Research On The Customer Service Department In Starbucks Australia

Problem statement

Starbucks Company is an American Company which deals with a wide range Coffee products it has several branch restaurants in Australia (Brook, 2016). Coffee drinks like Starbucks, Carbonated drinks and different types of juices are offered. The restaurants also deal with traditional foods to accommodate the foreign cultures in Australia. The company owns several stores in Australia. Since its entry in the year 2000, the company has been able to achieve several of its goals and is aiming at establishing itself to the global market.

Despite its development, it has come to the CEOs attention that the company is not making as much returns inwards as it used to or as it does in its main market in the US. Over the Company’s website, it is noted that several consumers are complaining of the services provided. For instance, some complained of late delivery of orders, others complained of the unfriendly personnel in the company.  But, what is the reason behind all these complaints? Are these claims true?  The financial reports provided by the accounts department of the Starbucks firm showed a significant drop in the income (Brook, 2016).  For the period which ended June 2017, the returns on capital were seventy thousand US dollars in two of its productive firms in the country. This was a twenty percent drop from the April 2017 report. Financial reports in this company are provided after every two months. This resulted in a dropping graph. If this is not corrected, where is the future of this company?

Brand awareness and brand image are vital for the success of any company and Starbucks is not an exception. Maintaining the two starts from organizational management, more especially the service section. Employment of competent personnel is a necessity (Woods, 2016). Customer service is the most critical and sensitive area in the hotel and tourism industry. The most developed business in any nation is attributed to the quality of services. This can lead to a conclusion that the better the quality of services in a firm, the greater the reputation. This is true. How can a company providing low services expect to be known worldwide?  Consumers get offended when the ethical standards are not followed by those in charge of services, and as a result, they will leave behind a bad image of the company.

Employees in this firm are less motivated, and this is evident from several instances:

• Some arrive late at work.
• Late responses to the calls made during work hours. This has resulted in some delayed deliveries to potential clients and at some point missed out to make sales.
• The interaction among the company’s employees is shallow. This has resulted in poor working atmosphere.
• On the social media, there is less contribution from the employees. Customers ask questions which are not answered on time.

Importance of Customer Service in the Hospitality Industry

An excellent customer service department answers the consumers’ needs appropriately and on time. Time is of the essence to every person. This has made several people look for other restaurants which can fulfill their needs.

There are several reasons behind the poor services in the firm. These include:

• The employees are less motivated by management. The managers do not appreciate the employee’s efforts.
• Poor employee selection criteria by the human resource management which exposes the company to people who have low skills.
• Lack of employee training seminars.

To solve the crisis in the company, this report found out that the administration should be in the frontal zone. The needs of the employees are vital to the success of the enterprise. To ensure that consumers get the best services all the time, the first step to take is to ensure that the employee’s situation is well-maintained. A good relationship between the management and the employees always result to the commitment of workers in their allocated tasks.

This report found out that approximately eighty percent (80%) of the employees in the industry are willing and are able to provide quality services as long as they got motivation. Most claimed that it is not worth doing your best for individuals who do not appreciate or respect your presence. Motivation can serve as a tool for solving problems in organizations.

The main aim of this research is to find out the problems which are facing the customer service department in the Starbucks Company.  Over the past years, there has been a controversy over the Starbucks operation in Australia. Consumers have started complaining about the quality of services by the firm in some of its shops. This has seen a failure in several departments in the company.  Most coffee consumers in Australia go for the Starbucks coffee due to several reasons. Such include;

• The brand is international, and thus it gives them the sense of being part of the international community.
• From observation, most people who go to Starbucks go with their friends and they have taken it as a place where they can interact with their friends as well as the international community.

Recently, we observed an argument between a client and one of the customer service attendants who was at the desk on that day in one of the Starbucks shop located in Sidney. The client had ordered a cup of coffee which she waited for over ten minutes. When the Attendant came back, they argued over the services quality. According to this consumer, this is not the first time she was experiencing the same. She said that the same also happened to her in another restaurant. This was her statement, “This is the third time I will get late to work due to you people.”

