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Kara Gilchrist SaleskaWriting Research 10116 October 2016What Season Is It? “Iced Caramel Macchiato for Kennedy!”“Chai Tea Latte for Megan!” “Mocha Frappuccino for Alyssa!” “Pumpkin Spice Latte for Rachel!”“Pumpkin Spice Latte, Pumpkin Spice Latte, Pumpkin Spice Latte”There were so many different drinks for so many different types of people on this fine Wednesday morning at Starbucks Coffee. Except what was this pumpkin thing? It was a Wednesday and for some reason, the line was out the door with all kinds of anxious customers waiting to get their coffee and a pumpkin? The baristas were hard at work pushing buttons, throwing ice into blenders, calling out orders, writing names on cups- anything you could think of. They made it so easy and they all worked as a team. Organized chaos is the word I would use. How and why were there so many customers, though and why were they all getting that same pumpkin drink? I decided to continue my research and take myself through a little coffee shop journey, beginning at the source itself: Starbucks. Starbucks Coffee on Alton and Jeffrey is a small coffee shop in a center that made all the other places look as if they were no good. Green letters and a pretty lady stand out on the top of the shop tucked into a little space in between Donut Star and Crazy Rockin Sushi. Each type of drink had their own section on the menu and as a Starbucks customer, you basically make the drink. By that I mean, if you want to add vanilla? You can add vanilla. Oh but wait, it’s too much sugar? Not a problem because Starbucks has sugar free vanilla! Listening in to conversations between the barista and customer, I heard the words “tall, grande, and venti” a lot. I understood that those were the different sizes, but questioned the meaning because I was pretty sure they all meant the same thing. Worker, Bon Julian, was able to tell me that “grande” is large in Italian, Spanish, Portuguese and French. Venti and Trenta are large in Italian. Obviously, tall is in English. I learned they did this because Starbucks has a goal of connecting with more than just the American crowd. After speaking with a couple employees on their morning break, they want to bring in all types of customers and make them feel at home. Although Starbucks is American based, each store is made special for the area that it is in. For example, there are Starbucks in Asia and they sell condensed milk because that is something popular in their country. All of the other out-of-country Starbucks do the same based on what their locals enjoy. I heard a lot of drinks called on this morning. I began to play a game with myself while doing this. I listened to the drink being called and tried to guess the type of person to come up and grab it. For example, “Black coffee with sugar” was called out and I guessed a tall man in a suit on his way to work would come to grab it and I was almost exactly right. Every Frappuccino that was called, I guessed to see a teenage girl come to grab the drink, which happened eight out of ten times. Most iced drinks that were called seemed to be middle aged women in workout clothes. Those seemed to match because the iced coffee drinks are lower in calories, but still give you the boost you need to make it through the day after an early morning workout. Some weren’t in workout clothes, but as an observer, I could tell they were trying to get a lower profile drink, while still getting the caffeine they wanted. Coming from “What Your Starbucks Order Says About You,” it states that “baristas are probably pretty accurate at using your order to label you” (Gentile). After reading more into this article and seeing that the “assumed” person assigned to drinks were just about the same as mine, I felt justified in my observations. Something that was very attractive to me was that baristas behind the counter were greeting people by name and asking them if they wanted a specific drink, as if they knew them personally. It seemed there was a very special bond between the customer and employee that was either growing or being created. After wondering about the loyalty of Starbucks customers, I was able to talk to Grace who personally knew many customers and she said “We’re very loyal to our customers. If we mess up a drink, we remake it, or give credit to the store to them.” All of the people working at Starbucks had smiles on their faces and were never rude. There were many customers who came in, tired looking and crabby from maybe a long morning at work or just not having the best day. According to the National Business Research Institute, Starbucks was listed as #4 for the Best Customer Experience in 2011. Starbucks has made a major switch from “a coffee shop being a place to buy a cup of coffee to a place to experience a good cup of coffee” (Ken West). There was a lot of training that went into becoming a Starbucks