One of the most memorable quotes attributed to Howard Schultz, Founder and CEO of Starbucks: “We are not in the coffee business serving people, but in the people business serving coffee.” I use this quote in a presentation I give on “The Consumer Experience” as a way of distilling for employees the very essence of what all businesses should recognize. Replace “coffee” with your product or service and the same would be true.
I will generalize here and say that the vast majority of us prefer to do business with those we like and we trust. Beyond the basics of a quality product and good customer service, we are bound by our relationships with people. Another favorite quote of mine is one I recall being in Jack Welch’s book Winning. When asked about which restaurant was his favorite, he replied: “The one where they know my name.”Read More