With the knowledge that the service industry is vital to the firm, the need to investigate the extent to which the employees in Starbucks firm developed their attitudes towards the clients emerged. There is need to also study the consumer behavior due to the Company’s employees’ effects. All these will help in establishing the reasons as to why there is a drop in the Starbucks sales in some of the main shops in Australia despite their good entry into the market in the year 2000, a year after it was introduced in China.

Theoretical Background

Despite the kind of services which the company provides, the firm still has a strong image in the country. The negative reputation in some of its shops can be changed to maintain a high level of standards in the country. With a proper implementation, the consumers’ perception of the company’s brand image and brand awareness will change.

Brand awareness refers to the extent which the consumer know about your product and its existence. On the other side, brand image is the reputation a firm creates to the public as a result of the kind of goods, services and product promotion available to the consumers’ minds. Creating a permanent image regarding a product in the mind of a consumer is difficult if the firm has incompetent employees.  The way a company creates the perception of its employees has a lot to do with their balance sheet and other financial statements.

Low motivation, low-skilled personnel, as well as a small number of employees, resulted in the company’s poor performance in the customer service department. With minimal employees in a shop, how can the needs of all customers be taken care of in the required time?  Allocating workers more than a single task is a problem which should be avoided at any cost. For instance, the research found out that the person who served people in a given shop, was also responsible for serving online clients in the same place, how can he/she manage that? Assuming that a call was made when the employee is on duty, that is, serving a client with a cup of coffee, how will he be able to receive phone calls or respond to other online customers? The call will not be answered on time. The client will be annoyed for the delayed response. This problem cannot be directly be related to the employee but rather the management for not employing adequate staff.

This theory is also known as the customer-based equity model. According to this model, a firm can only be able to establish a strong brand image and awareness by changing the way the consumers think and feel about their products. In the Starbucks Company, this can be achieved by improving the quality of services (Keller, 2012). The firm will be able to raise its returns inwards by solving the customer service department. The primary objectives of the Keller’s brand model are:

• Creating a strong belief in the product on the minds of the consumers.  Starbucks, being a foreign brand in Australia should employ methods which help them in satisfying the consumer needs. Since the customer service department is there to ensure that consumers get the best services form the firm, there is need to strengthen it (Keller, 2013).
• Generating positive thoughts in the minds of the consumers.  How does one create a positive impression in the consumer’s mind?  The first impression of the consumer regarding your products is built through the interaction with the customer service personnel. Just like in any other office, the people receiving calls or guiding clients give a very big image of the company. If those people are rude, then the consumers might stereotype the entire firm as “A company which does not care about its clients.”
• Creating loyal consumers. Creating a loyal client, the customer service department should have a qualified staff which can easily handle the needs of the consumers.

This model has four stages in its development. In the first step, brand awareness is created. This is achievable for Starbucks Company in Australia if the customer service department is well-handled. The customer service is also responsible for the next step which is to communicate the brand existence to the clients. Through good interaction, clients get informed of the company’s products. Efforts in performance play a great role in informing the consumers about your product. This calls for the need to educate etiquette in the organization. The third step involves reviewing the response of the clients regarding your services. The customer care department plays a major role in this too. With the current situation, most of the clients give a negative feedback which is likely to ruin the image of the company. The last step involves creating a healthy relationship with the clients.  The employee-consumer relationships only get strong when there is a mutual understanding.

Literature Review

This is a psychological theory which was proposed by Abraham Maslow.  According to this theory, employees need the motivation to work in a given environment.  There are different forms of motivation. For instance, one can just get motivated if given time to stay with his/her family, or if given time to carry on activities which will facilitate his self-actualization needs.

Motivated employees feel loved and secure. This is a good thing for the customer care department.  For Starbucks to solve the customer service challenges that employees are facing, there is need to motivate them.  Providing them with a conducive working environment is a motivational factor which falls under the Physiological needs. Nevertheless, there is a need for managers to respect the employees. This will build their self-esteem.  A motivated employee is always ready to work. The five basic needs identified in the pyramid are vital for most people in the institution (Institute Of Management (Great Britain), 2014). If an organization facilitates individuals to achieve these goals, there are high chances that a great height will improve the customer service department.

