Extended Essays 2021

People

Starbucks ’ ability to build relationships with regular customers was surprisingly known to be a strong point

of the company and was intended to be its unique value proposition. However, when Starbucks imposed both

customer service and sales targets for its cafes, the imposition of these targets resulted in a decline of staff

morale and customer service levels. In fact, some staff were so disillusioned with the imposition of sales

targets, because it meant they didn’t have time to engage with customers , they posted blogs openly stating that

Starbucks had “ lost its way ” 18 . This is a crucial error as Australian consumers value having a relationship with

the barista and view coffee as an experience not purely a fast-food service. Australia ’s deeply rooted cultural

value of having a strong relationship with their baristas made it more challenging for Starbucks to break into

the market. This failure to consider Australian coffee consumers preference to have a relationship with their

barista discouraged Australians and contributed to its failure.

18 Patterson, P.G., Scott, J. and Uncles, M.D. (2010). How the local competition defeated a global brand: The case of Starbucks. Australasian Marketing Journal (AMJ) , 18(1), pp.41 – 47.

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