En la experiencia Starbucks

by Joseph A. Michelli

¿Cómo pudo Starbucks tomar un producto común y corriente como el café y transformarlo en un éxito empresarial extraordinario a nivel mundial? Después de explorar durante 18 meses en el mundo de Starbucks. de escuchar lo que dicen sus directivos y de observar lo que hacen ellos y sus socios. Joseph Michelli dedujo 5 principios claves que impulsan su éxito fenomenal.

Genres: Business, Nonfiction, Leadership, Management, Buisness, Entrepreneurship, Biography

224 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2006

About the author

Joseph Michelli is an American psychologist, speaker, and author. He started his career as a psychologist in 1988 and began writing business books in 2004.

Reviews

[Sally · Rating 1 out of 5]

I have been a big fans of starbucks green tea latte since 7 years ago and was amaze how fast their company is growing. So when I heard about this book I wanted to know everything about the company. Their management and marketing strategy, their choice of cafe design, and even why they chose Medusa as their logo (is it Medusa? I heard it is because Starbucks are devil worshiper. lol).

However, I was utterly disapointed after reading this book. It just went on and on and on.... about how great their service is. To me it was a bit of "kiss ass" book dedicated for starbucks. No added value for me as a reader.

The examples mentioned in this book are mostly based on Western culture (American), asia was represented only by Bangkok, Malaysia, and Singapore which was mentioned briefly in the book. Indonesia was no where in sight. I can understand that not every country can be included in the book however the social and cultural aspect in this part of the world should be a much more interesting reading rather than some bullshit story about how their Barista offer extra service to customers.

I don't think this is why Starbucks became popular in Indonesia. I have experience first hand on their service every weekend. Nothing special. I think their popularity is only due to their international brand names and their location. Indonesia love to show off, being spotted in a well known brand name like Starbucks is generally implied how sophisticated they are. Higher class than the common people.

So what is interesting, now that there is a growing competition from other well known coffee shop such as coffee bean & tea leaf, I wanted to know how can they differentiate themselves with this growing competitiveness. So far, I can't find any explanation in this book. This book is totally useless. Too much words with no content.

[Jay French · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm glad I read this book after reading Starbuck CEO Howard Schultz's book "Onward". The Schultz book covers the guiding priciples under which Starbucks operates - it's what they train their employees on. "Onward" gives a number of examples of these stories but goes much beyond, with quite a bit of company history. This book, "The Starbucks Experience", really dives into those guiding principles and provides a number of examples of how the company and its employees meet those principles in day-to-day business, really complimenting "Onward". With the variety of examples, I could see many ideas that could apply in my business life. This book met the two reasons I have to read a business book, to provide food for thought and to provide specific ideas to implement. Don't expect earthshattering revelations here, though. A lot of this is really summed up as taking responsibility and looking at the bigger picture. But who couldn't use some reminders and good examples of this? Nice book.

[Susan Bybee · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed the stories about the many ways that Starbucks connects with their customers, their communities and the world at large. The constant sidebars in which Michelli invites business owners (his intended audience) to reflect upon each new point presented, seemed to disrupt the flow of the book. Can't business owners just absorb the information and stories illustrating why Starbucks is successful and make their own inferences? Do they have to be spoon-fed like a class of high school freshmen? I thought some critical thinking skill was essential for business owners. Can't figure out if Michelli is being condescending, or if he knows his audience better than I do, and knows that he must painstakingly connect the dots for them.

[Danny · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyed this look inside Starbucks. Some of my favorite quotes include:
5 Principles for Turning Ordinary into Extraordinary: Make it your own, Everything matters, Surprise & delight, Embrace resistance, Leave your mark
Make It Your Own: 5 Ways of Being: Be welcoming, Be genuine, Be considerate, Be knowledgeable & Be involved.
"How wonderful it is that nobody need wait a single moment before starting to improve the world." Anne Frank
“workers at all levels must become attuned not only to what their customers are saying but equally to what they aren’t”
"Remember that a person's name is to that person the sweetest and most important sound in any language." Dale Carnegie

[platkat · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed the positive nature of this book, and it was nice to learn more about the practices of a company to which I've devoted a large portion of my coffee patronage. But after awhile, it started to read more like a long promotional pamphlet touting Starbucks' excellence.

Since I'm thinking about starting my own business, this book was helpful to me because it identified some important ideals to strive for. It made me think about my message, how I want to brand myself, and what inconsistencies I need to solve.

