Lately, I have prided myself on reading a chapter of a good book everyday. At this time I am reading the book entitled “Onward” by Howard Schultz, the C.E.O of Starbucks. This book was given to me by Joanna Fitzgerald, a Starbucks Barista. Thanks Jojo! Yeah, I know what you are thinking “What else would I be reading with a company called Javaboi Industries Inc.” Today I thought I would uncover an AHA moment I discovered while reading Chapter 22. As you know I am trying to do whatever I can to make Javaboi a family brand that everyone loves and can count on for a “Freshly Brew’d Smile”. I have embraced the Go-Getter-Lifestyle, and add a little bit of “Cute Coffee Awesomeness” in every product I produce. However, I think what makes my brand a bit different is Jasen Dill, Joelle Salviati, Franki Johnson, Jasmin Ortiz, Kristy Maczuba, Jake Bray, Wendy and David Bentley, Megan Harvey, Salamon Gutierrez, Paula Meeks, Rachel Luna, Jessica Manis, Amanda Hunt, Shawna Capot, Dana Lowther & Dillon, Natima Nichole and many more. I am sorry if I didn’t include your name here but I could go on and on.. What I am trying to illustrate is the fact that I know my fans (friends) on a “more than customer” level. That is what makes company’s stand out in this world full of technology and diminishing attention spans. The company, and company owner who knows what is going on in the lives of his/her customers will always have a visceral following. But I digress. I would like to take this time to read and excerpt from “Onward” the book that inspired todays post
In September 2008, the debate about what the fall of Wall street meant for Main Street was in full swing, and I left Seattle to do a scheduled tour of Starbucks stores in Los Angeles as part of a board meeting. Cliff and two of our directors were visiting stores with me. At a Starbucks in downtown LA, after visiting with the Baristas, Clara Rolan, the store’s manager- who began at Starbucks as a barista in 2003- took us in the back office for a private conversation to discuss her store’s performance. I wanted to know what was selling, and what was not. And what she was witnessing with customers.
“With the economy so bad,” I asked Clara. “How do you keep customers coming back?” Clara paused for a moment before answering.
“I think it would be better if one of our regular customers answers that question,” Clara said. I was unsure whether having a customer in the back office was a good idea, but I deferred to Clara, who walked out of the room and walked back in with a man in a suit. I could not help but notice he had a gun on his hip. “Don’t worry,” he said, noticing me noticing his pistol. “I’m a police officer.” It turned out he was a detective for the Los Angeles Police Department who frequented Clara’s store two or three times a day.
I asked him directly why he came into Starbucks so often.
“I could just as easily go to a 7-Eleven,” he said matter-of-factly.
Then he shared a conversation that he and his wife had at their kitchen table that past weekend as they reviewed their family’s budget, just as millions of other families had been doing of late. “My wife asked whether I could give up my daily Starbucks.” Standing there in the back room, he recounted his reply. “Let me tell you why I cannot give it up. Because it’s not about a cup of coffee. I have a tough job. I see things on a daily basis that no one should see and experience. But the one good thing I can count on every single day is how the people in that store make me feel.” Then he addressed me directly. “I want to tell you about your employees. They know my kid’s names. They know where I go on vacation. They write notes on my coffee cup. I could be seventh in line and they start making my drink.” The Baristas knew he took his grande nonfat latte with two Splendas, extra hot with no foam.
He added that, as a police officer, he understood the importance of treating every person he came in contact with in his job with respect. “You never know what’s going on in people’s lives when you serve them,” he paused. “For all you know, it could be someone’s last day on earth.” Coming from a detective who had seen his share of trauma, this was not a statement he made in jest. “This is my little escape,” he said he finally told his wife. “You just have to allow me that.” And with that, Officer Kevin Coffey-I swear that was his name, Kevin Coffey- Thanked us for our time, hugged Clara, and walked out.
It is one thing for me to espouse the importance of human connection. But hearing it from a customer was just the boost I needed before meeting with the board.
Thanks for reading.
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