My reason is simple enough -- Tuesday evenings are my Starbucks night. I repair there for a couple of hours, while my daughter is in her dance class. Put aside the fact that it's insane to close your stores during a prime customer period. Just focus on the fact that, like I said above, if you pepper your customers with "push" communications (i.e., crap they don't want), it's incumbent upon you to proactively reach out to them when you're got some real news.
Like, they're not gonna be able to get their preplanned caffeine jolt.
Starbucks' stumble hammers home the point that, these days, customer satisfaction kudos will go to companies who know how to use the Web (more specifically, Web- and smartphone-based communications) to their advantage.
I've long been on a rant about Starbuck's declining customer service (see my recent post, How Dell Is Far Too Much Like Starbucks) and this latest gaffe certainly doesn't fill me with hope for Starbucks' return to its days as a provider of an unparalleled customer experience.
So here's what I suggest, Howard: Wake up and smell the coffee.
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