employee for each of these members too. “Each partner was trained in both the technical aspects of creating the drinks, as well as how to connect with the customers” (Ken West). With this being said, across the Starbucks world, all employees are trained to act the same. I watched someone say very sternly, “this was supposed to have whip cream.” My response would be completely different than the calm, very nice barista. She answered “I’m so sorry, one moment sir.” This leads back to the idea of why Starbucks customers are so loyal and keep coming back. They develop relationships with the customers, which I think because customers become so comfortable lead them into trying new drinks, such as the seasonal Pumpkin Spice Latte. I paused in my observations for a brief moment because I was so shocked to have witnessed what had just happened. The same person who came in about 20 minutes ago was back for more! I had heard of the “coffee obsessions,” but had never really seen it in front of my own eyes. Of course, I had to ask, “is this normal?” Bon told me that he believes the main reason most people come back is because of our friendliness and communication skills, where we honestly develop friendships and good relationships. “It’s not that they’re obsessed with coffee, it’s just sometimes we make their day, or at least try to.” Starbucks think that customers keep coming back because of how they act, but really I think people just want their coffee. So why do customers really keep coming back? Friendliness and Employees are just a bonus to getting their coffee. According to an article I read from , statistics say that tne My Starbucks Rewards card has customers hooked and the ultimate goal of that was to get repeat customers, while offering little freebies along the way. Also, some drinks are only twenty-five to fifty cents for a refill. Bon did mention though, there are a number of customers we see every day at the same time for the same drink every day, which is not weird. People need their coffee and “we are happy to provide.” A nice basic coffee shop is something the workers all seemed to agree upon. I did not. Starbucks has all kinds of fancy drinks from frappuccinos to something that is now called a “pink” drink, which is a strawberry acai drink. If I was a new customer, I would understand being a tad overwhelmed, but the fact that each and every worker was so nice, I then understood why customers are instantly attached. I was surprised to hear that they thought Starbucks wasn’t a big deal. Don’t get me wrong, being a big deal, hot shot coffee place is great. The environment is happy and there are good vibes all around, but it was interesting to hear the opinions of the workers. That is good they think their work place is “simple” because clearly they enjoy what they do, which is probably what the Starbucks corporation looks for in employees all around the world. As I was watching more and more loyal customers walk in and out of the shop, I noticed as a standby third party observer was a drink that was being ordered quite more frequently than any other. It was the Pumpkin Spice Latte. And this is when my curiosity levels raised very high. In addition to the loyalty of Starbucks customers, I then became curious about the history and attraction of this latte. I couldn’t understand why it was being order so much. It was a coffee drink that included fall spice flavors, steamed milk, espresso, and of course finished off with some whipped cream. Was it the taste of fall that made customers feel like it was fall? Or was it the fall season that made them crave the fall taste? Were the same loyal customers changing their regular drink order for this special seasonal drink? I learned from employee Bon Julian that the Pumpkin Spice Latte is 13 years old this year and “the amount of pumpkins that come to America at this time of the year is mainly the reason why people are so into the drink. The flavor obsession correlates with the massive amount of pumpkins.” Even though there are not actually pumpkins in the latte, I think people become into the drink based on the environment around them, especially in Irvine. There are pumpkin patches not even a mile down the road from Starbucks and most stores around this particular Irvine Starbucks are all decked out in Halloween attire. After hearing that, I thought for a second. This means that Pumpkin Spice Lattes are the most popular seasonal drink. It didn’t make sense in my mind because in California where you really don’t know when “Fall” is really going to happen based on the weather, why are people buying this hot drink? I would expect the Christmas selection of drinks to be the most popular because of the cold mornings and chilly nights walking around doing holiday type things. But I guess the PSL (which is what the “cool” customers call it) sold 200 million Pumpkin Spice Lattes, which brought in $100 million dollars