“My family owns an ambulance service in Brooklyn, NY. . . . My uncles were at ‘Ground Zero’ during the attack, to help the victims. They donated their time to help with this crisis, as many New Yorkers did. A great number of people were in shock from the devastation. As many of you know, shock victims are supposed to drink a lot of water. My uncle went to the Starbucks down the street to get bottles of water for the victims he was treating. Can you believe they actually charged him for it! He paid the $130 for three cases of bottled water out of his own pocket. Now, I would think that in a crisis such as this, vendors in the area would be more than happy to lend a little help by donating water.”The e-mail continued, “I love Frappuccinos® as much as anyone, but any company that would try to make a profit off of a crisis like this doesn’t deserve the . . . public’s hard-earned money. Please forward this e-mail to anyone you know and encourage them to do the same.”
Unfortunately, this e-mail was accurate. A Starbucks store staff had chosen to charge full price and not give away $130 worth of water during the September 11, 2001, tragedy. In addition, several efforts to get the matter resolved were mishandled. When the e-mail surfaced, Starbucks leadership did the right thing. Then president and CEO Orin Smith not only had a $130 check delivered to the ambulance company, but he called a representative of the business personally to apologize. Independently, the Starbucks stores located at Ground Zero were operating around the clock and they were providing free beverages and pastries to rescue workers and volunteers.
“At a corporate level, Starbucks was making contributions in excess of a million dollars to the national relief fund. But the bad news of the water sale certainly made a big splash in the pool of public consciousness. Starbucks leadership fortunately understood that most people are willing to forgive human error. What they won’t tolerate is a failure to take responsibility for mistakes or an unwillingness to resolve the shortcoming.
With the grace of competent leadership, Starbucks did not seek to scapegoat or place blame on the store staff who made the errant decision in an unimaginably stressful situation. Instead, Orin Smith understood something that most great leaders appreciate: when you are wrong, admit it, fix the problem, and stay the course in areas where you are making a positive difference.
Ideas to Slip on
- While it’s natural to avoid contact with detractors,
much can be gained by welcoming them into the early stages of problem-focused
discussions.
- It is essential to correct misinformation swiftly.
- When errors are
made, it is important to take direct, unequivocal responsibility and follow up
with corrective action.
From: Michelli, Joseph. “The Starbucks Experience.” McGraw-Hill, 2007.
