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Starbucks – ‘The Third Place’
Abstract
The case discusses the evolution of US-based coffee café chain, Starbucks Corporation (Starbucks), into a ‘third place’ where people could enjoy and spend quality time. Inspired by Italian culture, Howard Schultz (Schultz), the CEO of the company, developed Starbucks into a perfect ‘third place’. From training its employees and maintaining an attractive ambience to offering world-class products, Starbucks did everything to attract customers and succeeded in doing so. The company built a team of the right people, addressing them as ‘partners’. The culture, values, and best practices of the company were communicated to all the employees, and the employees’ ideas were also considered and shared. Each barista had to undergo training of 24 hours during which he/she was taught about basic retail, customer service, all about coffee, and how to brew a perfect cup of coffee. The interiors and ambience were also welcoming and made customers comfortable. |
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Issuess
The case is structured to achieve the following teaching objectives:
- Understand the meaning of ‘third place’
- Study the various efforts made by Starbucks to make it ‘the third place’
- Discuss and debate how Schultz’s efforts helped Starbucks establish itself as the most preferred place for customers
- Discuss whether Starbucks will continue to be ‘the third place’ after the changes that were brought in
| Contents |
| Introduction |
| About Starbucks |
| Establishing 'The Third Place' |
| Losing The Way |
| Restoring 'The Third Place' |
| Challenges |
| Exhibit |
Keywords
Starbucks, customer service, customer retention, coffee retail, culture, competition, customization, ambience, retailing, store design, atmospherics, store development, training
