People are Experts, not Companies

I was in Starbucks in Bloomington this morning and overheard an interesting conversation. A customer asked a barista what the difference between a red eye and a black eye coffee was. Not knowing the answer, they said give me a few minutes and I’ll find out for you.

The customer was reading the paper while a conversation ensued. The barista talked to the shift manager about it who said “Why not throw it up for the coffee guru?”. Coffee guru?!? Who is that? It turns out they have an internal website of experts who’s sole job is to know everything about coffee. They don’t serve it, they don’t make money from it. They just love it.

It’s conversations like this that make them an exceptional value and not overpriced. It’s why they can open 4 stores in a one block radius and be profitable at each store.

In case you’re wondering the answer, it’s a coffee with one shot of espresso (red eye) or two (black eye).