On page 58, the author writes, "Great leaders look for ways to maximize the felt sense that their business generates." This made me think about the feelings I want to inspire in people when they meet me and when I have the opportunity to serve them.

I stopped to reflect on my business goals and intended practices pretty often while reading this book. It devotes a chapter to each of Starbucks' five principles with thinking points at the end of each chapter that anyone can apply to their own business. I also liked the call-out boxes that help readers relate Starbucks' practices to their own situations.

Starbucks has indeed made a commitment to providing for its employees, the community, and the environment. If more businesses (large and small) operated with the integrity described in this book, the world would be a much better place.

The author appeared semi-unbiased when he talked of Starbucks' success stories, and he did not hesitate to address some of the bad press the company has received over the years. He discussed China's resistance to the opening of Starbucks stores in their country, saying the overall first impression was a prime example of "US imperialism" (pages 121-123). Then he goes on to discuss how Starbucks solved the bad image by getting involved in the communities they served and tailoring the Starbucks experience to the Chinese culture.

At times, however, it goes to far with its "Starbucks saved the day!" anecdotes. It is a testament to how much effort the company puts into employee training though. I don't think I've ever had a rude barista at Starbucks. Actually, I haven't had any problems with baristas in the other coffeeshops I visit either.

The book talks about how Starbucks raises the bar for the other businesses in the area when it sets up shop in a new place. I am sure there are examples to the contrary, but I have to take the book's word on it since I haven't been anywhere that Starbucks is considered "new" in a really long time!

I think this book has some value for people going into business for themselves or those at the management level at a company where they have some decision-making power. Otherwise, it's just a feel-good read about people making positive changes in the world (which is fine if you're into that... haha).

[Sina & Ilona Glimmerfee · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dieses Buch beschreibt sehr gut was Starbucks alles macht um seine Mitarbeiter zu motivieren und für ein angenehmen Arbeitsort zu sorgen.
Ich habe das Buch sehr gerne gelesen. Es gibt noch zahlreiche Tipps und Gedankenanstöße wie man selbst durch das Starbucks Prinzip mehr Freude, Energie und Qualität ins Unternehmen bringen kann.
Wer von Starbucks lernen will ist hier richtig.
Es ist leicht zu lesen und gut gegliedert.

[Melanie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I picked up this book because one of the essays in the book, The Frugal Librarian, described how it's concepts could benefit libraries. I agree that libraries of all kinds could benefit by applying the five customer service principles from this book. I think "be welcoming, be genuine, be considerate, be knowledgeable, and be involved" (page 175)sums it up well. I recommend it to any organization focused on customer service.

[Meghana · Rating 1 out of 5]

While it was fascinating to learn more about the Starbucks ethos and their drive to surprise and delight, this entire book could have been condensed into an essay and felt like a long humblebrag.

[Mónica López · Rating 3 out of 5]

Recomendado por el director comercial de la empresa para la cual trabajo, este libro no fue fácil de conseguir. Fui a librería El Día, Sanborns y nada. Llegue a Gandhi y tampoco pero… lo encargue. Me dieron la opción de dejar $50 pesos. Ellos lo mandan traer y te hablan en máximo 8 días para avisarte que tu libro ya está en la tienda. Eso es servicio.

Cuáles son las prácticas/ principios de una de las empresas de café más importantes del mundo.

• Aduéñese. Conozca a su gente, no la limite, y tome en cuenta sus ideas. El Frapuchino fue una creación de un empleado barista de Starbucks. No del equipo de nuevos productos.

“No estamos en el negocio del café sirviendo la gente, estamos en el negocio de la gente sirviendo café.” Howard Schulz

Otra cosa que llamó mi atención fue que en Starbucks los empleados administrativos trabajan dos veces por año en tienda. Lo que genera en ellos empatía hacia las actividades de sus compañeros. Muchas empresas debería poner en práctica esta actividad.

• Todo es importante. Importa servir bien el café, como tener limpio el baño, como tratar excelente a los proveedores, clientes, y empleados. TODO importa. En el mismo nivel.

• Sorprenda y disfrute. De vez en cuando haz algo diferente. Agrega un extra a la monotonía. Desde una sonrisa a quien normalmente no se la das, hasta un regalito, o un cambio en tu persona.

• Resista. Ten la humildad de escuchar y abrir tu mente a las críticas. Si son objetivas trabajar sobre ellas, si no lo son, escuchar y agradecer el tiempo que la gente se toma en realizar una observación.

• Deje Huella. Involúcrate y propicia, con el ejemplo, la participación de tu gente en proyectos que beneficien a la comunidad en la que vives.

