I’m writing this research project not only to fulfill a requirement for the Arizona State University class English Composition 102, but to further my understanding with how my research is carried out and my relationship to my own controlling purpose, the main idea of the project. That purpose being “How everyone wins with good customer service.”
What I’m trying to do with this purpose is convince everyone, not just people who work behind the counter, but the people who frequent any place that offers some sort of customer service, that customer service matters. Don’t be confused by someone who is trying to help, it is their job and they will do anything to help you out. I will mostly talk about customer service from a Starbucks perspective on this project though. I have been working in customer service related jobs for around three years now, other people have more experience than me in this industry, but I feel that I have enough experience in the industry to talk about how to improve it.
I have worked for Starbucks for two of those years, which is why I will be focusing on the customer experience from the specific Starbucks aspect. I’m trying to get across that not just the customer matters, the employee matters as well. We all need to treat each other with respect, no matter the background or who is servicing who.
My first iteration of my CRQ was “How could a Starbucks employee, working in a store with poor customer ratings, improve said ratings.” This was a good start, it shows that my store had poor customer ratings and that I wanted to improve them, over the course of conducting the research for this project my store ratings have gone up exponentially. Thus showing that some of the tactics that I employed throughout learning how customer service affects the general attitude of the workers and the customers matters.
I’ve collected research from many online sources as well as research from my own experience working in customer service for some time. In my research I found an article about how loyalty cards improve customer scores (LeVoie). I wholeheartedly agree with this sentiment. I have seen so many Starbucks cards, gold cards, and especially the Starbucks app. Most of the customers I help has the Starbucks app, it’s a good deal to use one and it instigates a conversation between the barista and customer.
Another source I found was about the relationship between Starbucks and an independent coffee shop(Abel). I have worked both for Starbucks, then an independent coffee shop then I went back to Starbucks for school. In my experience at an independent coffee shop I noticed a lot of similarities between the two. The independent coffee shop I worked at didn’t have a loyalty card system, but a system in which it sparked an even better customer service reaction. When someone did not have enough money to pay for their coffee we had a system in place that would allow the customer to get their coffee for free. The system worked because there was no loss on the business side. A regular customer who supports the shop regularly pays for a couple coffees here and there and this allows someone else to get their coffee for free. I thought this was really smart and is a good way for customers to show their support and a way for another person to get their fuel for the morning.
An important article to understanding how customer service works was an article on trans awareness in customer service(Heyam). I am not transgender myself, but I realize that it is important for employees and customers alike to recognize that pronoun usage is important. I have co-workers who are transgender and I see people misgendering them and using the wrong pronouns all the time. This aspect is much bigger than this small research project, I just want everyone to realize that it is important for customer service to not use pronouns unless you know for sure what pronouns the customer uses. Avoid saying words like “Sir” or “Madam” and just be respectful in general.
The last two articles I researched for this project are both papers from Indonesia. A country in which coffee and customer service is important. One paper goes over how Starbucks is perceived as American and how that blends with the Indonesian culture(Hajarrahmah). The other articles is on the relationship between a local brand of coffee shops and Starbucks (Susanty, Kenny) It was really interesting to learn how another country's relationship with Starbucks and how the culture perceives Starbucks. I didn’t realize that other countries view Starbucks as purely American. The importance of these two articles is shown that even in another country customer service matters. No matter the background a customer interaction should be a positive one.
To iterate, my controlling purpose of this project is “How everyone wins with good customer service.” Remember that when you are either ordering your coffee or making someone's coffee to be respectful and try to relate to the other human being. Customer service shouldn’t be important to just the person behind the counter, but to everyone who interacts with the industry.
My recommendation for people who work at Starbucks is to follow the customer service guidelines provided by Starbucks themselves. Saying hello, when people walk in, remembering names, as well as drink orders for specific people. My recommendation for regular Starbucks goers is to say hi back! Try and be polite as possible, trust me it’ll make the barista’s day if you are fully cooperative with how Starbucks does customer service. I realize I am leaving out people who don’t frequent coffee shops or Starbucks. My recommendation for you is to employ these tactics at another establishment, maybe a bar or fast food place, really any place you frequent. Try and spark a conversation with the employee, and remember everyone wins with good customer service.
