An article in yesterday’s Wall Street Journal looks at Starbucks new experimentation with Lean manufacturing principles, which just so happens to be the area of expertise of an old friend of mine.
Under a new initiative being put into practice at its more than 11,000 U.S. stores, there will be no more bending over to scoop coffee from below the counter, no more idle moments waiting for expired coffee to drain and no more dillydallying at the pastry case.
Starbucks says the efforts are already helping its bottom line, as shown by quarterly results last month that beat analysts’ expectations. Still, some baristas fear the drive will turn them into coffee-making automatons and take away some of the things that made the chain different.
I’ll leave the commentary on this article to someone that understands the subject much more than me:
A Defense of Lean and of Lean at Starbucks by Mark Graban
Tags: lean·mark graban·starbucks
In a curious Friday press release, FMM Media, self-described publisher of Funeral Business Advisor (check out this month’s feature on “tribute blankets,” who knew?) announced that it will launch a new trade magazine circulated primarily to independent coffee and tea shops.
“As part of FMM Media’s mission to become the leading publication in the coffee and tea industry, we continue to dedicate ourselves to producing the highest quality publications that focus solely on business-to-business content and providing real solutions to our readers that they can apply to their businesses to improve. Unlike other subscription-based publications, we have always believed our sponsors (“advertisers”) deserve a publication that does not exclude anyone. Therefore, CBS Magazine will be a FREE publication for the entire industry to benefit from,” stated Manley.
Hmm… exclusive? My post office box is stuffed full of coffee magazines every month and I pay for nothing, so I’m a little unclear about exactly he is referring to. Furthermore, the “sponsors deserve a publication?” That’s a little weird, right?
Manley continues:
“Our success has always involved concise, business building editorials that primarily help the “independent” operator in the day to day operation of their business. This content is formatted in such a way that we do not use images and artwork to detract from the real purpose of our publications, and that purpose is to inform our readers while at the same time showcasing our “advertisers” to the entire industry.
Readers certainly don’t want the magazine to get in the way of their advertisements… that’s apparently the secret to their past successes, this coming October.
We rely on our sponsors for much of this content. By allowing our sponsors to provide content, we enable them to position themselves as leading experts in the industry, thus gaining the trust of our readers. By gaining this trust, our readers then view our sponsors as business partners, focused on helping them improve their business.
Paraphrasing: “We have created a magazine of advertisements. Since coffee business owners believe everything that they read, anyone that pays for an ad in our magazine will be instantly viewed as an expert in their eyes, thus allowing endless opportunities to sell whatever they wish to these mindless drones.”
I wish FMM Media success with the Coffee Business Solutions magazine concept and look forward to what promises to be a source of hard hitting original editorial content for the industry with many unnecessary quotation marks. Now if you will excuse me, I need to order my Michael Jackson tribute blanket.
Tags: coffee business·coffee business solutions·funeral business·trade magazine
False alarm! Despite arriving in my inbox today tagged as happening in the United Kingdom, this article was actually from April 13, 2009 in Birmingham, Alabama U.S.A. (the US280 reference should have been a tipoff). Nevertheless, it’s clear that the marketing campaigns continue and my comments following the article are still valid…
Just when you thought the media had developed an immunity to Starbucks’ pay-it-forward viral marketing campaign, a new strain has resurfaced: this time, in the UK.
BIRMINGHAM (UK) – Sharon Dierking was at a Starbucks on U.S. 280, placing an order for a mocha frappucino. When she pulled up to the window, the barista told her the driver in the car ahead of her had paid for her order.
“I was completely dumbfounded,” Dierking said, “but I was thrilled.”
Dierking wanted to return the kindness to another, but her car was last in line. A few days later, she was able to pay it forward at a Starbucks in Inverness.
“It makes you feel good and it brightens your day,” she said.
Random acts of kindness are popping up at Birmingham area coffee shops, as customers are anonymously picking up others’ tabs.
Stacie Elm, a barista at an Alabaster Starbucks, said a line of five cars recently paid it forward. Customers are in a bit of disbelief when they discover their order has been paid for, she said. “Most are like, `You’re kidding.’”