Using these two approaches enables the research to come up with several findings.  The bad customer service in the firm can be attributed to low motivation. According to research, companies which motivate their employees in the world are performing greatly. A good example of such an organization is Google Service Providers. In their premises, Google provides employees with free twenty minutes (20 minutes) break during work hours each day. It is during these hours that most people come up with new ideas. According to the company’s policy, the 20 minutes are not limiting people to the specific thing to do. Employees engage in other activities which are not even related to their daily routine jobs. Most of those people feel that management is concerned about their welfare and in return, they help in building the organization’s image through providing quality services to the consumers.

This research makes use of both primary and secondary sources in the collection and analysis of the data to fulfill its major objectives which were (Executive Learning, 2015):

• To find out the challenges that the employees working in the customer service department are facing.
• To find out the effects that the consumers face as a result of the poor customer service.
• To investigate the way that management is responding to the problem at hand.

The methods for the research include literature review, observation, interviewing, and questionnaires. For the data analysis, we made use of the tabulation, graphical presentation and the use of the pie charts.

The observation method provided us with first-hand information. Through visiting the main Starbucks shops in Sydney, we were able to find out several things.  We found out some of the instances where consumers kept complaining about the services.  Some of the clients were observed to respond slowly to clients. In one of the shops, a phone rang almost five times, and no one came to check who was calling. From observation, there was no one who was free; everyone was busy serving consumers in the evening.  In another instance, some consumers went away since there was no one to attend to them. This scenario happened majorly in the evening when most people are coming from work heading for their homes.

Research Aim

Some customer service attendants seemed too tired due to a large number of clients to serve. They never rested.

 Closed-ended and open-ended questionnaires were employed. The open-ended questionnaires helped us to know the extent to which the employees loved working for the company, the extent to which the consumers loved the Starbuck’s services and the extent to which management motivated employees to improve the condition of the working climate.  The open-ended questions gave customers an opportunity to express the way they feel about the customer services they are provided within the Starbucks’ shops in Australia.

Our respondents were made up of consumers of the Starbucks products, customer service department, and employees. This method enabled us to get much information to fill our research questions. The reason for choosing this method included its ability to give details to issues, unlike the observation method. Through interviews, we were able to draw conclusions on the perception of the Starbucks’ services in Australia.

As a way of data collection, this method provided us with several theories which we made use of in conducting the research. The theories included the motivational theories. With a wide range of sources in the internet, websites and print media, we got so much information on studying the consumer behavior when determining the kind of services an institution offers to its clients. The customer service department is something which has been there for long, and it is what determines organizational image. Through literature review, we were able to find out ways of solving the poor customer services in Starbucks.

A literature review is what triggered this research. By reading more about customer service, we came up with a proposal for the research to find out more. We used a number of resources to study the different theories and assumptions that surround the work environment. Through the review of literature materials, we were able to gather information from the previous researches and draw comparisons to what is at present. This method proved to possess several merits over the other methods in that:

• Literature review is a fast method of collecting data. One does not have to move over long distances to find the information needed. Through the help of the e-library, we were able to access a variety of books which proved helpful.
• Several examples from different writers enrich one with the knowledge to study the present.
• The under-told and the stories which have never been told regarding the employees in most organizations can be easily located thereby an opportunity to research more.
• With no traveling expenses needed, the method is economical. It is not like surveys where people have to invest heavy capital.

Data manipulation is the major limitation of this method. Books have been there for a long period of time. There are high chances of change in the content hence researchers might be misled (Vogt, 2010). The absence of some learning materials limited our literature review. With some of the books needed missing, we had to use the other methods available.

Research Design and Methodology

Through the employment of observation, interviewing, and questionnaire methods we were able to come up with several findings regarding the challenges which the customer service sector of the firm faces. With the consumption of coffee in Australia increasing each day, the Starbucks is losing some of its loyal consumers to the competitors.  From the rigid ended questionnaire, we were able to come up with the following:

No of respondents	Question	Yes	NO	Not sure
56	Do you like the services offered at Starbuck’s restaurants?	30	24	2
100	Have you ever been disappointed with the Starbucks customer service?	33	40	27
245	After having a conflict with the customer service department of the Starbucks shops, do you still go there?	175	45	25
300	Do you feel that there is need to change the employees in the institution?	190	90	20

From this table, there are several things which are brought out clearly.  Despite the customer services being poor, there is still a percentage of the consumer population that still remain loyal to the brand. How will these people be taken care of?  With a large number of people still going for the product despite having been disappointed once, the company has to look for ways to ensure that these people get satisfied. From interviewing and observation, these consumers have a great attachment to the brand yet disappointed by its customer services in some restaurants. With some being served with Starbucks products in offices, it has formed a habit. A day or two cannot pass without them using the brand.  The major role is now left for the management, what should they do to improve the quality of services?

