Something about Starbucks that Bugs Me

Anyone that knows me knows that I love Starbucks. They see it on Instagram and on Facebook when I post pictures of my siren cup in random settings. They know that it’s my favorite place to get work done. They know that it’s one of my favorite place to have a real meaningful meeting. And they know that it’s my favorite place to get coffee.

But there is one thing that really bugs me about the place. This living room of sorts that they call the third place has a flaw. The flaw is incredibly overt and potentially often overlooked. Is likely meaningless to a lot of people but it really bugs me.

The Starbucks Flaw

I see the people who work at Starbucks as being on a stage. They are actors. As actors they are on 100% of the time. Starbucks designs the stage with which they act out the day’s experience. But there is a flaw.

Whenever a barista talks about her latest birth control measure not working, it demonstrates a complete indifference to the customer.

When another talks about how pissed he is at his roommate for never flushing the toilet, it demonstrates complete indifference to the customer.

When still another talks about how rude a particular customer was during the morning rush, it shows a complete indifference to the customer.

As a customer I want to know that my barista has a genuine interest in creating a consistent experience for me. One that is not full of randomness and indifference.

You’re wishing that Starbucks would fix that flaw Multifamily Maniac,

M

0 Responses

  1. It isn’t just Starbucks, I have issues with any service company talking about this sort of thing within earshot of customers. In our world this is the manager and assistant manager talking about a resident or prospect while the leasing agent is filling out a guest card with another prospect. It always triggers for me a wonderment of what they are going to say about me when I leave, am I to be the topic of the overheard conversation for the next customer.

    1. MJ

      Thank you for taking the time to chime in. No doubt we have our version of the Starbucks flaw. It’s a tough thing to control – in one respect you want your team to feel comfortable – on the other hand you want them to exercise some level of control over the topic. Not sure there is a perfect answer…

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