Starbucks : Delivering Customer Service

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PROBLEM STATEMENT

Starbucks has discovered that they are not always meeting their customers’ expectations in the area of customer satisfaction. Starbucks has to come up with an action plan to address this issue, considering its significant correlation and impact to sales and profitability.

SITUATION ANALYSIS

Company

Starbucks is acclaimed for its superior value proposition in the early 1990’s by creating an experience around the consumption of coffee, a ‘third place’. The brand is positioned to offer the highest quality coffee, close customer intimacy, and warm atmosphere or ambience.

Customers

However, data from the market research team has shown that there is a shift on Starbucks’ brand recognition in customers’ perception, as indicated by the increase in the number of respondents who strongly agreed with the following statements (data 2000 and 2001 respectively):

‘Starbucks cares primarily about making money’ --> up from 53% to 61%

‘Starbucks cares primarily about building more stores’ --> up from 48% to 55%

Exhibit 1, ‘The Top Five Attributes Consumers Associate with Starbucks Brand’, has further convinced the fact that being welcomed - only 39% respondents strongly agree - is the last attribute among the five.

While this market research data might partially be true, there is another justification confirming its validity. Although there are significant changes and expansions in customer base and demographic profiles, customers tend to use the stores the same way from 1990’s to 2000’s. Unfortunately, newer customers tend to have lower appreciation towards Starbucks’ brand (Exhibit 2).

These findings are quite daunting even though revenues from these years remain positive and increasing. Sooner or ...

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... for this training. It is also necessary to make sure it is not overdone and get to the point of being annoying instead of friendly and helpful.

Implement a reward system for employees based on customer satisfaction. It can be tied directly to bonus or an award like ‘Best Employee of the Month’.

Present an incentive programs through Starbucks’ SVC (stored-value card) such as free 1 cup after 10 purchases. The free cup can be limited in price, size, or even the products themselves. The SVC is proven to be successful in terms of reducing transaction times and doubling the number of visits to Starbucks. With the additional deal, it is no doubt that more customers will use this card.

As far as the contradiction data provided by company’s Customer Snapshot, it is compulsory to revisit the frequency, methods, attributes measured, and acceptance standard of this practice.

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