What I Like About Starbucks

I have noticed that we live in an age of apathy. You’ve probably noticed it too if you’ve been to any fast food places lately. It seems that in recent years, customer service has taken a back seat to “just getting by” as far as the job is concerned. I have discovered that most people who work in these places couldn’t care less whether they get my order right or not. They just want to finish waiting on me so they can get on with their lives.

That’s what makes Starbucks so refreshing. Now, this is by no means an advertisement for the Starbucks chain, but I noticed this morning as I was grabbing my weekly espresso that the people there are different. They greet me with a “Good morning!” and smile as they take my order. They ask for my name to make sure my order doesn’t get mixed up with anyone else’s, and the girl this morning even asked me, “Now, is that Eric with a C or with a K?” Once she handed me my espresso, she gave me a sincere “Thank you”, and told me to have a great day (I think she meant it, too!). Now THAT’S customer service!

This experience has taught me a very valuable lesson: A little bit of nice goes a long, LONG way. My morning was going okay before I went in there, but I felt GREAT when I left, simply because someone was willing to go out of their way just to be nice to me. I don’t know if it’s an “official Starbucks employee rule” to be this polite, but that really doesn’t matter. They will get my business again because they know how to treat people. And, as a result, I will treat people with kindness today because of the way I was treated. Now, where have I heard this concept before? Oh yeah…it was from Jesus:

“Do to others as you would have them do to you.”(Luke 6:31)

“Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength. The second is this: love your neighbor as yourself. There is no commandment greater than these.”(Mark 12:30-31)

As you go through your day today, whatever your circumstances, do something kind for someone. You’ll be surprised at how much better your day will be.

God Bless!

--Eric G.