Howard Schultz: belief

Transcript context

…Yes. Here’s my second one in addition to it’s addictive but delightful. It is perceived to be virtuous to be a barista, where it is not perceived to be virtuous to flip burgers. I don’t know if that’s something Starbucks created, I don’t know if that’s something inherent to the product, I don’t know if that’s because it has this Italian lineage, but there’s all these incredible benefits that Starbucks and any other coffee house chains get to enjoy because it’s respected to do that work. I’m curious, why do you think that’s respected when similar ways of spending your hours in restaurant work isn’t? First of all, I’ve never heard it quite like that, and I think that’s a very interesting insight. There is craft and art to the expression of making the beverage. I also think the intimacy of the relationship with the customer is so different. Baristas know the names of their customers. They know their dog’s name. We have a drive through. I saw a video where the barista knows the name of the dog. The whole thing is just a magical dance that happens when the cars pull in and all of a sudden it’s not a transaction. One of the beauties that we have been able to do is elevate the experience of the drive-through not all the time. I think your question is steeped in one is a commoditized environment, and the other clearly is not. The challenge for Starbucks is continuing to innovate for the barista. In this category, to extend that point you start from a place of this a good job, and you can improve the experience for that employee so they can improve the experience for your customers. Whereas in other things that are commoditized, they start from a position of, I have to do this job. it’s a really tough uphill battle to invest in your people, whereas Starbucks has a tailwind.…

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