A Interview With Carol Brown Essay

I get to meet a spectrum full of people, from one end to another. I get to witness the most bizarre people, rude people, kind and down-to-earth people, people with disabilities, and many more in the spectrum. I get to hear personal stories and develop relationships with customers. Majority of high school students revolve their lives around quarter grades and romantic conquests. That is the beauty of working in customer service at 17 - that I am demanded to face the world outside. I work with people who live on a paycheck-to-paycheck basis, people who were abused by parents, people who got lost in drugs and pulled their lives back together, people who have their masters, and people of all different religions, ethnicities, and backgrounds. Teenager’s worries are focused around not being able to face the real world once they depart high school, but working at Starbucks has given me that introduction to the outside world.

Acquiring a job, whether it be in a doctor’s office or a fast-food restaurant, can transform a person. Jobs tend to educate employees, both about themselves and life in general, either indirectly or directly. In Climbing the Golden Arches, nineteen year-old Marissa Nuñez discusses the work ethics she gained while being employed at her McDonalds. Within her essay, Nuñez mentioned how she faced both pleasant and unpleasant circumstances at her work, all which prepared her for her future career. As an individual who worked at McDonald’s, Nuñez learned how to fulfill her role of being an employee by becoming an expert at all the placed stations, dealing with the various types of customers she encountered on a daily basis, and by acting as an efficient team member. When Marissa Nuñez, who was a high schooler at the time, first applied for this job at McDonald’s, she probably did not apply with the intent of becoming a more responsible and efficient individual. However, as time went on and she utilized the skills she obtained from working long and hard at McDonald’s, Marissa Nuñez found herself transitioning from a high school student to a

Rebecca Hawkins likes to practice the motivational theory, in which she believes that if she motivates her employees their job or

To ensure sales and profitability in the long run, most businesses aim for great customer satisfaction. I believe the site I have selected will provide me with the best opportunity to study my social problem because coffee shops like Starbucks is one of the most leading and famous coffee outlet chains that operate all across the United States. The company has a tremendous goodwill for its unique coffee preparations that suits the mood of its customers. In this observational study I was interested to evaluate the factors that drive customer satisfaction at Starbucks. I think that the physical layout of the space of this Starbucks coffee shop in particular was a great location to help shape social interaction because it is a connected to a bookstore as well. It is very quiet and peaceful on the inside and the aroma of freshly brewed coffee is heavenly. It is a calm Thursday evening. I wanted to relate this study with issues of interpersonal relation that affects the

Ordinarily the average person pays little attention to the workers in any establishment, here at the coffee shop the employees are the staple of the organization. Each employee is unique in their own way, there are visible tattoos and piercings on some, others are clean cut. The employees all act very professional and are very respectful to all consumers as they enter their workplace. The cultural background of the employees alone paints a diverse picture. The focal point of all businesses is the employees, these particular ones are all cheerful and seem to be very hard working. The camaraderie of the workers is visible from the moment someone walks in the door. They work systematically to complete the orders as accurately as possible, some work in tandem as others work individually. Nevertheless, this is a team environment, with hand signals and abbreviated words, these coworkers clearly are striving for excellence. They joke around with each other in a light hearted manner as one works the coffee machine as others are preparing the cream and milk.

P.1  Day, Starbucks’ senior vice president of Administration in North America, said, “Do we believe what our customers are telling us about what constitutes ‘excellent’ customer service? And if we deliver it, what will the impact be on our sales and profitability?”

The simple idea of asking the name of the customer their name opens the door to a relationship not normally shared between customer and worker (Michelli, 2007). “Make it Your Own” applies to much more than simply the store that each barista works at, but to the company name as a whole (Michelli, 2007). The entire branding of Starbucks holds a reputation and the actions of each and every employee affects it; a cheerful barista positively affects the reputation of the entire company (Michelli, 2007). Each employee is charged with the mission to get involved in both the company and the community and be a positive representation of the Starbucks name (Michelli, 2007).

