Howard Schultz, founder and chief executive, told attendees at the NRA show in Chicago that businesses must be accountable and do more for their local communities and look to create a connection with customers that’s not based “only on trying to ring the register”.
He said: “We made the mistake in 2007 and 2008 of talking about millions of customers per week and thousands of stores. That’s ridiculous. We don’t have a company of thousands of stores and millions of customers. The moment of truth for Starbucks and all of you is one customer, one Starbucks partner coming together with one extraordinary experience based on the best-tasting coffee on the planet.”
“We want to create a connection with our customers that’s not based only on trying to ring the register but demonstrating a heartfelt commitment to communities we serve and where our customers live. The customer wants to support those companies whose values are compatible with their own.”
Schultz said that companies cannot be bystanders to what is happening in their local communities
He said: “We have to stand up and be accountable. We have to do more for our people, we have to do more for our communities, and I think we in a way are living proof that you can share success with your people, bring them along, and create followers and believers because they’re part of something larger than themselves.”
He also encouraged Starbucks partners and attendees to overachieve on every potential experience with a customer.
He said: “The store manager sets the tonality of his or her store. And I think that starts with the people that he or she hires. We have to be sure that we’re hiring the kind of people that is consistent with the brand of Starbucks. We want happy people, we want people who like people, we want people who drink coffee.”
