Observation Study Of Starbucks Coffee

Coffee drinkers all have one thing in common; they want their coffee made to their specification. Most soft drinks, milkshakes, and draft beer are ready made. Coffee has many flavors and that can be an operational nightmare. Starbucks has 10 different types of coffee beans, 12 blends of flavors and loads of special toppings.

How can the Starbucks operations be consistent with so many variations? My observation will evaluate the Starbucks' processing time. The objective problem statement is "It takes too long to get a flavored cup of Latte from Starbucks."

The selection of a theme is to produce the best cup coffee while the customer waits a minimum time. Starbucks has a great deal of competition in the coffee business. Starbucks is more popular because of its marketing. Starbucks is the name brand of coffee. In order to keep the mindshare of its consumers, Starbucks must continually improve its service to customers. First, question why the present method of serving customers made the customers wait for more than 10 minutes. The clerk receives the order from the customer but has not been properly trained, so the clerk does not know to steam and foam milk for a Latte. The result is that another clerk must help while taking that clerk away from her duties and causing another customer to be slowed in service.

To fully understand the breakdown in service, a survey is conducted to find out which customers waited longer than 10 minutes. The process is itemized to determine the cause-and-effect of the breakdown in service. The data is recorded on a checklist. The checklist asked the kinds of coffees ordered, the times of the day ordered and how long the customer waited. Customers who had waited a longer time than 10 minutes were ordering specialty coffees that normally took longer than regular coffee drinks. After further review, a program was developed to set a target of reducing their wait time to 7-8 minutes per customer. With using the checklist as a measurement, the next step is to launch the program.

Making sure that everyone take lunches and breaks on different shifts we keeps two clerks at the counter at all times. Provide two weeks of training for making all types of coffee will limit the confusion for new workers. Have regular meetings to openly discuss situations the clerk has to adjust our new program. Making sure the execution of the program is not only illustrated but written in a procedures book for easy reading and follow through.

For each cup of fresh coffee, coffee beans should be grounded just before brewing. Therefore, for each customer, the coffee is treated as fresh produce. Coffee should not be overexposed to oxygen, light, heat and moisture. In order to save customer from the time of waiting for the clerk to grind their coffee, customers can grind their own coffee beans in the store. Instead of walking in to wait in line, customers can help the process by grinding their own coffee beans before getting in line. The grinder will be pre-set to grind the coffee beans to the perfect texture of fineness.

In order to implement this plan of the customer grinding its own coffee beans, the whole Starbucks store operations must be modified. Currently, the retail stores has space where the partners (employees) work and serve customers, the "back" where the backroom and bathrooms are, and the cafй section where customers sit down and enjoy their drinks. Behind the counter, the floor is divided by the register, beverage station, digital brewer, and the pastry case. The register is the point of sale where the orders are placed, called and paid for. The beverage station has the Espresso Bar and the Cold Beverage station. The beverage station is where the customers will grind their beans. Every store must make sure the Beverage station is in eyesight of the register, in order to help customers not familiar with the process of grinding coffee beans.

Worldwide training will be offered so that the partners will know how to handle the customers when needed. Two additional grinders per store will be allocated for the customer's use. When the store is not busy, the clerk will have a grinder next to the digital brewer for more efficient service.

The new procedure of the customer's grinding their own coffee beans will be measured through customer surveys and measuring the new average wait time with the old average wait time. Before customers were waiting over 10 minutes for a cup of Latte. With the new process of customers grinding their own coffee beans and coming to the counter with their beans already grounded - the customer's wait time averaged between 7 to 8 minutes. Customers are happier, customers are more educated on the process of producing fresh coffee and the customers are buying more retail products because of

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