Business Report - Starbucks

This report gives an analysis of the customer service of the local Starbucks store that is located at Friendly Ave in Greensboro, North Carolina. A particular report is written with an aim to provide a detailed assessment of the customer service based on personal observations as well as credible online sources (Ruiz), the website of the Starbucks Company and online customers’ reviews. I visited the Starbucks shop two times and communicated with the manager of the store and the barista.

The report offers a description of the behaviors of the manager and barista when they communicate with four different customers. Each behavior is assessed with respect to the general environment of the store, the Starbucks’ standards of the customer service and the personal implications of sustainable customer care. The report counts the instances of each behavior in order to define the behaviors that are common for the staff of the store and the behaviors that do not take place.

In addition, the report gives an assessment of personal positive and negative behavioral observations and provides recommendations to the management regarding the improvement of customer services.

Store Environment

I arrived at the Starbucks store located on Friendly Ave, Greensboro, NC early in the morning on Thursday. However, it seemed that 8 a.m. was an early hour only for the one person at the store – for me. The store is situated near the campus of Guilford College, it opens at 5:30 a.m., and at 8 a.m. there is a busy hour. Many people, who start working day at 8-9 o’clock visit Starbucks place for a cup of morning coffee. So, the environment was awake but quiet. A barista at a counter had a small queue of two people waiting. I decided to follow the general order and became the third person in a turn. The employee greeted me with a mild smile and asked how she could help me. I ordered a small cup of latte, and only then told that I came for fulfilling my task. The girl was very friendly and helpful, she asked my name and the place where I study. Besides, she said her name, Kaitlyn, and said she had studied at the same college as I. Kaitlyn was a tall, slim girl with white skin and blond hair. She looked young; I supposed she was 23-25 years old. She wore the uniform of Starbucks - black T-shirt and green apron (Starbucks.com, “Your Special Blend”), her overall look was neat and clean. She had light causal makeup and French-manicured short nails. Her hair was accurately tied in a high ponytail. After the short conversation with me, Kaitlyn called the manager. The manager on shift was a White American 27-30 year’s old male. He also wore a Starbucks uniform – black T-shirt with Starbucks’ logo and beige jeans. His badge was marked with the name Matthew Swider. He was friendly and helpful. I asked his permission to work on my project. The manager gave his go-ahead and asked whether he could help me with additional information. I thanked and said that I just need to make two visits and observe the customer service. Matthew said that I can come to the store anytime I want during working hours. It happened that during my second visit that was at 3 p.m. on Saturday, I met the same staff- Kaitlyn with Matt.

Management Behavior

During my first visit, when I met the manager Matthew Swider for the first time, I noticed his easygoing character and kind behavior. He did his work with passion and appreciation. I stayed for an hour, and during this time, Matthew came to the counter for two times to ask Kaitlyn whether everything is fine. He checked the cleanliness of the counter place and made sure that Kaitlyn manages to serve customers without a long queue. Besides, he was standing near Kaitlyn and greeting people with a mild smile and personal questions. It seemed that he knew all the regular customers of the store personally. Particular attention to customers and personal handling created the impression of one big family. Besides, I noticed that Matthew was very grasping. The second time I came to the store, he greeted me calling my name and asked about my report. Once again, he offered his help with the project and made sure that I received everything I need.

First-Day Customer and Employee Behaviors

The first day of my visit was on the 26th of March (Thursday), morning time. After I received the approval of the manager to perform my task, I took the free table and opened my notes to write down the observations. A few minutes later (8:32 a.m.), the door was opened and two young ladies of 18-20 years entered the Starbucks shop. They were actively discussing their preparation for the Psychology class test. Thus, I understood that both ladies were the classmates and students of Guilford College. Both of them were African American and spoke English. The lady number One was tall, slim, and had long curly black hair. She wore black jeans and a casual violet jacket. The lady number Two was smaller, had short red-colored hair. The girls went to the counter and greeted Kaitlyn. They called her by name, so I understood that they visited the Starbucks caf? often and knew the barista in person. Kaitlyn greeted them with an open smile, and asked about the order with the phrase “Two Vanilla Frappuccino, as usual?” The lady number One smiled, gave a bank card to Kaitlyn, and answered “as usual!” continuing her conversation with her mate. The whole ordering process looked like the customers fully relied on the knowledge and expertise of Kaitlyn. That was a kind of a “silent understanding” moment. Kaitlyn handed back the card with a check and went to prepare the drinks. Two minutes later she served two cups of Vanilla Frappuccino and wished a nice day to her customers. The barista did her work very quickly and accurately. Besides, she behaved in a very friendly manner with customers serving them with pleasure and smile.

At 8:40 a.m. Kaitlyn had another customer. It was a middle-aged white American man. I guess he was 30-35 years old. He wore an official suit and was in a hurry. All his actions were quick and sharp. Kaitlyn gave a modest smile and asked how she could help him. The man asked to prepare a strong coffee-to-go. Kaitlyn quickly asked him, if he preferred Americano or Espresso. The man said “Americano, sugar-free, please” and put a 10-dollar bill. Kaitlyn answered “Sure, just a minute, please”, prepared a coffee, handed the change and the cup of ready-made Americano. The man thanked her without expressive emotions. Kaitlyn answered him, “My pleasure, sir” and gave the second modest smile. She was serving this customer with respect to his time and emotions. She was not treating him in a peer-friendly manner as she behaved with ladies ten minutes ago. However, she was apt and effective.