But the shock gives way to generosity as people are compelled to pass along the kind gesture.
Baristas at Starbucks shops in eastern Birmingham, Hoover and Vestavia Hills also reported episodes of paying it forward – actually, backward, since the person in the front car paid for the person’s order in line behind him.
A Starbucks spokeswoman said the Seattle-based company promoted a Cheer Pass program in 2007, designed to remind customers to spread kindness. However, the pay-it-forward phenomenon is “consumer-driven,” she wrote.
And kindness comes in more forms than a cup of coffee. Dierking said she saw the practice once at a grocery store when a stranger paid for groceries that a woman could not afford.
The Pay It Forward Movement was launched in 2000 by Catherine Ryan Hyde, author of the book “Pay It Forward.” The phrase refers to the concept of repaying kindness by doing kind things for other people….
…and here we go again. A mysterious stranger who practices gestures of prepaid beverage benevolence only at Starbucks stores mysteriously predicts the value of the next customer’s order and adds it to his or her bill. The recipient of this “random” act of grande kindness is so pleased that he or she immediately drafts a press release and contacts the local media to discuss how wonderful Starbucks customers must be.
Come and experience human decency — only available at Starbucks while supplies last. Offer not valid where prohibited by law.
Even advocates of the phenomenon admit that the proliferation of pay-it-forward events at Starbucks locations (why not your local gas station, grocery store or non-Starbucks coffee shop?) is unusual, but are quick to counter: “even if it is a marketing program, what’s so bad with a company giving people a little joy?”
Critics, including myself, feel that any commercially fabricated outpouring of humanity for the sole purpose of gaining media attention and subsequently selling more beverages is both irresponsible and unethical. Engineered campaigns that blur the line between reality and corporate advertising message damage all of our abilities to distinguish between genuine and fabricated experiences, risking our further sensory withdrawal from daily life.
How often does one take notice of the daily inundation of radio, television and billboard advertisements anymore? What would happen if the same suspiciousness and resistance that we have developed to, for example, spam email, was now also applied to every personal interaction or emotion?
I, for one, don’t want to be in the position of someday questioning whether the kind “Good morning” and smile of each stranger jogging by is a genuine friendly gesture or somehow tied to a marketing promotion for a new product launch.
Tags: pay_it_forward·starbucks·uk·united kingdom·viral_marketing
The SCAA sustainability committee today released (though dated 4/14/09) a comparison matrix of major coffee certification programs: Organic, Fair Trade Certified, Rainforest Alliance, Smithsonian Bird Friendly, Utz Certified and 4C Common Code.
Although making no value judgements or analysis of the ultimate effectiveness of these programs, the matrix does objectively evaluate the structure, history and scope of each program and will be a handy reference guide for coffee buyers — perhaps consumers, alike.
Download the comparison matrix (PDF 136 kb)
Tags: 4c common code·certified·coffee certification·fair trade·organic·rainforest alliance·scaa·smithsonian bird friendly·sustainability·utz
Hooray! The August / September James Beard Foundation member newsletter is here!
That’s right, the current JBF Notes includes my profile, quotes and a picture in the article titled “Will Work for Food,” which is at this very moment on its way to the mailboxes of the world’s culinary elite. Even for someone who is appreciative to routinely get great press coverage for what I do, I must admit that I am as stoked as a kid on Christmas morning. I’m a total foodie.
The article includes my advice for those looking to set out and follow their passions in pursuit of a dream job, including:
“As with food, starting a career from scratch requires more time and effort, but usually yields better results.”
…and the 3 life lessons that I’ve learned along the way:
“…to never limit myself to the expectations of others, always try and listen to the meaning of what is being said rather than the words, and to never put coffee grounds down a sink drain.”
I recommend that everyone who is interested enough in coffee to read this blog should join the James Beard Foundation. It’s a fantastic organization that promotes culinary excellence and one that needs more representation from the specialty coffee community.
Tags: Andrew Hetzel·coffee·food·james beard foundation·jbf notes
