Service Blueprint of Starbucks: 1413331

Service blueprint and customer experience:

Table 1Sonia walks into a Starbucks outletEnquires about different types of products Seat selection and calls for a waiterBrings her laptop outPlaces order for a cup of coffeeMakes payment
PositiveAsks about the different types of beverages and food products available   Enjoys the coffee and sips it slowly 
Mixed Some items appeals to her while some do not    
Negative  Feels irritated if have to wait for long time   
Thoughts and feelingsExcited to have a cup of coffee
Appears indifferent
Appears irritated
Reads the descriptions of the productsSelects an appropriate seat
Sits on whatever seat is avaialble
Somehow have the coffee
Have to complete a certain portion of an assignmentfeeling relaxed
Feels irritated
Behaves indifferently
Makes payments with a smile
Makes oayment without looking at the waiter
Speaks to the waiter strenly
OpportunitiesGreet customers as they walkAsk for their preferences and point out the most appropriate product on the menuEnquire about the additional needs like charger points Suggest another productObtain feedback about their experience and invite them to visit again
Table 2
Phases
Sonia walks into a Starbucks outletEnquires about different types of products Seat selection and calls for a waiterBrings her laptop outPlaces order for a cup of coffeeMakes payment
PositiveGreets the waiter to greets her backAsks about the different products in details  Enjoys the coffee and sips it slowly 
Mixed Some items appeals to her while some do not    
Negative  Garbs a chair and sitsKeeps the laptop on the table making a sound  
Thoughts and feelingsExcited to have a cup of coffee
Does not even look at the waiter
Appears irritated
Reads the descriptions of the productsSelects an appropriate seat
Sits on whatever seat is avaialble
Somehow have the coffee
Have to complete a certain portion of an assignmentfeeling relaxed
Feels irritated
Behaves indifferently
Makes payments with a smile
Makes oayment without looking at the waiter
Speaks to the waiter strenly
OpportunitiesGreet customers as they walkAsk for their preferences and point out the most appropriate product on the menuEnquire about the additional needs like charger points Suggest another productObtain feedback about their experience and invite them to visit again
Table 3
Phases
Sonia walks into a Starbucks outletEnquires about different types of products Seat selection and calls for a waiterBrings her laptop outPlaces order for a cup of coffeeMakes payment
Positive Asks about the different products in detailsLooks all over the place and selects the most appropriate seat as per her choice Enjoys the coffee and sips it slowly 
Mixed Some items appeals to her while some do not   Asks the waiter about some other products while making the payment but does not show interests towrads them
Negative   Keeps the laptop on the table making a sound  
Thoughts and feelingsExcited to have a cup of coffee
Does not even look at the waiter
Appears irritated
Reads the descriptions of the productsSelects an appropriate seat
Sits on whatever seat is avaialble
Somehow have the coffee
Have to complete a certain portion of an assignmentfeeling relaxed
Feels irritated
Behaves indifferently
Makes payments with a smile
Makes oayment without looking at the waiter
Speaks to the waiter strenly
OpportunitiesGreet customers as they walkAsk for their preferences and point out the most appropriate product on the menuEnquire about the additional needs like charger points Suggest another productObtain feedback about their experience and invite them to visit again

Mapping analysis:

  • The service blueprint of Starbucks shows that the overall end to end customer journey is positive at least as far as Starbucks Australia is concerned (Starbucks.com. 2020). The service blueprint of the café chain shows that the customers after arriving at the Starbucks outlets look for seats to settle down and wait of seats aren’t available while observing the menu. The next step in the service flow is that the customers after deciding on the product they prefer to order place the order and make payments for it. An analysis of the blueprint provided shows that it does not shed light on each aspect of the Sonia (customer) journey and is hence incomplete (Jaisue, Sangthongluan and Pumoiam 2019). For example, the SB of Starbucks does not show Sonia being offered seats by the floor staff once the previous occupying customers depart after making payments. Similarly, the service blueprint does not show the floor staff approaching customers for orders or suggesting them signature beverage products.
  • The second shortcoming of the service blueprint is that it does not lay emphasis on service quality aspects like waiting time which goes into ensuring customer satisfaction. Halim (2020) in this respect mentions that cafes have emerged into places where customers like to hang out with family and friends. For example, as per the customer persona of Ms Sonia Baker, she likes visiting the outlets of Starbucks with her friends. Thus, a prolonged waiting time can actually lead to dissatisfaction among them. Low level of customer satisfaction in cafes leads to low customer retention which would ultimately negatively affect their revenue generation (Suhud and Bajunaid 2018). Thus, it can be established on the basis of the above analysis that as far as customer journey is concerned, the service blue print of Starbucks is incomplete.
  • It does not show the total journey of the customer namely, Sonia from walking into Starbucks outlets to finally leaving them after making payments for their consumption. It can also be construed from the service blueprint of Starbucks that it is not aligned to the business of the café chain giant totally (Nam, Ha and Lee 2018). For example, the service blueprint does not show the outcome of customers waiting for a long waiting. A considerable percentage of customers are likely to exit from the outlets of Starbucks if not offered sitting arrangements even after waiting for a long time. These customers would feel dissatisfied and not visit the outlets of Starbucks again (Halim 2020). In fact, they may visit the outlets of the competitors of Starbucks like Tim Hortons. This means that the global coffee giant would lose customers and associated revenue to its competitors owing to poor customer journey due to long waiting periods. The service blueprint of Starbucks does not show these poor customer journeys. The analysis shows that the SB of the company is not aligned to its business objectives (Abdul and Purwatmini 2018).