Second-Day Customer and Employee Behaviors

When I came to the Starbucks store on Saturdays afternoon, the place seemed to be busier than the first time. There was only one free table. I met Matthew and he asked whether I needed something. He also invited me to take the free table, but I denied saying that the table may be taken by the customers. Nevertheless, Matthew gave me a chair and invited me to sit near the bar counter.

• The first customer contact was observed at 01:50 p.m. An elderly White American couple with gray hair came to a counter. Both of them wore jeans, jackets, and sneakers. Kaitlyn greeted customers with a mild smile. Once again, it looked as if they repeated customers of a particular place. Barista asked about the order. The man ordered Cappuccino, the lady asked for a Caramel Macchiato. The barista asked if the couple wanted to order anything additional to a coffee. They refused. The couple was familiar with the menu of Starbucks, so they did not think of what to order. Kaitlyn prepared the coffee, handed to customers and wished them a nice time.
• The second customer-contact was observed at 02:10 p.m. Kaitlyn greeted a young Hispanic lady (approximately 23-25 years old) with a three-year-old baby-girl. The employee looked happy to serve the lady with a child. Her face was marked with an open smile. A customer spoke “bad English” with the Spanish accent. She asked for a cup of Latte and a chocolate muffin. Kaitlyn prepared the order and handed it to a woman. The girl whipped out a muffin. Kaitlyn addressed a girl asking, “Do you like our muffins, honey?” The baby was not confused by the question, and answered loudly “I love chocolate!” Both, her mother and Kaitlyn, laughed for a while. Then, as usual, Kaitlyn wished a customer to have a nice day. In addition, she said “goodbye” to a kid and invited to Starbucks the next time. The woman with a child took a table for a meal. When they finished and aimed at a door, Matthew, the manager of the store, noticed that they have forgotten the child’s bag. He took a bag and quickly caught up a woman in order to give back a bag. He was helpful and respectful. He wished good luck and invited to visit Starbucks place again.

Evaluations of Observations and Recommendations

Throughout the observations of Starbucks’ employees’ behaviors in interactions with customers, with me and with each other I noticed only positive features. The place was kept clean and accurate. Both a manager Matthew and a barista Kaitlyn wore Starbucks uniform. They looked neat and fresh. Kaitlyn and Matthew did their work with a positive attitude and created a friendly, encouraging atmosphere at a place. According to Ciotti, excellent customer service should be equipped with many features, among which are patience, attentiveness, clear communication skills, knowledge of the products, positive language and ability to read customers. In my view, Kaitlyn (the person who is responsible for customer service at Starbucks shop) has excellent customer care skills. She remembers customers’ tastes that reflect her attentiveness. She is able to read customers. For example, during my first visit on Thursday, she quickly switched her style of negotiation in a friendly manner when she communicated with two young Black American students to more official with the White American man. The behavior of the man showed Kaitlyn that he was in a hurry and she tried to minimize the talk and prepare the order quickly. Kaitlyn was knowledgeable and suggested to customers the appropriate menu options. Matthew also had an impact on the environment of the place. He was friendly to all visitors, including me. Besides, he tried to help me with my project. This means that the corporate culture of the company is very high. Matthew tried to be helpful in the work process. He asked Kaitlyn whether she needed his help and was ready to help the Hispanic woman with a child. According to the data from the US Census Bureau, the population of Greensboro includes White Americans, Black Americans, Hispanic, Asian and other ethnical groups. Therefore, it is essential to be equally polite and helpful to all groups. Kaitlyn and Matthew communicated with White, Black, and Hispanic and reflected an unbiased, helpful attitude to all customers.

I have checked Starbucks’ website in order to find out, whether the behaviors of the staff correspond to the mission of the company. The mission of the company is to inspire and nurture the human spirit – “one person, one cup and one neighborhood at a time” (Starbucks.com, “Our Mission”). In fact, I can agree that the behaviors of Matthew and Kaitlyn reflect the mission of Starbucks. They try to make every visit to their store pleasant and memorable for the customers. During my visits to the store I observed frequently friendly, courteous, professional behaviors. I did not observe negative emotions, problematic situations or dissatisfied customers. Besides, I did not observe ignored or rushed behaviors at all. The reviews of Starbucks that could be found at their Facebook profile are also very pleasant (Facebook.com). It seemed that everything was in place and in perfect order. My recommendation is to go ahead and follow their high standards. Besides, I suggest equipping the store with special small gifts for children. Thus, a visit would become memorable for children and they would ask parents to come back.

Conclusion

I visited the Starbucks store for my observations of customer care in order to give an assessment of the customer service and provide some recommendations for the management. All in all, the observed interactions showed a high level of corporate culture, excellent customer service and positive attitude among colleagues. Starbucks staff is dedicated to creating an inspirational atmosphere that provides people with positive memorable emotions. I hope that this company follows such a high standard in customer service and promote the responsible services among other companies.