02-06 - Starbucks

Dr. K shared an everyday learning experience related to Starbucks while we were in Florida. I realized that I experienced a simliar experience related to Starbucks. While I didn't quite follow my experience all the through to discovering what Starbucks was "teaching", I unconsciously realized that there was a purpose to their practices.

While at Starbucks, I had asked the counter person if there were any Starbucks located in the Lancaster area. The employee stated that the Barnes and Noble did sell Starbucks products, BUT that the employees of Starbucks were not TRAINED in the Starbucks procedures of making coffee. As Dr. K noted, Starbucks is doing a wonderful job of educating their employees that to be trained in the Starbucks way places you a step above other coffee employees. The employees pass along this culture to the customers making you feel that you are getting an inferior product if it's not provided by a trained employee.

Someone in the Starbucks corporation is very astute in not only marketing, but psychology. They need to create and cement their brand in their customers. They need to bring the customers into their culture in order to maintain their customer based. In effect, they are creating a practice...and developing a community around that practice.

I wonder why we can't create this same phenomon in education. Why do students prefer not to be part of the "school culture?" If we spent more time creating the effect that Starbucks has, we'd have more engaged students because teachers would be more engaged.

karen.connaghan@pepperdine.edu