Aunque este libro es más enfocado a empresas y recomendado a líderes, personal de recursos humanos o mercadotecnia, estas prácticas aplican para el plano personal. Es cuestión de querer mejorar.

Saludos!!!

[Sarah · Rating 2 out of 5]

Great quotes and principles for customizing your business to make a great experience for your clients, BUT, the book is horribly horribly written! Most of the people in my co-workers book group stalled out about 50 or 100 pages into the book. The book doesn't flow at all. It gets choked up with all the quotes and principles, then tends to repeat itself over and over again. Okay, we understood on page 5 what a great and ingenius company Starbucks was...no need to drone on and on about it! BUT, despite the style criticisms, the author has some laid out some decent principles and insights. The 5 principles that structure the book and aim to "turn the ordinary into extraordinary" are:
1. Make it your own
2. Everything matters
3. Surprise & delight
4. Embrace resistance
5. Leave your mark

"we are responsible for unleashing a passion that ripples outward from behind the scenes, through the customer experience, and ultimately out into our communities."

George Bernard Shaw- "This is the true joy of life, the being used up for a purpose recognized by yourself as a mighty one; being a force of nature instead of a feverish, selfish little clot of ailments and grievances, complaining that the world will not devote itself to make you happy."

"No matter what we do for a living, we add value to our efforts when we gain work-related knowledge. More important, as we become more informed, our value to the business, our self-confidence, and the real impact we have on others all increase."

Leo Buscaglia- "Too often we understimate the power of a touch, a smile, a kind word, a listening ear, an honest compliment, or the smallest act of caring, all of which have the potential to turn a life around."

[Zoffix Znet · Rating 1 out of 5]

I stopped reading after I read about 40% of the book. The whole thing reads like a very long Starbucks advert. I found no practical advice in the book. There's a gazillion stories about how Starbucks employees give out free coffee when they see a customer spill their drink or give out free coffee presses when a customer asks for a replacement part. Perhaps Starbucks—a successful business—can afford to absorb those costs, but there's very little relevance in those stories for some lesser-known, non-restaurant businesses.

Starbucks packaged their CDs into paper—instead of plastic—cases, because plastic just "isn't Starbucks." Starbucks employees came to their coworker's husband's funeral. Starbucks employee shared a lotto jackpot with other employees when they bought the card together. Starbucks asked an author of a critical article to elaborate on the problems the author experienced... That's how the book reads to me. Just someone trying EXTREMELY hard to convince you that Starbucks is superb in every way.

Perhaps, I was expecting something different from the book. I wanted "5 Principles for Turning Ordinary Into Extraordinary." I got "208 pages of telling you why you really should go and get a cup of coffee at Starbucks. Now!"

[D.M. Dutcher · Rating 1 out of 5]

Lightweight book whose message seemed to boil down to two principles instead of five: have great customer service, and be green/sustainable. While customer service is vital to retail, most of the anecdotes either come across as service 101, or some super-employee taking it on themselves to fulfill needs proactively far above their wages would suggest. There's very little actual business talk, and most of the suggestions are banal or basic customer service that any person who's worked in retail for a year would know.

Business books in general aren't the best written things, but this feels more like PR and less a real study of Starbucks. Very little meat about branding, logistics, or the real hassle a nationwide chain like Starbucks goes through, but a lot of Chicken Soup For the Soul style heartwarming stories of basic to great customer service. You don't really miss much if you pass on this book.

[Andrew Morris · Rating 2 out of 5]

I wouldn't be surprised if this was required reading for all Starbucks employees. I feel only slight hesitation labeling it propaganda. To be fair, I think it has some potentially interesting points, and you can learn them from reading the back cover. They are fleshed out with endless anecdotes pulled straight from the Starbucks internal newsletter.

An example of the book's wisdom: it's a good idea to surprise customers by giving them a free product sometimes. That's true, but the book doesn't dwell on the fact that this company's product is extremely cheap. I wouldn't recommend following the same model if you're trying to run, say, a bike store.

[Ryan Watkins · Rating 4 out of 5]

The author explains how Starbucks focuses on providing an experience for its clients instead of just a product. He continues to explain in more detail his 5 principles on how to accomplish this in your own business: Make It Your Own, Everything Matters, Surprise and Delight, Embrace Resistance, Leave Your Mark. Much of his advice is helpful despite there being a lot of filler about specific clients' experiences at Starbucks and his push for businesses to support left leaning social issues. Reading the introduction, the Ideas to Sip at the end of each chapter, and "a final word" would suffice for understanding the authors' ideas.