In October 2012, Starbucks Corp’s senior vice president addressed a large crowd of company managers and leaders and recited the following “ "I can 't tell you all how humbling it is to be on this stage ... knowing all the work and care and love that went into this coffee that now sits in your hand” (www.hreonline.com). This pronouncement by executive management exemplifies the value that Starbucks not only places on it employees but on strategic human resource management. The company has deliberately set a tone in which each employee recognizes the value of their effort and how it is integrated into the final product.

Starbucks- New baristas go through a coffee tasting session of the store manager’s favorite coffee beverage. This in turn displays the manager’s passion for coffee, thus instilling it in the new

Starbucks also values making human connections and nurturing the human spirit. Customers are what drive and move this company forward; laughing and talking with its customers is at the forefront of Starbucks values. Allowing transference to occur with customers and employees creates a home-style, “get-to-know-you,” type feeling. Making these connections helps to elevate the spirit of the person who buys the coffee and is one of many reasons people enjoy sitting in the café to drink and chat with friends. These small moments help to generate a positive energy for all who enter the store. Starbucks stores have a sense of inviting warmth to them because Starbucks is concerned about the positive energy it creates from making connections with people.

Starbucks’ front-line staff and main representatives are carefully selected, motivated and empowered to develop long-term customer relationships. A barista in any of their stores should reflect not only conscientiousness in service processes and etiquette, but demonstrate genuine care for customers (Starbucks Apprenticeship Barista Mastery and Customer Service, n.d.). Furthermore, Starbucks has implemented a three tiered rewards program to drive loyalty amongst repeat Starbucks card members. The Starbucks Card aims to provide convenience, and increase the frequency of purchases by members. Customers are encouraged to become members of Starbucks through receiving a free beverage upon joining, after which they recieve a free cake with a beverage purchase in their birthday month, and receiving a personalized Gold Card. This not only forms a deeper bond between Starbucks and their customers due to feeling like a “member” of their organization, but consistent maintenance of this deep bond through continuous reminders that members receive a superior and exclusive service experience from Starbucks. (Starbucks.com.sg,

A company that I frequently visit on a semi-regular basis is Starbucks. Starbucks is a popular company that is recognized internationally and specializes in premium roast coffee, as well as other beverages. Starbucks, according to The Richest, is currently the power house of the coffee world. They are not only known for selling high quality coffee, but also providing an inviting atmosphere with good music and comfortable seats. Starbucks’ mission is, “to inspire and nurture the human spirit one person, one cup and one neighborhood at a time”. The company’s success can be credited to this distinctive mission.

Starbucks believes that its clients’ needs, or rather preferences, are diverse and if it has to make a difference from the standard products their competitors are offering, then it has to diverse the products and the services offered. In ensuring that this is happening, Starbucks offer diverse products and ensures too that the methods it uses to distribute these different products is also diverse. Note it has successively served airlines, hotels learning institutions, select retailers and many more diverse customers. Much focus is given on how every customer is served as this keeps them coming back. This is something Howard Schultz himself had to get down into it and thus he taught his employees on how to be friendly to the customers. The employees’ friendliness established an emotional attachment with the clients; something that was achieved through employee trainings.

Starbuck’s main decision needing to be made is to determine whether they should allocate $40 million to extra labor in order to better satisfy their customers. Starbuck’s believes that they have created a recession proof product; however, recent marketing research determined that is not the case. Customer satisfaction has been steadily declining and their customer’s perceptions on what determines excellent customer service has changed in recent years. This change in customer perceptions is due in part to the fact that their customer base has shifted to a younger, less educated clientele that hold different attitudes toward Starbucks than the previous

I like Starbuck’s menu, and particularly hot White Chocolate Mocha, skim milk with no whip cream. For the purpose of this assignment, I decided to sit in one of Starbuck’s stores located in Virginia and observe its environment. This Starbucks store is located inside the Tysons mall. I have been to this particular store before, but this time it was very surprisingly different in many ways. I did not have anything specific to monitor when I first entered the place. I sat on the Café bar so I can view the three seating sections at the place. There were 5 employees in the store with two standing at the cashier, one taking pre-orders, and two others making the orders. I took a book with me to infer that I am a student, while