Page 90 - The Starbucks Experience

Everything Matters

Customer Mara Siegler illustrates how the smallest and
seemingly most basic details matter. “There are several prob-
lems particular to New York,” she says, but “perhaps the
gravest and most physically unbearable is the shortage of
public restrooms. No matter where I find myself in the city,
there is sure to be a Starbucks within a five-block radius. And
to their credit, Starbucks bathrooms are usually clean. Busi-
ness analysts, marketing gurus, and competing businesses can
study the rise of this conglomerate all they want and give a
billion reasons for its success. But trust me, no matter what
the music, the flavor of the day, or the wireless availability,
Starbucks success is all thanks to the free and clean toilets.”
Customers notice the little things—even the cleanliness of the
bathrooms. It’s important, therefore, for every business to ask
its customers for feedback on the details that matter most to
them. Often the answers to such questions give leadership the 75
opportunity to master details of which they would otherwise
have been unaware.
Not only must leaders be given the task of exploring the
details that matter most to customers, but they must also
explore what matters to their staff. If leaders understand
what matters to employees, it is easier to excite and motivate
those employees to give consistent effort—even in the less
enjoyable aspects of their jobs. Barista Bernadette Harris con-
fesses, “I didn’t like making Frappuccinos . I wasn’t always
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happy to leave my line of hot drinks to make a drink that
took twice as long! One customer helped me gain a different
view of the blended beverages. This woman would come in
every evening and order a mocha Frappuccino blended bev-
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erage. She was always in a hurry, and we would barely con-
verse. One evening she came in and mentioned that her
husband was in the car. Then she thanked us for always deliv-