So Amy and I just returned from dropping off my Saab to get repaired and decided to make a stop at Starbucks afterward. After receiving our coffee, someone had stopped us to request a minute of our time to answer a few questions. The Starbucks we were at was actually in the Dennis, MA Stop & Shop grocery store, so the survey could have been for anything. Initially I admittedly was a bit defensive as I thought it may have been someone trying to get me to sign up for a credit card or some other “opportunity”. In any case I was pleasantly surprised that it was a Starbuck’s survey, here’s what happened.

Starbucks Survey
Usually I avoid these types of encounters like the plague and had started to do so, but when I heard the survey was concerning Starbucks I conceded. As I have mentioned many times before in this blog Starbucks is a favorite brand of ours. We bend over backwards to promote our favorite brands and welcome the opportunity to provide feedback. This survey was a bit different from others I had encountered – here is what made it painless and a pleasant experience:

1. Duration: The survey was short and quick, there were only six questions and the rating criteria was one through five, one being the worst and five being the best. It just so happened that we both rated Starbucks a five (best) for all of the first five questions. The survey took all of two minutes.
2. Structure: In addition to the five rating type questions there was one open-ended question, which was the final question of the survey. This question was: “What would you do to improve Starbucks?” For us this was a tough question as we are happy with the overall experience – but we thought hard about this in order to provide meaningful feedback. The only feedback we provided was that Amy would have liked for the “melon syrup” to have not been discontinued. I conceded that this is a tough request as you can’t make everyone happy. For each person who likes a particular product there may be ten who dislike it. In the end the company needs to do what makes sense for the overall strategy of the company. The person conducting the survey appeared to seriously take this into consideration. Placing the open-ended question at the end was appropriate and set the tone of caring about our feedback and showing they were interested in suggestions to improve their brand.
3. Appreciation: The person conducting the survey thanked us for our time and provided us with two coupons for two free beverages of our choice. Basically our drinks were free – not bad for two minutes of our time! This made me believe that the person conducting the survey actually considered our time as valuable and felt that our feedback was valuable as well.

After leaving the store I had thought of another area of improvement that should be implemented. Amy and I had discussed this and decided to return inside. One of my pet peeves is that Starbucks has not offered free Internet service (at least the locations I have frequented) and if Internet service is offered it is for a fee. Granted the fee is not terribly high, however it is really an inconvenience. We had returned inside with this suggestion which was gladly taken.

I was informed that free Internet service is provided at some locations if you possess a Starbucks card. However, I believe in this day and age that is too much effort. Call me lazy, but if I have to sign up for something or go through any process to access the Internet at a coffee shop I am likely not going to do it. Most coffee shops offer Internet for free with a purchase. To me this makes perfect business sense as the longer I hang around the coffee shop on the Internet, the more purchases I am likely to make. I am sure others may be the same as well. The suggestion was noted and hopefully will be acted upon in the future.

All in all I was very pleased with the survey – again I usually view these sorts of things with disdain This experience further reinforces our opinion of Starbucks as a leading brand and we will continue to support the business insomuch as possible.

When conducting a survey consider the duration, structure, and appreciation components!

-John R. Sedivy of Cape Cod Branding