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The Starbucks Experience, by Joseph Michelli

The first time I encountered Starbucks was when I moved to Vancouver in 1992, and Starbucks was a cool, little company in the Pacific Northwest. I didn’t know the words “user experience” then, but even in 1992, realized then that it was a company that created an in-crowd feeling by using its own vocabulary and in-store culture. I was curious, then, to read The Starbucks Experience to see what the deal was. I’d lost a few feel-good points over Starbucks, but not because it had grown to be a large chain - I never got that “now that you’re successful, we have you” vibe. My beef was that Starbucks sued a little coffee shop inside a kids’ clothing store, in some remote B.C. town, that called itself Starducks or something similar. This from a company that has a name from a character in Battlestar Galactica? In the vein of imitation being the sincerest form of flattery, I didn’t shutting down a little puddleduck shop was a very good corporate move. Aside from that, however, I was impressed with what the book outlined as their five corporate principles for creating great user experiences. I wish all executives with retail operations would read this book and implement the principles throughout their organization.

Like so many people, I had the experience of working in the service industry while putting myself through university.  This included a 4 year ‘tour of duty’ in the trenches at Starbucks in Vancouver.  As such, I am able to tell you that Starbuck’s is actually named after a character from ‘Moby Dick’. I believe he was the first mate or some other minor character. 

‘Why the Moby Dick reference?’ you might ask… being from Seattle and originating in Pike Place Market (known for it’s fish), Starbucks claims to have a “sea faring” heritage… hence the name and the mermaid logo which used to be much more provocative.  Do you recall the old logo with the bare-chested mermaid holding her leg-like tails invitingly up in the air?  Starbucks changed the logo in response to public pressure.  It seems that even as a cartoon we can’t handle the sight of women’s breasts in public… but I’m getting off topic… There used to be a small independent coffee shop that I would frequent while waiting for my bus.  The owner and I would chat while I chugged my espresso on my way to class, not because he was programmed to by a corporate directive, but because he just liked talking to people and took an interest in my life.  I far preferred going there than the larger chain stores because his customer service was genuine.

My point is, despite the appearance of progressiveness and social activism in many companies, it really is only genuine when a company is small and (like a teenager) still retains it’s youthful idealism.  After a company grows, particularly after going public, I have a hard time trusting the sincerity of corporate principles and mission statements etc… Would they have cared about ‘Starducks’ or public pressure about the logo before they became a large public corporation? I suspect not.

Customer service is important, but as a consumer, I want to feel that it’s genuine… sincere, and not just a tool to sell coffee and boost profit margins.  Sadly, this is my impression after working there.  This book, describing “boardroom strategies, employee motivation tips, community involvement, and customer satisfaction” as a means to “build a more successful business” only serves to re-enforce my impression.