Most people feel that changing the consumers will be the best option to improve the services in the industry. Consumers have no knowledge that management might have a great contribution to the poor services. As management, what is the way to go? During the research, we were able to interview one of the top managers in the firm. He gave his honest opinion regarding how the employees lacked the motivation to work. For him, new employees will not solve the problem.

Approximately eight percent of our questionnaires were well responded to and returned. Using questionnaires provided a lot of data from most respondents since we were in a position to dispel fear from some. Conducting an interview with some of the staff who work in the firm also revealed to us so many things (Harrell and Bradley, 2009). For instance, one of the employees said that the reason for the poor customer tired is overwork. They are forced to do several jobs, even those outside the agreement. The employees are willing to work but under the agreements made. In order to find out why they were overworked, we proposed to find out the number of staff in some of the shops in the Country. In any firm for the job to be done well, the human labor should be able to meet the requirements of the clients. Having too many clients leads to overcrowding thus, slow rate of services. This can be termed as poor service. The employee ratio to customer ratio should be regulated by the company.

Data Collection and Analysis

Through observation, we saw so many people in line waiting to be served. Slow services lead to low returns inwards. During the research, another critical issue which contributed to the poor customer service emerged, language barrier. In one of the restaurants, there were employees from four different nationalities. These did not use a common language in the workplace. Their languages of communication included French, Germany, Portuguese and Arabic.  There was a great confusion among them. During short breaks, we observed how the workers were divided. Those who understood English only had a difficulty to understand their fellow. For instance, when the French workers made jokes and laughed, those who could not hear them thought that they were making fun of them. This is something which created a very bad work atmosphere. If employees do not understand each other, how will the company expect them to serve the consumers with the highest degree?

Communication is a very crucial tool in the work environment. It is what governs ethics. The stability of every firm in the world relies on communication. Communication entails symbols, words or any way of passing a message to your fellow. With the customer service department, it is a must. Human beings are not machines, and so language is what will bring them closer. Communication between employees and customers is an asset for creating a global reputation.  The communication conflict between the employees is a disaster. It killed teamwork.

With our open-ended questionnaire, we obtained the following from the consumers who went for Starbucks’ products:

Question	Consumer	Response	Reason
When doing your shopping does the quality of service bother you?	1	Yes	I prefer to carry on my shopping in a restaurant where they value my presence.
How often do you go for Starbucks?	2	Not Often.	When I take off early in the morning to work, I prefer to take a cup of Starbucks with me to the workplace, but when I am late, I do not since I fear the waiting in the shop in my place which will make me late.
Are you happy with the services you get at Starbucks?	3	No.	Sometimes I find it annoying. When you order a cup of coffee and wait for more than five minutes, what is that? Don’t I have other useful things to do? If that will change, then I will certainly be satisfied with their services. The problem is not the product; the problem is the customer service section.

From the responses, we found out that the number of people complaining about the services was high. Out of five hundred people who filled in the questionnaire, approximately eighty-three percent (83) complained of the services and not the products.

The large percentage (eighty-three percent) includes opinions from the top management who accepted to be interviewed.

From our literature research, we found out so many things regarding the customer services which can be used to improve the quality of services. Such included the following:

• Motivation
• Employing qualified personnel
• Training new recruits during orientation.

Motivation is the process in which one is appreciated for the job well done. There are two forms of motivation, intrinsic and extrinsic motivation. For intrinsic, an individual finds reasons to motivate himself/herself to work. In extrinsic, another person plays the role of motivation, for instance, a manager at Starbucks encouraging his employees to work hard by giving rewards. Motivation does not only come in financial incentives as many people believe. Some individuals do not need money or an increase in wages to perform. Some other ways of motivating the employees in the firm include providing a conducive work environment, giving workers enough time to rest and spend with their families, give them time for attaining the self-actualization levels in life. Some of the things to do for one who wants to attain the self-actualization stage in the Maslow’s pyramid include giving them enough time to go for further studies.  

