Starbucks doesn't just sell coffee (any customer can find cheaper and possibly higher-quality coffee elsewhere). What they sell, beyond the experience, is excellent customer service (they realized this after 2008 when, due to rapid expansion, they discovered they were left behind in the service aspect).
Every week, Starbucks hires thousands of employees, many of whom have no prior experience. All of these employees are trained, among other things, in how to handle a difficult situation, a "mistake," in order to have a common approach to the problem. The method they follow is called LATTE:
Listen. Starbucks baristas first actively listen to the customer.
Acknowledge the complaint. They take the problem-complaint seriously and show it.
Take Action to solve the problem. They take action to resolve the problem.
Thank the customer. They thank the customer for bringing the problem to their attention.
Explain why the problem occurred. They explain what went wrong and what they did to fix it.
It is worth noting that when the LATTE method was introduced, employee turnover decreased dramatically, while customer satisfaction and profitability soared.
To understand how deeply the company has immersed itself in customer service (and in cultivating close relationships with its customers), Starbucks employees not only know the names of regular customers but also their preferences (e.g., "Mr. John, will you have the usual?").
Moreover, they have been "empowered," demonstrating "genuine interest," to ask relatively personal questions. For example, John usually orders coffee every morning, works in education, and has two young children. In one instance, a customer had a very difficult and exhausting summer, and had a very long day ahead of him, decided to get the Grande coffee. The coffee came with a message: "I hope your day goes better today." It was the beginning of an endless exchange of messages on the packaging, which went viral.
Related articles to read: The Art of Handling Customer Complaints: Transforming Dissatisfaction into Loyalty{alertInfo}