Not!

When is customer service NOT customer service?

I was at my favorite Starbucks last night and I got the distinct feeling that I was in their way. I appreciate a clean store, that's part of good customer service. But I don't like to feel unwanted or in the way while the crew starts cleaning before the store closes so they can run out as soon as they push the customers out the door at precisely closing time.

It's not the economy, because they've been doing this for years, trying to save money by not paying anyone after store closing hours. It's just plain poor customer service. I'm sure I'm not the only one who notices. You're sitting and enjoying your coffee, and maybe some conversation, when the crew starts to close the store while you're still in it - and it's not closing time yet. Surely they could wait until they close to start the cleaning, or at least just do the little things that the customers don't notice. But to get out the broom, move the tables and chairs, and sweep within a millimeter of your feet while you're trying to relax is just too much.

Mac Attack

I'm sitting in Starbucks, supposedly getting back to work on my book, which has been on hold while I've been doing the webinar series. So far I've written a couple of emails and read the paper, but no writing. And now it's time to go home, eat, finish my ironing, and go to bed (and watch some Olympics while I eat).

As I sit here, I see two other people working on their computers, and we're all using our Macs. I've noticed a lot more Macs lately, at least among the Starbucks crowd. I wonder if there's any sort of correlation there.

I've been considering the new iPhone, but haven't felt the need just yet. They're cool, but do I really need all that stuff? I use my phone to make calls. I only recently started texting, and I don't have a camera on the phone. I discovered how to set the alarm last week, but I know it does some other things that I either don't use or don't know about, so do I really need email, web, GPS, and who knows what else? Probably not. Still...

Working and working out

I got some work done today, and I got a workout in. Quite productive for a Sunday. I started the day by participating in the Life Foundation's annual AIDS Walk for Life. It was a big crowd today, looked even bigger than last year. Last year they raised $175,000, and this year they were aiming for $200,000. Even with the tough economy, there were plenty of supporters out today.

Then I came home, grabbed my computer and headed down to Starbucks to get some work done. I get more work done there than I do at home. Too many distractions here, and too quiet. I need activity around to concentrate. If it's too quiet, my mind wanders. I guess the noise and activity helps me focus. Especially if I'm writing I have to head to Starbucks. That's where I wrote my first book and that's where I'm writing the upcoming one. I've got to get this one wrapped up and out in the bookstores. Doesn't do anyone any good sitting on my computer and in my head. I'm adding some "mini case studies", highlighting organizations that are doing well the things that I discuss in the book. I'm focusing in organizations that I know about or are introduced to me, and ones that aren't the typical organizations you read about in other books. So if any of you know of any organizations that are performing well in their operational areas, please pass on a contact to me so I can give them a call. Any type of organization; non-profit, manufacturing, service, healthcare, arts, even government agencies.

I got waylaid for a while before I started work, visiting with a friend over coffee, but then I got some writing in. Besides finishing up the book, I've got to work on a webinar series I'll be presenting in July and August for APICS. It will be a six-session series related to the topic of my first book. The working title for the series, as of now, is Selecting the Right Tools for the Job. More on that later, as it gets closer. They haven't even announced it yet. I just signed the agreement last weekend.

Then, after working for a while, I had the urge to exercise. That doesn't happen as often as it should, or as often as it used to, but I really need to get back in shape. Supposedly, I'm in training for this years Honolulu marathon. If I run it, it will be my fourth. There's no good reason I can't do it this year, and no good reason I can't improve my time. Just got to keep the motivation up. So I actually did a little weights workout before heading out for a run. I have some weights out on the lanai (that's porch for you mainlanders), so I can just go out there and lift whenever I want. Again, that's not as often as it should be. But I did a few quick exercises before the run. Since I'm still ramping up after being a slug for so long, my running is slow. I should say slower than usual, since I'm not a fast runner anyway. But I got a few miles in before I had to take a walk break. I ran, with some walk breaks, for about 50 minutes. Not too shabby. Still got a long ways to go, but it's a good start. Need to run for 1-hour at least three times a week for marathon training. From past experience, I need to run at least an hour at least two days a week, then about an hour and a half for another one or two days, then a long run on Sunday. Sunday, because that's marathon day, so the body needs to get in the right rhythm.

Then I took a nap.

Got some reading in, a tiny bit more work, now getting ready to head out for a wake for a friends kitty who passed away. Don't laugh. Anybody who has pets will understand.

Will have to workout tomorrow just to run off the beers. Oh well.

