What I've Learned From
Starbucks
HUMAN RESOURCES
Have you ever lost a long-term customer because of
"one thing?" By Debra Thompson
In 2008 Schultz, then president and
chairman of Starbucks, made the unprec-
edented decision to return as the CEO
eight years after he stepped down from
daily oversight of the company and
became chairman. Concerned that Star-
bucks had lost its way, Schultz was deter-
mined to help it return to its core values
and restore not only its financial health,
but also its soul. In Onward, he shares
the remarkable story of his return and
the company's ongoing transformation
under his leadership, revealing how, dur-
ing one of the most tumultuous eco-
nomic times in history, Starbucks again
achieved profitability and sustainability
without sacrificing humanity.
It came down to revisiting the measures
of success. Starbucks had gone away from
its basic principles about quality and
service and began to measure success
in terms of how many new stores were
opened and how many millions of new
customers were being reached instead of
realizing it was about one customer and
one cup of coffee at a time. They had
forgotten that it's not just about winning,
but the right way to win or to be success-
ful, and properly defining what success
needs to be.
In the book, Schultz writes: "How could
one imperfect cup of coffee, one unquali-
fied manager, or one poorly located store
matter when millions of cups of coffee
were being served in tens of thousands of
Y
ears ago I learned the signifcance of the expres-
sion, "One Awe-Crap will erase 100 Atta Boys."
Recently, I read the book Onward by Howard
Schultz, who was able to articulate that lesson in
a more elegant manner.
Onward makes this point: "Our partners'
(baristas') attitudes and actions have
such great potential to make our custom-
ers feel something, Delighted, maybe. Or
tickled. Special. Grateful. Connected."
But that is not possible if the baristas
do not have a good feeling about the
company. So the owner has to create the
culture that makes the employees feel
special, appreciated, and connected to
the vision.
In our business we must focus on get-
ting the "ones" right. Not eliminating
that one mistake that could ruin a good
relationship. That means that at each
hand-off of the product or service, there
is the confidence that each step has been
handled correctly and that the emerging
product or service is going to be right in
every way and that the customer will feel
"delighted" each and every time. ◗◗
Debra Thompson is President of TG &
Associates, a consulting firm specializing in
human resources for the graphics industry.
She can be reached toll-free at 877-842-7762
or debra@tgassociates.com. Visit www.tgas-
sociates.com for help in finding, developing
and retaining top performers, and the tools
to help motivate them for success.
stores? We for-
get that 'ones'
add up."
This state-
ment struck
home with me. I asked myself, "How
could one imperfect printed brochure,
one unqualified manager or employee, or
one unhappy customer matter when we
are dealing with hundreds of customers
and producing a wide variety of products
involving thousands of printed materi-
als every year?" Then I remembered, the
"ones" add up. How many of you have
lost a long term customer because of
"one thing," and how it was handled?
The printing and mailing industry is
a relationship industry. It is not about a
business serving another business; it is
about the people in the printing com-
pany providing a service to the people in
the customer business. It is a continuum
of one-on-one relationships to provide
the right product at the right time at the
right price. Even more important is that
the printing and mailing company itself
is built on one-on-one relationships.
From the time an order is received until
the product is delivered to the customer,
success depends on hand-offs from one
employee to another.
In many of my articles, I have empha-
sized the importance of creating a vision
and hard-wiring a culture that is focused
on achieving that vision. One section in
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