My recommendation for other customer service jobs such as, a bank teller, a cashier, really anyone who works with people, is to realize that this is your job and being nice and understanding is your main focus. Just be aware of your emotions and how they affect your job and the people you are servicing. Further research needs to be done in this area as my project focuses on customer service with a Starbucks perspective.
In conclusion, this project started with me wondering “How could a Starbucks employee, working in a store with poor customer ratings, improve said ratings.” and has since evolved into “How everyone wins with good customer service.” I hope this shows you how much time and work went into the research for this project. I also hope this project showed you just how much goes into customer service. It takes a lot of memory retention skills, confidence, self esteem, and research outside of the job on the clock. Much more can be said about the topic and I advise you to think about how customer service affects nearly everyone.
What I’m trying to do with this purpose is convince everyone, not just people who work behind the counter, but the people who frequent any place that offers some sort of customer service, that customer service matters. Don’t be confused by someone who is trying to help, it is their job and they will do anything to help you out. I will mostly talk about customer service from a Starbucks perspective on this project though. I have been working in customer service related jobs for around three years now, other people have more experience than me in this industry, but I feel that I have enough experience in the industry to talk about how to improve it.
I have worked for Starbucks for two of those years, which is why I will be focusing on the customer experience from the specific Starbucks aspect. I’m trying to get across that not just the customer matters, the employee matters as well. We all need to treat each other with respect, no matter the background or who is servicing who.
My first iteration of my CRQ was “How could a Starbucks employee, working in a store with poor customer ratings, improve said ratings.” This was a good start, it shows that my store had poor customer ratings and that I wanted to improve them, over the course of conducting the research for this project my store ratings have gone up exponentially. Thus showing that some of the tactics that I employed throughout learning how customer service affects the general attitude of the workers and the customers matters.
I’ve collected research from many online sources as well as research from my own experience working in customer service for some time. In my research I found an article about how loyalty cards improve customer scores (LeVoie). I wholeheartedly agree with this sentiment. I have seen so many Starbucks cards, gold cards, and especially the Starbucks app. Most of the customers I help has the Starbucks app, it’s a good deal to use one and it instigates a conversation between the barista and customer.
Another source I found was about the relationship between Starbucks and an independent coffee shop(Abel). I have worked both for Starbucks, then an independent coffee shop then I went back to Starbucks for school. In my experience at an independent coffee shop I noticed a lot of similarities between the two. The independent coffee shop I worked at didn’t have a loyalty card system, but a system in which it sparked an even better customer service reaction. When someone did not have enough money to pay for their coffee we had a system in place that would allow the customer to get their coffee for free. The system worked because there was no loss on the business side. A regular customer who supports the shop regularly pays for a couple coffees here and there and this allows someone else to get their coffee for free. I thought this was really smart and is a good way for customers to show their support and a way for another person to get their fuel for the morning.
An important article to understanding how customer service works was an article on trans awareness in customer service(Heyam). I am not transgender myself, but I realize that it is important for employees and customers alike to recognize that pronoun usage is important. I have co-workers who are transgender and I see people misgendering them and using the wrong pronouns all the time. This aspect is much bigger than this small research project, I just want everyone to realize that it is important for customer service to not use pronouns unless you know for sure what pronouns the customer uses. Avoid saying words like “Sir” or “Madam” and just be respectful in general.
The last two articles I researched for this project are both papers from Indonesia. A country in which coffee and customer service is important. One paper goes over how Starbucks is perceived as American and how that blends with the Indonesian culture(Hajarrahmah). The other articles is on the relationship between a local brand of coffee shops and Starbucks (Susanty, Kenny) It was really interesting to learn how another country's relationship with Starbucks and how the culture perceives Starbucks. I didn’t realize that other countries view Starbucks as purely American. The importance of these two articles is shown that even in another country customer service matters. No matter the background a customer interaction should be a positive one.
