Taking Off The Extra

I love it when employees defy the policies of thier company in order to give the customer a better experience. Here's my story:

There being almost a foot of snow out there I needed a little warm-up before heading to my weekly bowling meeup, so I popped into my local starbucks before putting on my bowling shoes.

I've talked about Starbucks here in the past, but today they impressed me again. Only this time, it was all thanks to an enthusiastic employee, and not the boys in charge.

So I order a medium steamed soy milk with vanilla, and she charges me something like $3.27. Less than I usually have to pay. I asked her if she included the vanilla. She said she had, but she hadn't charged me for soymilk.

I thanked her, but asked her why. She told me it was because she didn't believe in charging more for a healthier option, especially seeing as how so many people are lactose intolerant anyways.

And besides, she added, It's not like starbucks isn't making a big enough profit margin on thier drinks. They can totally afford it.

I think shes right. I think it would make more sense for them to charge the same for both kinds of milk. It would encourage less people to drink dairy, and give you a clear edge over the competition. I always order my drinks with soy, and if I didn't have to pay extra, I would go out of my way to order at starbucks.

So two things in here to think about:

One. If you are enthusiastic about your where you work, you do have the power to greatly influence the customers experience. Even if that means bending the rules a little.

Two. If your making a huge profit margin, please do think about where you afford to give the customer a break! Taking off that extra charge could make all the difference in enhancing the customers experience.

Alright, thats it. Happy Holidays everyone!