Great marketing doesn’t make a great company

You can’t argue that Starbucks is an impressive company. From a small local coffee shop in Seattle to a global behemoth, they’ve changed the coffee experience for a whole generation. Long a tradition in Europe, the gourmet coffee shop culture hit the U.S. not too long ago (OK, I can’t remember when it hit big time, but it wasn’t that long ago). There have been coffee shops around for quite awhile, and there’s always been the quintessential (I like to throw big words in every once in awhile so you think I’m smart) American diner with diner coffee, but the explosion of the coffee culture is a recent phenomenon here. And Starbucks is the undisputed leader.

But what is Starbucks, really. In my opinion (to save me from any legal issues, this is my OPINION), Starbucks can’t make a decent cup of coffee to save their lives. And don’t get me started on their, so called, espresso, my drink of choice. But given that, they sure are successful. In some places you can’t spit without hitting a Starbucks. The cartoons kidding about opening a Starbucks in a Starbucks is not far off the mark it seems. So they’re successful, but at what.

To me, Starbucks is a marketing company. They’ve introduced coffee (one choice, extra dark and bitter) to the masses. They’ve raised coffee from a commodity to a premium product. They’ve pioneered the concept of cannibalizing sales of an existing store to raise total sales. You’ve seen it, they’ll put a store right across the street from an existing store, which takes sales from the existing store, but increases overall sales by attracting customers who wouldn’t go to that existing store for one reason or another (traffic patterns, parking, laziness, etc.). Genius.

But great marketing doesn’t make a great company. They’re processes are broken, or were never designed well in the first place. As I said, I’m an espresso man (and for the best espresso I’ve had, the gold standard, head over to The Steps of Rome caffé in San Francisco). Now espresso should never touch paper. It’s a ceramic cup, demitasse, or nothing (well, unless you’re in an airport where you take what you can get). So I order a “double espresso for here”. That concept is beyond many of the new employees, the “for here” thing. I guess they often skip over that part in Starbucks school (less than stellar training process). Then the fun begins.

They’re set up to move people through as quick as possible. Depending on the time of day and how busy it is, the number of employees waiting on customers varies. But usually, one person takes the order and takes your money. They grab a cup and write the codes on it for whatever you’re ordering. These are paper and plastic cups. To go. Not for here. So that’s what they’re set up for. To get an espresso for here they have to write the code on a small sticky, about the size of a band-aid (can I say that, or do I have to say Band-Aid brand adhesive bandage?). So the person making the drinks is used to grabbing the coded cups, not the coded sticky. So the sticky frequently goes unnoticed or lost in the shuffle. This is not good from the customer’s perspective (me). I end up waiting. I usually stand right up at the counter so they see me and wonder why I’ve been standing there so long. Sometimes I ask if they’re making my espresso. Sometimes the person who took my order notices me standing there with my thumb up my butt, waiting. Standing there like a dissatisfied customer. But, hey, I’m just a guy with a $2 espresso, not a $5 mocha lotta quadruple pump soy half foam chunk ‘o licious fru fru whatever. Then today, just to throw me over the edge, they give me a single espresso instead of the double I ordered and paid for. They even handed me the single espresso while saying “here’s your double espresso”. Poor service makes me cranky. Broken processes make me cranky. It doesn’t have to be that way.

Of course, I say this as I sit in Starbucks yet again. I wrote my first book here and I’m writing my next book here, so obviously it has some appeal. The greatest appeal is its proximity to my house. The fact that they have numerous outlets to plug into is another appeal, as is the general coffee shop culture, and the constant buzz of activity that helps me work. I find I concentrate better when there’s activity and some noise around, it helps me focus. I can’t be the only one who works better this way, because there are a lot of people who come here to work. I’ve seen the same people here for years. The students come and go, but some of them camp out here for a couple of years at a time.

So I’m not bashing Starbucks, I just think they have some improvement to do. Better to do it now, when you’re at the top of the heap, then when the competition gets tougher and you have to fight for customers. Fix your process, make better espresso, and offer different roasts of coffee.

And just what makes a great organization? Delighted customers. Customers who are happy, satisfied, get exactly what they want, and sometimes things they didn’t even know they wanted. Effective processes. Processes that work towards achieving the organization’s strategic objectives. Processes that have defined goals, are efficient in achieving those goals, do not waste time, effort, or money in achieving those goals. Processes that are clear and understandable, and are measurable. Organizations that stand out above the crowd with their internal practices, how they treat their employees and how they go about achieving their goals. And organizations that give back to the community, locally, and globally if they are able. Organizations that treat their customers and their non-customers alike with respect and dignity.

I’m done now.