Starbucks employee video shines light on need for internal comms
What does Starbucks and other big box retailers need to do to keep frontline employees smiling? (Image credit: blogs.phoenixnewtimes.com)
By now, you’ve probably seen the video. If you haven’t seen it, take a few minutes to watch. It’s good for a laugh. I mean, we’ve all wanted to put on a Starbucks apron with no shirt from time to time and sing a little diddy, right? Heck, this former Starbucks employee might even have a future in the music industry. Maybe he and Dave Carroll could go on tour.
Olivier Blanchard asked an interesting question Tuesday about this video. What should Starbucks do about it? First, he pointed out that this type of “lashing out” from an employee of a brand like Starbucks with several thousand frontline employees is damn near impossible to avoid. And I agree. 100 percent.
Back in 2009, I went to CTIA in Las Vegas for my employer, Sprint. I had many conversations with bloggers, but one of them stands out more than others. As I was chatting with this blogger, I started telling him about what I did at Sprint. Managing an employee social network. Gave all employees, including retail and customer service, a chance to blog about anything they wanted behind the firewall.
The blogger — I can’t recall his name at the moment — smiled as I told him this. He said something like: “It’s a good thing you’re giving sales and customer care reps that opportunity to vent. I can tell you that the third most popular forum on my site is a group of retail employees from different telecom companies — Verizon, Sprint, AT&T, T-Mobile — bitching about customers who were rude, had weird complaints or just don’t listen. It’s obvious that with the stress of their jobs, they need a place to vent.”
This blogger was right on. In fact, one of our most popular blogs on Sprint Space, the employee social network, was a group of employees ranting about negative customer experiences that drove them crazy. But doing it internally, behind the firewall. And within those rants were insights we could share with the Retail and Customer Service teams that gave them a POV on how a frontline employee’s job could be easier.
Chris, the former Starbucks employee, deserved to get fired. Especially since he made racial remarks in the song. I’m sure his video, funny as it was, violated all sorts of company terms and conditions. So he has to live with losing his job. And Starbucks will roll along and be fine. The brand has built up a lot of goodwill and one employee can’t take it down. Not even close.
But the question still remains: What should Starbucks learn from this? Perhaps the bigger lesson here for Starbucks and other big retail brands is understanding the stress frontline employees who interact with customers deal with on a daily basis. Your employees are the most trusted extension of your company and absolutely help determine your brand perception. Companies work so hard to listen to customers. And that’s good. But maybe they should stop and listen to their employees every now and then. Or create an internal avenue for those employees to share.
Who knows? They just might find themselves with happier employees, increased savings because they don’t have to spend as much on employee training and fewer videos like the one above. Internal communications always gets the shaft. But the companies that actually invest in it are learning that their employees can provide as much, if not more, insight into the customer experience than the customers themselves.
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Who am I?
I'm a business communications consultant at Fleishman-Hillard. I used to call myself a PR professional, but I don't use that term anymore because people hear PR and they think only media relations.We do a lot more than that at Fleishman-Hillard Kansas City (FHKC). I specialize in social media, but am trying hard to brush up on my measurement and analytics. Every strategic consulting conversation should start with your business goals and how communications can help you reach them. My motto: "Your brand is what your customers say it is." 
You know, this is one of these “Damned if you do, damned if you don’t” moments, mate. Yes, companies need to listen to their employees as much as their customers - often, moreso, since they’re the ones that can decide whether you have customers or not.
But as great as a company might be at listening, you will never, ever, have a 100% guaranteed satisfied workforce. Someone will think you’re offering preference to one group over yours, or that the boss has his/her favourite and you’re not it.
I think the ease in which videos like this can get made, and shared, makes it almost inevitable that there’ll be an employer bashing video pop up once a week now (at least, it feels that way).
Then you have the flip side, where maybe it’s the customers that need to look at themselves and how they’re treating the frontline staff….
So many variables, so little time…
@DannyBrown I hear you. Valid points. Shows why it’s so important for a brand like Starbucks to build up goodwill with its customers and employees. Difference between this being a blip vs a major issue. Think about IRL. If you hear something negative about someone you know, you give them the benefit of the doubt. Same applies here, right?
I think it’s also about everyone seeking a piece of limelight, Justin. We saw it with that Jet Blue flight attendant a year ago who threw a tantrum, and the Dominos pizza employees who decided to fake their escapade while making za for customers (a few years ago now).
At the end of the day, these people are only hurting themselves b/c their rep as a rabble rowser (sp.) precedes. Is it worth it?
On the flip side, you’re right…what should/can corps do to listen to their frontlines better?
Having worked in retail most of my life, I can tell you that any frontline job is lousy. The pay is usually bad and so are the hours. Give employees a safe place to vent so that they can treat customers with respect.
I worked for years at a very well known department store. We ripped on customers in the stockroom to bond and to keep from going insane.
The thing is this - your employees are the “face” of the brand. If they are not being treated well, they will raise a stink. The better idea is to give them breaks, and let them vent. The employees will be happier and so will customers.
The expectation that “low-level” employees at major corporations will do more than they need to do to satisfy the boss-employee relationship is unrealistic. When I worked in retail ages ago I never thought about the brand my employer was trying to project; and neither was it really explained by management either.
It has to be the responsibility of management and owners to lay out the brand expectations and continuously work that in to the conversation. Without it, you have instances like this where employees publicly chastise the very people owners want to come in and spend money. And if I’m one of those customers, I am now wondering what the employees are really saying about me while they’re making my beverage or I am taking my business elsewhere to get the service I deserve.
Of course it’s not possible to manage all the moods of the employees at major corporations but they should be doing their damnedest to try so it doesn’t affect the business they’re trying to build.
@Soulati | PR Very true, there are definitely folks who want to be social media stars. I get that for sure. And I think Starbucks has built up enuf goodwill to survive several Chris videos. Just think companies could learn a lot from their employees who interact directly with customers on a daily basis. Perfect chance to see things from the customer experience.
@NancyD68 See, I think you provide some really interesting insight into what a frontline job is like. With frontline employees, it can go one of two ways. Frontline employees can feel like they’re getting it from the customer and the company or they can feel like the company is empowering them to improve the customer experience. The latter is much better. And part of the latter is giving employees a safe haven to vent.
@Anthony_Rodriguez AR, thanks for stopping by. See your POV and I think you are right that many frontline employees don’t care about the brand, They just need a job and a check. But some do care and brands will get the best of that passion if they empower employees. Think about how customers respond when brands show they are listening. Employees will respond the same way too. And since frontliners are going to bitch about customers anyway — not possible to avoid this, IMO — why not promote a safe place to do this? A place where the company can actually learn something from some of their experiences? Cheers.
@Anthony_Rodriguez AR, thanks for stopping by. See your POV and I think you are right that many frontline employees don’t care about the brand, They just need a job and a check. But some do care and brands will get the best of that passion if they empower employees. Think about how customers respond when brands show they are listening. Employees will respond the same way too. And since frontliners are going to bitch about customers anyway — not possible to avoid this, IMO — why not promote a safe place to do this? A place where the company can actually learn something from some of their experiences? Cheers.
I gave also gave Starbucks a couple years of my life and know exactly what he has expressed. when you work minimum wage you have to vent. Not everyone is the same but how come the things he sang about, I endured freakin ten years ago while working for Starbucks. I understand why they fired him but come on its a SONG its someones opinion A JOKE.