What I Learned From Starbucks This Past Month

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#blogpost - I've been watching Starbucks' business model from inside the cafe this past month and it has really taught me a lot about growing and scaling a business, corporate culture and customer experience. I'm sharing my thoughts about it all here.

The past month, my internet has been flaky. Struggling to connect and at peak traffic times, my T-Mobile hotspot and wireless service don't cut it at all. I live on the outskirts of Northeast Houston. While the coverage map shows magenta, the bars on my phone tell a different story. It doesn't help that I live across the street from the high school, across the highway from a major shopping center and at the intersection of two very busy highways. You probably have the full picture now.

So off to Starbucks I skedaddle. Some days it's 2 hours. Some days it's 8+. So much they know my name, know my order and have told me I'm one of their favorites. ☺️

Now, this ADHD brain loves the flow there. It actually helps me to hyperfocus in but as my thoughts are processing or I'm waiting for chat to process our thinking, I am watching. I love people watching. So Starbies is really great for me.

There's a new store opening in that shopping center I mentioned across from my house. Context you'll want. There's one North of me at another major farm to market road. 8 minutes from my house. The one I go to is 10 minutes South of my house. In the shopping center, there's a store inside a Kroger and a Target but no standalone. So that is what is about to be opened along the westbound feeder road on this major highway this week! EEK!!

Three new people have been training at my store for the new store. Plus, two of my favorite baristas have excitedly told me they are moving to the new store. I say congratulations but my face probably isn't saying that. They will be missed.

Getting to the point... there were two being trained on the same machine by two different trainers on the same shift. So I got curious and asked the key holder /shift manager. This is actually how they staff new stores. That's why Starbucks feels seamless. Why walking into one feels similar to walking into another. New members are trained at an established store and new stores are opened with a mix of seasoned and new staff. Then she said something else fascinating. There's a shift marketplace where you can pick up a shift at any location. 🤯 And if you need to give away a shift... marketplace.

Do you know why this is so exciting to me? Team members can level up to different positions by training. I sat with Diana as she was training on an iPad on the clock. Team members don't just start fresh and alone at a new store to sink or swim. There are seasoned employees there who already know the culture. That marketplace for shifts... means that you can walk in to another location. The stores are set up as close to the same as possible. As an employee, you can pick up different experiences from different locations. A guy from the location North of me was working at the location South of me last week. From a customer perspective... there is a difference!! Their store barely acknowledges when new customers walk in. The South store says HI to every person who walks through the door. And it's not just one person... It's usually several at a time. AND they know the regulars by name!! So it's not just me uniquely. I've learned other customers names now by spending so much time there. I see the same faces at very specific times of the day. To name it... there can be consistency across the brand by splitting those experiences across locations. I did have a quick chat about him coming to the South location and shared that the customer experience was way different "up on the hill" at the North location.

I met a friend and a new friend for a business research meeting at another Starbies about 30 minutes Northwest of my house. Do you know... the store manager talked to me? I told him I felt like I was cheating on my store. He knew the manager of my store and the North location and was talking to me about the new location that was opening. This is in a whole other area of the outskirts of a major metro. <PS... Houston is so huge, you can fit the whole state of Connecticut inside our outside loop. I live on the outside loop.> And you know what else... I felt like I was family. Seriously!

After my nosey conversation with the key holder that day, I started researching what else was available about their business model and what other companies do unique things. Then I got really crazy and asked Claude how I could do a master's level research deep dive into corporate culture, organizational management, business management without spending another $100k on a piece of shiny paper with my name on it. <PS... I'm halfway to a master's in organizational management and 1/3rd the way to a master's in educational leadership.... yes, it's ridiculous>

So that's what I'm going to do. And I'm really excited about the next post. I'm going to share some things I loved about being trained at The Container Store. I learned from the inside and it was one of the best cultures I've ever worked in. Yes, retail! It was great!

See you on the next one!

Oh and a poll for good measure... would this be cool as a video or pod?

Video... this should be on the Tube

Pod... I listen faster

I like the blog format

I'll catch it however you want to throw it

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