Starbucks, A Customer Experience Company
I talk about Starbucks a lot when citing examples of companies with a clear understanding of how to deliver a great customer experience. Today was another proof how Starbucks had separated themselves from their competitors — cafes who claim to be third spaces — and by a mile.
These days, I’ve been moving from one coffee shop to the next trying to find inspiration to write. I’m working on a playbook to help organizations jumpstart their CX efforts (more on this soon). I saw this newly opened, well-lit, and aesthetically pleasing cafe near our place and decided to give it a try. I’ve tried their coffee before so I knew what to expect but I’ve never tried working from one of their locations before. I situated myself at a table where an electrical socket was available — just in case I find myself staying longer.
There were only 4 tables occupied at perhaps a 10% occupancy rate of their generous space but I could hear the loud voices coming from five tables away. Interestingly, this group of people who were talking as if they were 50 meters away from each other were, in fact, employees of the cafe. I saw them wearing shirts with the cafe’s logo and, involuntarily eavesdropping as I was, they were talking about the cafe’s operations for the next couple of days. Anyway, acoustics and care for their customers’ experience was clearly secondary here.
I mentioned ‘being well-lit’ earlier as something that I considered positive but after trying to write for a while I realized how the cool white lighting of the space wasn’t very conducive to getting anything done. I kept getting distracted by everything that moved and the janitor who kept mopping the floor in front of me every 5 seconds didn’t help at all.
Lastly, and this is a small detail compared to the rest, the cafe calls out orders by the number. “Order 355. Order 355,” went the barista who prepared my order. I knew it was for me since there were only a few people inside the cafe this morning but I had to scramble to look for my receipt to be sure. I got up and showed it to the guy at the counter as proof I’m not trying to steal someone else’s drink and went back to my table; floor in front looks immaculate by now.
This is in no way a knock against this establishment which will go unnamed. I’m just saying their space and how they operate isn’t for me when I need to get things done. I need a space that’s less distracting, conducive to working, and one where I feel welcome — as if they’re happy to have me there. Clearly, Starbucks has zeroed in on the persona they want to serve and luckily I fit into that profile.
Starbucks addresses all of the above first by having amazingly good acoustics. On coffee rush hours — which is basically 8 to 9 in the morning and 1 to 2 in the afternoon — you can still somehow put some work in despite the number of people talking. There are times I didn’t have to resort to my noise-cancelling headphones and just listen to the ambient noise of a work day.
Second, the lighting in their cafes uses that warm light that somehow, and weirdly, boosts productivity while encouraging relaxation. I use the same at home, both for my desk lamp and my monitor light bar. It’s easy on the eyes and I noticed I can work longer hours without straining them.
When a vlogger on Tiktok complained about customers lounging in Starbucks with their laptops, Starbucks Philippines President Noey Lopez was quick to highlight the importance Starbucks plays in creating third places and was quoted saying, “That was my first experience in Starbucks when I stayed for so long nursing one cup of coffee, and I was so amazed. So I don’t want to deny anybody that. That’s the Starbucks experience.”
Lastly, personalization. Starbucks doesn’t ask for your name and write it in a cup for no reason. Simply, it’s their way of connecting to their customers. Dale Carnegie, author of How to Win Friends and Influence People, wrote, “A person’s name is to that person, the sweetest, most important sound in any language.” On Starbucks’ website, they even share that, “Taking a customer’s name, writing it on a cup and calling it out is a symbol of our warm welcome. It is part of the Starbucks Experience and creates a moment of connection between our baristas and customers.” Aside from hearing their name called out, it gives customers a sense of ownership of that drink especially if they’re the kind to customize theirs. Compare that with having to identify as a sequential three-digit number.
Other cafes don’t need to follow in Starbucks’ footsteps. They don’t need to cater to every single person — including myself. What they need to do is to decide on which persona they are going to serve and do everything to deliver a great experience to customers who fit that profile. The other cafe I went to by no means was bad. I’m surely to go back to it (as I have had several times already) but probably not to work or devour a book. I have Starbucks for that.