[Adi Arifin · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an inspiring book on how setting our difference and pay every attention needed to keep it consistently makes a huge difference. I understand that many business do not really care about brand and brand image. But in the industry I am in, having our brand recognized for reliability is above anything else. Tourism industry is one thing, but being in premium layer, a very thin layer at the top of the pyramid, such as Bali villas is another story.

[Gugun Gunadi · Rating 1 out of 5]

Sebenarnya buku ini cukup menarik untuk dibaca. Pengalaman starbuck dalam merintis usaha dari hanya sebuah kedai kopi kecil hingga jaringan kedai kopi terkenal yang menggurita. Tapi sayang, terjemahan dalam bahasa Indonesianya tidak begitu enak dibaca, bahasanya kaku sekali. Jadi kurang menarik lagi.. (ini menurut saya loh)

[Donna Lyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

I finished this book in one day, it was well written and encouraging. There are many other coffee companies that have great service (Dutch Brothers comes to mind) so Starbucks doesn't corner the market on service but it was an excellent read on how Starbucks gets me to spend $4 for the 'experience' again and again and...

[Abdullah Almutairi · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book hold many spiritual Wounder and contains many thoughtful Idea of how to be a Muslim, a Human and how to from all the things you have in your life, as some things you gain for your own right. currently reading and I don't want leave it at all. This one of the book that at first I judge it by the cover, but turn out it's a real treasure in my opinion.

[Cindy Payler · Rating 4 out of 5]

You can't finish reading this book without having a great respect for the Starbucks principles. If you are a lover of Starbuck's coffee, you will love it even more after learning about what they stand for and how they go about making it happen. A short, quick read packed with lots of good advice for business leaders and anyone who is curious about Starbuck's success.

[Shirin Abdel Rahman · Rating 3 out of 5]

كتاب مسلى، يمكن اعتباره عن خدمة العملاء او مهارات ما بعد البيع و كيف تكسب عميلا للأبد، الكتاب لا يمكن اعتباره ادارى فهو لا يشرح استراتيجية شولتز للتوسع او التمويل كذلك لا يتحدث عن البدايات التى غالبا تكون اصعب مرحلة و بالتالى هو كتاب ليس لرواد الأعمال لكن كتاب أكثر عن تحسين المبيعات و التعامل مع الزبائن و قصة ميدوسا شعار ستاربكس.

[Mercer Smith · Rating 2 out of 5]

Good idea, garbage execution.

I feel like I could have learned a lot here, but I found myself lacking trust in the author. The whole thing felt like a "look how awesome Starbucks is" manifesto, and I got tired of reading inspiring stories about Starbucks "partners."

[Azez · Rating 3 out of 5]

يقدم صورة مثاليه لما ينبغى ان تكو نعليه خدمة الزبائن
اعطيته 3 نجوم
لان من قراء كتاب ديل كارينجي عن فن التعامل مع الاخرين يكفيه
حيث يعتبر هذا كتاب تتطبيق فعلي للهذا الكتاب

[John · Rating 5 out of 5]

The stuff American dreams are made of!

[Diah Iswatun Khasanah · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is very inspiring me to do business. And make me always want to go to Starbucks.

[Kayleigh John · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great read! The Starbucks story is such an inspirational story, a must-read for business owners

[Sofie Tyger · Rating 2 out of 5]

Too anecdotal without enough detail on how Starbucks actually implemented the values and fostered the culture.

[Allys Dierker · Rating 1 out of 5]

Extended promotional brochure for Sbux

[Sascha · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.25 ⭐️
Michelli just blows smoke up Starbucks's ass for 200 pages straight lol.
He makes it seem like the company is just the most generous, amazing, and perfect company to ever exist. And while I do believe the things he talks about have actually happened before this book came out(2006), I don't think things like that happen anymore in this day and age. It made me more excited to start my own business, so I guess that's a plus.

[Ulya A.K · Rating 3 out of 5]

Although i have my occasional treat of starbucks drinks, i'm not a heavy coffee drinker so i cant exactly relate to the special experience by the company. What attracted me to this book was the concept of how starbucks approach their employees which is an interesting concept which i can try to apply to my own team.

[Puru Gupta · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good read. Was monotonous and pedagogic at few places but the anecdotes made up for it. Interesting checklist to emulate for your own business. After reading this, you would definitely want to "build a customer experience like that of Starbucks!"