Recommendations:

Addition of waiting areas at the outlets for customers to wait:

The management of Starbucks can identify several opportunities which they can capitalize on to improve customer journey and maximize customer revenue. For example, a waiting area could be provided adjacent to the reception area at the outlets of Starbucks. This opportunity can be justified on the grounds that it would Starbucks retain customers and generate more business. The customers if provided with a proper waiting area with seating arrangements to wait till arrangements could be provided to them to settle down in the customer service area they are less likely to switch over to other cafes.

Offering free samples of new products to waiting customers to taste:

It can be recommended which the global coffee chain can consider would be offering free samples of their yet-to-introduced products to the waiting customers to gain their feedback. This opportunity would enable the firm engage customers and gain their feedbacks which would pave ways for introduction of more customer centric products, thereby generating higher revenue. This means that providing a waiting area to customers and engaging them would enable Starbucks prevent its competitors from attracting its customers to a great extent, thereby maximizing its revenue generation and brand equity  (Berry 2000).

Strengthening brand strategies by acquiring a subsidiary to market middle priced versions its premium products:

It can be recommended that the management of Starbucks to strengthen their brand strategies should introduce new medium priced versions of the premium products and acquire a chain of café to market it. This implies that Starbucks would be able to cater to the middle class customers besides its main target segment, the upper and upper middle class customers, thereby generating more revenue. This would strengthen the brand value of Starbucks.

Supporting small coffee sellers:

Starbucks should support small coffee sellers by providing them with training to make superior quality coffee. This would enable the café giant to promote socio-economic development by encourage small coffee business start-ups. The company would be able to strengthen its brand value as a socially responsible brand.

Introducing more innovative products:

Starbucks should introduce more innovative products which would maximize satisfaction of customers. For example, it can introduce a coffee based beverage product which would contain protein like whey protein. The product would enable the people engaged in sports and physical activities meet their daily protein needs. Similarly, the company can also introduce a variant of tea based product containing ginger and basil. The product would boost the immunity of the customers. The company can also provide a line of vitamin based drink. This means that introduction of innovative products would enable the firm create more value to customers by meeting their wellness and fitness needs. This would boost the brand image of Starbucks greatly in the global market.

References:

Abdul, F.W. and Purwatmini, N., 2018. Improving Service Quality Of Call Center Using Dmaic Method And Service Blueprint. Journal of Management and Business15(1).

AbuThahir, S.B.S. and Krishnapillai, G., 2018. How does the Ambience of Cafe Affect the Revisit Intention Among its Patrons? AS on the Cafes in Ipoh, Perak. In MATEC Web of Conferences (Vol. 150, p. 05074). EDP Sciences.

Bergeson, K., 2020. Planning the Service Design of a Pop Up Café.

Berry, L.L., 2000. Cultivating service brand equity. Journal of the Academy of marketing Science28(1), pp.128-137.

Halim, R.I., 2020. The influence of service quality towards customer satisfaction at People’s Place Cafe Medan (Doctoral dissertation, Universitas Pelita Harapan).

Jaisue, W., Sangthongluan, C. and Pumoiam, K., 2019. VALUE AND SATISFACTION TOWARDS THE NATIONAL BRAND COFFEE SHOP SERVICES: CASE STUDY OF ALL CAFÉ AND CHA PA-YOM. RMUTT Global Business Accounting and Finance Review2(3).

Nam, S., Ha, C. and Lee, H.C., 2018. Redesigning in-flight service with service blueprint based on text analysis. Sustainability10(12), p.4492.

Starbucks.com. 2020. Starbucks.Com. [online] Available at: <https://www.starbucks.com/menu> [Accessed 24 September 2020].

Suhud, U. and Bajunaid, S.M., 2018. Satisfied, but Will They Spread a Word? The Role of Customer Satisfaction at Jamu Café. Binus Business Review9(1), pp.1-8.