, but he
noticed her need. He took the initiative to go outside, wel-