To iterate, my controlling purpose of this project is “How everyone wins with good customer service.” Remember that when you are either ordering your coffee or making someone's coffee to be respectful and try to relate to the other human being. Customer service shouldn’t be important to just the person behind the counter, but to everyone who interacts with the industry.
My recommendation for people who work at Starbucks is to follow the customer service guidelines provided by Starbucks themselves. Saying hello, when people walk in, remembering names, as well as drink orders for specific people. My recommendation for regular Starbucks goers is to say hi back! Try and be polite as possible, trust me it’ll make the barista’s day if you are fully cooperative with how Starbucks does customer service. I realize I am leaving out people who don’t frequent coffee shops or Starbucks. My recommendation for you is to employ these tactics at another establishment, maybe a bar or fast food place, really any place you frequent. Try and spark a conversation with the employee, and remember everyone wins with good customer service.
My recommendation for other customer service jobs such as, a bank teller, a cashier, really anyone who works with people, is to realize that this is your job and being nice and understanding is your main focus. Just be aware of your emotions and how they affect your job and the people you are servicing. Further research needs to be done in this area as my project focuses on customer service with a Starbucks perspective.
In conclusion, this project started with me wondering “How could a Starbucks employee, working in a store with poor customer ratings, improve said ratings.” and has since evolved into “How everyone wins with good customer service.” I hope this shows you how much time and work went into the research for this project. I also hope this project showed you just how much goes into customer service. It takes a lot of memory retention skills, confidence, self esteem, and research outside of the job on the clock. Much more can be said about the topic and I advise you to think about how customer service affects nearly everyone.
Works Cited
LaVoie, Kelly J.A. “ DigitalCC.” Digitalccbeta.coloradocollege.edu, digitalccbeta.coloradocollege.edu/pid/coccc:6499.
Abel, Natalie. “ DigitalCC.” Digitalccbeta.coloradocollege.edu, digitalccbeta.coloradocollege.edu/pid/coccc:1342.
Heyam , Kit. “Trans Awareness in Customer Service.” Eprints.leedsbeckett.ac.uk, eprints.leedsbeckett.ac.uk/3736/1/Trans-aware customer service.pdf.
Hajarrahmah, Dini. “The American Image of Starbucks Coffee \Ud as Perceived by Its Consumers\Ud (Case Study: Starbucks Coffee Paragon Mall Semarang)\Ud.” CORE, 1 Jan. 1970, core.ac.uk/reader/11730436.
Susanty, Aries. “The Relationship between Brand Equity, Customer Satisfaction, and Brand Loyalty on Coffee Shop: Study of Excelso and Starbucks.” ASEAN Marketing Journal, journal.ui.ac.id/index.php/amj/article/view/4481/3228.
“Does Starbucks Set the Standard for Customer Service?” Argyle Journal, 22 Aug. 2013, www.argylejournal.com/customer-care/does-starbucks-set-the-standard-for-customer-service/.
Abel, Natalie. “ DigitalCC.” Digitalccbeta.coloradocollege.edu, digitalccbeta.coloradocollege.edu/pid/coccc:1342.
Heyam , Kit. “Trans Awareness in Customer Service.” Eprints.leedsbeckett.ac.uk, eprints.leedsbeckett.ac.uk/3736/1/Trans-aware customer service.pdf.
Hajarrahmah, Dini. “The American Image of Starbucks Coffee \Ud as Perceived by Its Consumers\Ud (Case Study: Starbucks Coffee Paragon Mall Semarang)\Ud.” CORE, 1 Jan. 1970, core.ac.uk/reader/11730436.
Susanty, Aries. “The Relationship between Brand Equity, Customer Satisfaction, and Brand Loyalty on Coffee Shop: Study of Excelso and Starbucks.” ASEAN Marketing Journal, journal.ui.ac.id/index.php/amj/article/view/4481/3228.
“Does Starbucks Set the Standard for Customer Service?” Argyle Journal, 22 Aug. 2013, www.argylejournal.com/customer-care/does-starbucks-set-the-standard-for-customer-service/.