Starbucks

Sorry I haven't posted in a while!

I've been busy with:

- Bluegrass gigs. My band's schedule is finally kicking off, and we had two gigs this weekend. Both were churches, and both were a blessing.

- Backyard project. Cathy and I have been talking a lot about making some improvements to the backyard, near our "parking pad". We are weighing a number of options (re-pave driveway and parking pad, or just parking pad) and materials (asphalt vs. concrete vs. brick pavers vs. pea gravel). Unfortunately, costs will be a driving factor, so we may have to do some things on the cheap, or wait until later. We'll keep you posted.

I'm not really sure what else has been keeping me busy, but I seem to be busy nonetheless!

One cool anecdote... I now know why Starbucks is the phenomenon it is, and I don't even drink coffee. Check this out.

This weekend, I was in Target, and I stopped by their Starbucks coffee bar to get Cathy a Grande Vanilla Latte. Some loud woman was in front of me, with an even louder, obnoxious pre-teen daughter. The daughter was spoiled beyond belief, and the two of them were loudly arguing with each other for all the world to hear. All the while, I'm waiting for them to actually order and move along, so I can make my order.

Finally I order, and to try and get away from the mother-daughter spectacle, I go and sit down at a table. Well, the barista girl ends up making their coffees, and forgets that I'm sitting there waiting for my order. No big deal. When she sees me maybe 10 seconds later, she says "Oh, I'm so sorry!" and hands me two of these:

That's right, two free "any drink you want" coupons. All because she caused me an extra few seconds wait, which was not even her fault (it was more the blabbing customers before me, not her). So Starbucks made $5 off me, and sent me out with $10 of free drinks, for a net loss of $5. The company was willing to take a loss to ensure that we remain happy customers into the future.

Now THAT's what customer service is all about. All other companies in the world should take notes on this one...