1928) was an iconic American poet, memoirist, and civil rights activist. Read ‘I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings’ by Maya Angelou.8 Maya Angelou Quotes on Diversity & Community.
When I first interviewed Howard Schultz, I was the one who first brought up the word ‘coffee.’ Schultz doesn't sell coffee he sells an experience. That’s what spoke to me.” Schultz didn't want to bring the coffee back from Italy, but the feeling of the experience. I walked in and saw a symphony of activity and the romance and the theater of coffee, coffee at the center of conversation and the sense of community. Pay attention to the words Schultz uses in a recent interview with Oprah Winfrey about how he felt in an Italian cafe: “I was out of my mind. Schultz traveled to Italy and had “an epiphany,” a feeling he couldn't shake.
Schultz had never planned to build a store that just sold coffee beans. Schultz’ vision for Starbucks wasn't about the coffee as much as it was about the experience-the feeling-that Schultz wanted people to have when they walked in. Let’s turn to Howard Schultz, the CEO of Starbucks. “Praise people and people flourish criticize and they shrivel up,” Branson once said. When I interviewed Branson for this story, I realized that public praise plays a major role in how he motivates employees. Branson is constantly thinking about how people-employees and customers-should feel about the brand. It should be a fun place to be!” Branson is a master of making his employees feel good and, when employees feel as though work is a “fun place to be,” they spread their enthusiasm to customers. Controlling for all other factors, AT&T consistently found that the first group had a significantly better perception of the brand because they “felt” recognized and acknowledged.Īccording to Virgin Group founder Richard Branson, “Customers shouldn't think of your business as a place to buy a product or use a service. Each group waited exactly three minutes to be served, and not a second more. The second group was not greeted nor told how long they would have to wait for service. One focus group was greeted within 10 feet or 10 seconds of entering the store. AT&T conducted focus group research to develop its “10 feet or 10 seconds” method of greeting a customer.
Power customer service awards to show for it. For example, I've written several articles on AT&T’s renewed focus on making its stores the customer service leader in its category.