for the stores (Time Magazine and Washington Post). “The taste of the season really brings in customers and it’s so popular because of the way Starbucks markets it.” A couple of weeks later, I was able to visit a Starbucks in Hawaii, which I was expecting everything to be the same. After observing, I got the same Cali Starbucks vibes in the Hawaiian Starbucks, but after buying my drink, I was surprised to see that it was about $1.25 more! I didn’t mind, but was interested to see why. I learned from a couple different Hawaiian workers that it was a demographic reason and if the stores are able to receive the same amount of customers with higher prices, they raise it. Starbucks corporations have learned that the people want their coffee and as long as they can get it, they’ll do anything for it. I also understood why people might accept the fact that it’s more, just because you are in Hawaii and as a local you may be used to the environment, but as a tourist like me, I think everything is 110% better in Hawaii than California. To drink coffee on the beach makes it taste better. It could be the same exact drink I get in California, which it was, but I thought my coffee was that much better with a beach view. So, after my long talk with a barista from my local Starbucks and visiting a Hawaiian Starbucks, I felt better about the question, “Why are Starbucks customers so loyal?” I wish I was able to travel the world and visit more Starbucks to see if the vibes and employees are really all the same in the way that they act to earn the respect of customers. In my life time, I’ve been to California, Hawaiian, New Jersey, and New York Starbucks and so far my service is off to a great start. When I had Face Timed my friends, still on the trip in Hawaii, I told them about my experience at Starbucks here and they were amazed at how busy it was! They didn’t believe that people were so attracted to Starbucks when they were in HAWAII! They said there are Kona Coffee shops everywhere and such cool touristy places based in Hawaii. I agreed and didn’t understand. As a loyal Starbucks customer, I couldn’t say no, but even after all of my talks and research, why I continue to stay loyal. Starbucks seems to have good vibes wherever you go and it keeps the customers happy every time, so I guess, why change now? Maybe someday I’ll have the guts to order myself a pumpkin spice latte for fall, and a Peppermint Mocha for Christmas… no, maybe a Gingerbread Latte, and then in the Spring stick to a good old fashion Vanilla Latte and in summer, of course, a Caramel Frappuccino. Starbucks is like a good friend. Based on all my positive talks, it always has the answer to what you want and will never fail you. I was able to speak to some people who aren’t necessarily “Starbucks loyal,” but they told me that Starbucks is a “go-to” when all else fails. I think this says a lot about a place because it shows flexibility and accommodations that can be made for any customer. It’s always there for you where ever you are. They are always around the corner from your location and they always give you something to talk about. They are up to date with the latest seasons and even the latest gossip with daily magazines and newspapers. Hungry? They’re on it! It also acts as a great meeting place. Whether you meet someone new or are meeting someone you cherish. Starbucks is there and I can fully say after finding out more and more information, I put a lot of faith into the company that it will stay loyal to me and everyone else as long as we continue to love our coffee. So my inside scoop Starbucks adventure ends, but I know many memories to come will start, include, or end with a “Hey, want to catch up? Go get a coffee?” "The Origins of Pumpkin Spice and How It Became the Flavor of Fall." Washington Post. The Washington Post, n.d. Web. 25 Oct. 2016."The Most Delicious Drinks Are Starbucks Drinks." Starbucks Coffee Company. N.p., n.d. Web. 25 Oct. 2016.Spence, Shay. "It’s Back! Starbucks’ Pumpkin Spice Latte Has Officially Returned For?Fall." PEOPLEcom. N.p., 01 Sept. 2016. Web. 25 Oct. 2016."Marie Bloom." Girlterestmag. N.p., 16 Oct. 2016. Web. 25 Oct. 2016.Marder, Andrew. "How Starbucks Is Keeping Us Hooked." The Motley Fool. N.p., 01 Jan. 1970. Web. 01 Nov. 2016.Gentile, Dan. "What Your Starbucks Order Says about You." Thrillist. N.p., 03 Jan. 2014. Web. 01 Nov. 2016.By the Summer of 1994, Campion’s Entire District Was Serving Blended Coffee Beverages to Enthusiastic Customers Looking for Refreshment. Meanwhile Starbucks Acquired The Coffee Connection in Boston, along with One of Their Products Called “fra. "Frappuccino Turns 20: The Story behind Starbucks Beloved Beverage." Starbucks Newsroom. N.p., 15 May 2015. Web. 01 Nov. 2016.@nbri. "The Customer Experience – Spotlight on Starbucks." NBRI. N.p., 25 Sept. 2015. Web. 01 Nov. 2016. ................
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