Uh oh. Espresso Malfunction!

Yesterday at the Fred Meyer Starbucks in Corvallis, the espresso machine was down. Some people didn't even know what that really meant, and how it would effect their order, but just to clarify, we were only making hot or iced tea, hot or iced coffee, or frappucchinos. This meant no espresso shots, no lattes, no mochas, no apple cidar, and no hot chocolate. It was so sad to watch a child's face change from a very toothy grin to a droopy sad lip when we told them hot cocoa wasn't available until our machine was fixed.  


For some people, this meant their morning is over. For others, life went on and they went without coffee for the day. However, for the most part, people compromised their drink. Instead of ordering a vanilla latte, they would have a house coffee with room for cream and vanilla syrup. Not only did the Fred Meyer Starbucks not charge customers for the extra syrup used in the drink, we also handed out a free drink coupon to anyone who seemed bothered by the inconvenience. 


Starbucks really does value the customer, and yesterday we did an excellent job of showing that. Not only did we give suggestions for drink substitutions, but we also were opening the eyes of the customer to find a drink that tastes fairly similar, but wasn't quite as expensive. A lot of customers were surprised at the chunk of change they were saving. 


As grateful as I am for the business we received yesterday, I couldn't help but think, why don't people go get coffee somewhere else? There are several coffee shops in Corvallis, including several other Starbucks locations. Maybe people didn't want to make the drive to another coffee shop, but Coffee Culture is not even a minute away from the Fred Meyer. Why don't people try coffee somewhere else? Coffee Culture has great coffee as well, and I hate to say, their white mocha is going to taste pretty close to ours. Especially on a day where we aren't able to draw espresso shots. What does Starbucks offer that Coffee Culture or the other surrounding coffee shops in Corvallis do not? Could it be the welcoming customer service, or the fact that many of our returning customers are greeted by name, and have less than a minute wait time on their drink? Maybe I should ask, what draws people to a coffee shop and where do you draw the line between service and the product itself?