Ethical Considerations

From observing what other companies like Google did to improve their customer service department, the following came out:

• A motivated workforce is what results to the success of the organization. When employees are motivated, the feel as part of the company and whatever they do, they are encouraged. Since the firm helps them meet their goals, they get both intrinsic and extrinsic motivation (Gawel, 2017). In fact, you will find such a staff arriving in the work environment very early.
• There are different ways of motivating the customer care workforce to facilitate and improve the quality of services.

Any firm’s output is determined by the competence of the employees. This brings the human resource department into attention (Briscoe, 2015). What criteria does it employ when recruiting employees, does it consider ethics or communication language? Or, does it consider only the education level?  Based on what we observed in the Starbucks shops, the only qualification based on education levels was employed. Having people who cannot communicate in a common language is a challenge to the organization. As a team, communication is the key element to success.  Yes, diversity is important, but it is also good to consider diversity with uniformity since it can be the main reason why your business will be lagging behind.

Organizational culture is important. This calls for the need to teach new employees the ways of the organization which will unite them. A united workforce is a key ingredient to success. Train the employees who will work in the customer service department ways of leaving a first good impression to the people or consumers.

The first impression which people get regarding your organization is what will lead to its success. There are two major things we found out that get affected when the customer service unit is down:

• Brand awareness
• Brand image.

Brand awareness is vital for every business enterprise, be it operating at the national level or multinational. It has the ability to decide how customers will perceive the products you deal with. How do consumers see the quality of services that your premises offer to them?  Does it have any effect on your sales? Brand names do have a big role to play in the current world. For example, you will find most people in the US choosing to use iPhones despite the prices which are considered to be higher than what most Android phones will cost them. This is due to the Company’s brand. Many individuals do associate the brand with quality and high status.  There are a distinct number of ways companies use to create brand names. For instance, through the use of well-qualified salespeople, people who interact with clients at high levels. Businesses decide to sponsor given events, with the objective of generating a perfect brand image to the target consumers. The best example is the one that we see in most of our sporting activities.

Conclusion

Good customer service has led to the success of several firms in the world, and Starbucks provides the best example.  Its leading market is in the US.  Letting the kind of services offered in Australia bring a bad reputation is something which can be avoided. Most of the Australian consumers currently thirst for Starbucks coffee despite the availability of other drinks firms in the nation. There are several reasons which make these Starbucks’ brand in Australia familiar to such extent. One of the reasons is the Australian people’s need for status rather than the test of the brand. Employees should not deny these people what they desire.

From this research, we discovered various factors which increase brand awareness and image that are related to the customer service department. This factors can be classified into the following:

• Time
  consumers like people who serve them on time. No one likes waiting for a long period for services. Nevertheless, we found out that the faster the services were offered to the consumers, the higher is its awareness to the community. This explains why brands like Coca-Cola have a large number of consumers than Starbucks.
• Quality of services
  What takes you to a given restaurant every time you go to the city apart from the wide range of tasty foods provided? The quality of services provided by the company’s employees is a factor which might influence most people in the market. Starbucks has employed staff with good etiquette. Communication forms the way for success in every organization. It starts from top management to the lower employees. Communication breakdown has led to the downfall of several companies (Candlin and Sarangi, 2011). When consumers find arrogant customer care personnel, for instance, they will not go back to such a firm the next time they face a problem or need something; they will look for alternatives. This destroys the brand image. Thus, a community’s brand awareness of your firm will be negative. How do you do away with this bad reputation?  Provide quality services to your consumers.
• Advertising
  The best advertising starts with the customer relationships. The quality of services will advertise your company (Weitz and Wensley, 2016). Advertising has become a key area in the business environment. With several competitors in the industry, it becomes a challenge to make sales to the customers. Starbucks deals with coffee products, why should consumers go to Starbucks and not any other firm? why don’t the Australian people continue using tea? Why have they shifted their attention to the use of coffee? Are they loyal to their brand or to the customer service department in the industry? Several questions will emerge as long as advertising is at hand. What the firms should concentrate on is the kind of services they provide their clients. Do this kind of services fulfill their consumers’ needs? How do they help in advertising?   
• Graphics and pictures used.
  Pictures have the ability to create a long-term image regarding your products to the consumer’s mind. In fact, when one looks into a given picture, there are so many interpretations to make, based on your perception. Pictures serve a great purpose when accompanied with the correct graphics.  A good example is when you pass near a poster driving, what do you see fast in a poster? Images fast, their color and texture remind you of a place you might have been once or twice. You will find out that you will not have time to go into deep details of the advert.
• For instance, the image below is strategically positioned, and the writings are clear. Anyone driving past the area will see the Starbucks’ logo and writings. If one has never heard about Starbucks, the words only cannot create a long-lasting image.

