We were doing really good with our customer connection scores but it seems since Jan it started going down and now our scores are terrible..no matter how much I talk to the team about how we can improve.. it doesn’t seem to help..any suggestions on what to do?
I'm sorry, I'm about to go off. I hope you find this info useful. I know alot of this will sound nuts but IT WORKS. For December I was #2 in the entire company for our Customer Connection score. There is a excel spreadsheet on workbench under Starbucks operations and you can see a list of every single stores scores. I recommend you find the top stores in your district and reach out to see what they are doing differently than your team. It hasn't updated to Jan scores yet so I'm not sure if I still have that #2 spot...but here we go..
Customer connection score = An employee made an effort to get to know you
DO NOT pressure your team. This will make them ultimately feel anxious and uncomfortable about making conversation. I don't pressure my team with writing names because It comes off as robotic and un genuine and that's not what our guests want. You want your team to feel comfortable enough to do this on their own. the truth is..if they are STRICTLY focused on names, they won't be focused enough on actually making conversation with the guests.
Start with something easy... Speak 1 on 1 with your team and find out what they enjoy doing. I have a few team members who enjoy experimenting and making drinks. We sample almost CONSTANTLY and we make it FUN. When it's slow and we have time my team will compete against each other. The team member with the fastest time to walk around the store and give out all their samples to our guests gets food or drink req'd out or some other small reward. It creates a fun environment and happier team members. Happy tms=happy guests. I'm tired of stores saying they don't have time to sample. After almost every drink you make, you will have enough milk or frap left in the cup to pour a little sample. It takes two seconds to pour that into a sample cup, throw whip on it and hand it to a guest while they are waiting for their drink. "Hey, the guest before you had a java chip frap and there was a bit left, would you like to try it? It's one of my favorites" or " I noticed you ordered a passion tea, if you want to try something different I just made samples of a white chocolate mocha. It's different from what you typically order but it's one of our top sellers and delicious!" boom bam done.
TRY YOUR BEST NOT TO MAKE SAMPLES AND LEAVE THEM ON THE COUNTER! That is not connecting with your guests. When a guest is ordering and having trouble, walk them through the order. Hot or iced, fruity or coffee? share what you personally like and why. This is sooooo simple and goes such a long way.
Keep bullseye stickers at Starbucks and hand them out to any children that come up! Another big one at my store...parents will do anything to keep their kids busy while shopping.
For the tms who don't know where to start with making conversation try these prompts:
"It's cold today, did you want to start with a hot drink to warm you up?" Or vice versa
After they order: "Is this your favorite drink?"
"Do you have the target app?"
"Did you see our deal for ____ on cartwheel?"
"Do you have the Starbucks app?"
"Is there anything we can do to make this better for you?"
"Are you excited for spring? Have you heard about our new drinks coming out?"
I'm falling asleep writing this so I'll leave it at that.