The Starbucks Experience: 5 Principles for Turning Ordinary Into Extraordinary

I received THE STARBUCKS EXPERIENCE as a gift. Since I'm not in the business world by profession, I assume it was given to me because I am a loyal Starbucks customer. Venti Hot Chocolate (sometimes referred to as cocoa) is my usual beverage. I frequent about three different Starbucks and after two visits, the baristas know my drink before I order it. While I have discovered not all Starbucks are created equally, usually the service is good, the employees friendly, the atmosphere comfortable, and the beverage is how I'd like it or pretty close to it. Since Starbucks is still growing and most of the shops seem to be thriving, Starbucks has to be doing something right, and if you're curious as to what it might be, chances are you'll find the answers in this rather interesting volume. Author Joseph Michelli is a motivational speaker for businesses and believes that the success of Starbucks can serve as inspiration for other businesses. He discusses the phenomenal growth of the company and how a successful business can grow from using a product people enjoy but take for granted, turn the use of the product into a pleasant experience, and get results, which is essentially the secret to Starbucks' many achievements in the world of business. Michelli believes that Starbucks is guided buy five principles that make the business successful: 1. Make it your own: all people in the organization feel a true sense of ownership and believe that they have a stake in the success of the company. 2. Everything matters: What goes on behind the counter is just as important as what customers see. Cleanliness, atmosphere, a desired product, customer service, are all important and no detail should ever be overlooked. 3. Surprise and delight: Using as an example the success of Crackerjacks as a snack that people enjoyed that also caught them by surprise when first introduced, Starbucks tries to have new and innovative ways to attract new customers and keep committed customers interested so that the business never becomes static. 4. Embrace resistance: Starbucks, unlike many businesses, does not rely on good public relations to be rid of problems and criticisms. Instead, Starbucks tries to engage in discussions with its dissenters to convince where it's necessary and change when change is what is necessary. Michelli uses Fair Trade policies as a case in point as to how Starbucks has been criticized and how it has responded using this principle. 5. Leave your mark: Making money may be a goal of any business, but businesses also have a responsibility to contribute to the greater good. Starbucks does this through financial transparency, involvement in the community, a commitment to making sure that its suppliers are justly paid, and delivering a quality product. Though Michelli's admiration of Starbucks could lead readers to believe he was hired by Starbucks as a public relations person, writing in the superlative may be a byproduct of his motivational talks. He presents

Management consultant Joseph Michelli spent two years of his life trying to figure out what makes Starbucks such a successful operation. Remember, Howard Shultz the founder of Starbucks took essentially an ordinary cup of coffee. Prior to him, it was sold daily in some of the seediest places on the planet (still is). He elevated it into an art form, presented in a European style environment, and sold it repetitively day in and day out for 4 to 7 times what you pay somewhere else for it. It's an AMAZING STORY It's one of those stories where you say to yourself, this was a NATURAL. Why didn't someone think about doing this? Home Depot, McDonald's, Duncan Donuts, Bed, Bath, & Beyond, all of these operations were naturals, so natural in fact that you would think that someone else would have thought of doing it first. Starbucks is in a class by itself Had you invested $10,000 in the Starbucks IPO in 1992, you would be sitting on $650,000 today. If you had been one of the 100 employees with the company in 1987, and had you stayed with them, you would be looking at 100,000 fellow employees today. Who else has had growth like this? How do you replicate the customer experience every day successfully among 11,000 stores? How do you do it in such a way, that if a customer travels from NYC to Miami, to Detroit, and then on to Chicago, and LA, and into San Diego, you can count on CONSISTENCY in each Starbucks that you would enter? This is such an extraordinarily difficult thing to do, that you will immediately realize how many other great companies including Home Depot along the way, have STUMBLED, when it came to maintaining that unique CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE. This wonderful little book answers all of these questions and more, in less than 200 delightful pages to read. There's more wisdom here than you realize upon first reading Michelli's work. Here's more of what you will learn. There are five critical sections to the book. The author has named them Principles 1 through 5. Each is a separate chapter in the book. They are: 1) MAKE IT YOUR OWN The people who work in the stores, who do the everyday work you see are called PARTNERS, not workers, not employees. The objective is to get a lower level associate functioning in an entrepreneurial fashion. Somehow Starbucks gets it done. Basically, each partner is asked to conduct himself in accordance with what the company calls the "FIVE WAYS OF BEING". A) Be Welcoming B) Be Genuine C) Be Considerate D) Be Knowledgeable E) Be Involved 2) EVERYTHING MATTERS There are two fabulous quotes that are used in this section. We should all memorize them: A) Retail is Detail B) All Business is Detail I was floored by these quotes. When you think about it, Starbucks is completely right. You have to get those DETAILS right. If you do that, the mosaic that you are trying to create between store, coffee and customer - it all comes together. 3) SURPRISE AND DELIGHT It might be opening a store an h

I have not only purchased this for all of my staff members but I have been giving it out to people I know. What a powerful message to any corporation that is looking to do somthing differently and lead by the heart. EXCELLENT BOOK!

FOR SOMEONE THAT IS NOT A "BOOK READER" , I WAS NOT ABLE TO PUT AWAY THIS ONE. IT'S A GUIDE FOR ANYONE WHO IS SEEKING SUCCESS IN ANY ENDEAVOR, TO REMEBER THAT PEOPLE SHOULD COME FIRST.

Ok I bought this book thinking it was going to help me take my small business to the next level and that I could learn about a company I admire - Starbucks. It did that! What I did not expect were the stories or the applicability of these principles to my personal life. Rather than a theoretical or intellectual discussion about what made Starbucks great, the book is more about how everyone of us can make a greater difference. The real and inspirational stories show how taking ownership behind the Starbucks counter (or anywhere else in the company) leads to uplifting, personally gratifying and important "experiences" for customers and Starbucks staff. After reading The Starbucks Experience, I realized how I take shortcuts in business - thinking that no one will notice. Further, it encouraged me to look at how I use criticism to grow and whether I am consistent in my relationships. I am now looking for opportunities to "surprise and delight" those I serve at work and home. I also feel inspired to not only "leave a positive mark" but to encourage those who work for me to do the same. This book was important to me and while its author speaks of some of Starbucks shortcomings, I am glad that the book focused on what the company does right. That focus inspired me to take the principles and create more extraordinary experiences for others in my often ordinary life. Buy it, read it, think about the questions asked in the "ideas to sip on" sections and in the readers quide....you wont be sorry... you will be better for it.