For the Love of Soy
Lisa Price and I recently found out we have something in common: If we’re going to buy a four or five-dollar cup of coffee, we want that cup of coffee to be just right.
Lisa is a project manager here at FreemanGroup. A few Sundays ago, knowing they had a long trip ahead of them, she and her husband, Dan, stopped at a Starbucks on their way out of town. Five miles down the road, Lisa discovered that the drink she had gotten was not the drink she had ordered. Their receipt clearly showed that she was supposed to have gotten soy milk. Grrr… Where was the soy? Where was the love?
She began to get really irritated, and then to complain. Dan decided that in the name of deserving coffee drinkers everywhere, they would stop at the next Starbucks on their route and try to get Lisa some justice.
Eureka! Several miles later, they spotted their second green Starbucks sign of the day. When they pulled in, Dan explained what had happened to the employee working the drive-through. The employee seemed genuinely concerned. He apologized and made Lisa another cup of coffee—with soy milk—at no additional charge. He then asked what store it was that had gotten the original order wrong, which led Lisa to believe that he was planning to follow up on the issue.
As a result of the employee’s genuine concern and willingness to right another store’s wrong, Lisa was no longer mad and had no further desire to complain to anyone about what had happened.
When Lisa told me this story, the thing that I picked up on right away is that it only took one brief interaction with one employee to change Lisa’s experience from a negative one to a positive one. How did the employee do this? He did it by listening, letting Lisa and her husband know they were heard, and then taking action.
Listening is probably the most important thing that any of us can do when we’re faced with service complaints. Lisa’s story could have been a negative customer service story, but instead, because one employee listened, it wound up being nice little story about how one thoughtful Starbucks employee managed to save the day and restore Lisa’s faith in baristas everywhere.
How well do you listen to others? How well do you think your coworkers or employees listen to others? How many people’s experiences do you think you would change for the better if you and those around you exhibited better listening skills?
Now go enjoy your weekend with a venti, non-fat, no foam, no water, six pump, extra hot, chai tea latte!
- Batya
I whole heartedly agree with your blog Batya! It’s happened to me many times and knowing there is someone out there who actually cares and wants to correct the initial mistake always makes me feel better and restores my faith in whatever establishment it happens to be.