The Employee Factor

My favorite brand just doesn’t get it. It has recently reported that the average customer traffic at Starbucks Corp.'s U.S. stores fell during the company's fourth quarter for the first time, a sign that the Seattle coffee giant is having difficulty attracting customers as it moves into the holiday season.

What was Starbucks response to declining traffic? Starbucks planned to launch its first national television-advertising campaign. In an interview, Chief Executive Jim Donald called the campaign "a very culturally sensitive, product-driven" effort. He said Starbucks is getting into TV advertising because "as we grow our stores, we're trying to attract more customers who haven’t had the chance to experience Starbucks.

Huh?

I don’t think an ad campaign is what Starbucks needs right now. I have also reduced my visits to Starbucks. Why? Let me list the reasons,

• Employees don’t make an effort to get to know their customers – not even the regular ones.
• Employees don’t welcome you or thank you for your business.
• Employees are not making the same effort in creating that true Starbucks coffee experience – mistakes are happening too often with no apology/compensation for the inconvenience.
• The line-ups are too long for such an expensive coffee experience.
• The stores are not as clean as they used to be – counters are dirty; cups aren’t organized, tables are not cleaned off.
• There isn’t enough comfortable seating – which is part of the whole “home away from home experience.”

So what does all of this mean? I would suggest that Starbucks spend time energizing and engaging its workforce. I would be willing to bet that the engagement level of the employee base is on the decline. Why would I say that – all of what I have listed above is evidence that employees are not fully engaged.