Customer Service Review– Starbucks

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I’m an avid coffee drinker and I know what I like – so the idea of going to a coffee shop that specialises in coffee makes a lot of sense to me. Normally Monmouth is my coffee establishment of choice – the coffee is excellent, cost-effective and the assistants don’t mess about. Recently though, my friend and I needed an energy boost on a day out and so decided to give Starbucks a chance. My friend asked for a cappuccino without the cocoa on top, while I ordered a white coffee with a sugar and skimmed milk. I would have thought this would have been a fairly easy order to process…

…I was wrong.

Firstly, I was disappointed with the length of time it took for our drinks to be made. The café wasn’t busy and I would hate to see how long it would have taken if it had been. My friend’s drink arrived along with a tall chocolaty mess covered in cream, with everything but fireworks on top. The barista called the drink’s name out a few times and no-one answered. To resolve this, he asked his colleague whose it was – she pointed at me. Confused, I approached the now frustrated barista who evidently thought I was an idiot for forgetting my order and informed him that that was not mine. The barista asked what I ordered – to which I replied ‘an Americano with skimmed milk’. Obviously irritated and muttering a few words that I couldn’t quite make out, he went to change the drink. As if that wasn’t bad enough, the other barista decided to add: ‘well I heard signature hot chocolate’. Don’t get me wrong, employee loyalty is great to see but not at my expense – and, as all customer service assistants of any kind are made aware, the customer is always right.

After having educated me on the proper name for my drink earlier, this was an unconvincing counter-argument, highlighting both the vital importance of effective communication and respect in customer service. Making mistakes is natural, but failing to own them in a service industry is bad practice for everyone involved. A few pointers for Starbucks: there is nothing stopping you from listening properly and writing the order on the cups. This is a simple and elegant solution to problems like mine. Finally and most importantly, unconditional customer respect is paramount and is the only way to build trust and customer loyalty.