A Starbucks’ restaurant

For example, when one sees an image like the one below, he can tell that it is a drink being advertised.

• The content of the advert.
  The advert should be direct to the message. Most individuals do not like spending too much time struggling to read letters they cannot see clearly.

Clear message graphics for Starbucks

• Consumer buying decisions.
  The consumer buying decisions are in most cases based on their first experience with the company’s employees. If they received good services, they would often associate themselves with the brand.

Conclusions

Bad customer service is the downfall of most of the Starbucks shops we researched on. It is high time that management should put into consideration the matter at hand. The image and reputation of any firm are what will lead to success. Do you want to keep a good image about your products or services? When a visitor comes to your home, what kind of image do you create in his mind? The first thing that gets into your mind is likely to stay for a long time. When people come into your place, try to impress them so that they can come there next time they are faced with a problem. Relying on the customer services is a good idea to sustain a good image. Employees are representatives of the firm, with such knowledge, management should take into consideration the kind of image they are getting as a result of their inability to deal with the clients. The problem with the Starbucks Company in Australian shops can be solved through several ways.

• Increase the number of service attendants.
  Based on the research, employees complained of being overworked. Something which led to low performance. When an individual is tired, the brain functionality reduces and cannot be in a position to concentrate on several things at the same time. This has often resulted in a waste of time and poor production.  To solve the crisis, Starbucks should employ more people to help the existing ones. This will ensure a large proportion of the consumers get served. Hence the complaints about time will be put to an end. Nevertheless, increasing workforce may serve as a way of increasing the company and attract more consumers.
• Motivation
  Motivating workers in the company will make them feel like part of it (Yager, 2016). This will make them work hand in hand with others to achieve both organizational and individual goals. How will the company ensure that people are motivated? Considering the hierarchy of needs by Abraham Maslow, the best way to ensure employees are motivated is by helping them meet their personal needs. A good example is giving them leaves. When on leave, an individual gets enough time to be with family and friends. This is the time the person gets to refresh his mind, and when he returns to the institution, his performance is likely to increase. The firm can also sponsor some employees for further studies as a motivational way (Gawel, 2017). This way, a person feels that the company is concerned with their welfare.
• Training employees about ethics.
  Ethics binds people together (Ford, 2013). It defines the kind of interaction in the work environment. Strong work relationships do lead to improved work quality. The quality of services will greatly depend on the kind of training received. With advancements in technology, there are several ways of teaching employees new skills of handling consumers. For instance, most people in the offices have access to the internet. This thus means that they can access the social media.  According to research, most people spend most of their time on social sites like Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram among several others. Suppose the company uses these platform to pass a message to them, how will it work?  I believe that the message will reach many people at the same time.
  Another implementation is to hold seminars on a monthly basis on the premises. During such seminars, trainers or people with experience in the service industry should be invited to remind the Starbucks’ employees the significance of good customer relationship.

With the knowledge that the organization is undergoing low returns due to the customer service problem, strategies should be put in place to revive the firm’s image (Buckner and Dorr, 2016). The internet will provide the best platform to reach most of the potential consumers of the company’s products.  Advertisers should make the clients see that there is a change in the premises.  Monitoring traffic and responding to clients on time will be a good strategy for starting. A close connection with consumers is what it takes to improve your brand. Internet speed is increasing each day as technology advances. The speed at which information moves from one person to the next has also increased. This has made the gap among people to reduce. Multimediality has also come into place. People have a chance to make use of the different media platforms using different formats to reach their target audience. These formats entail audio, video, pictures and written messages. Starbucks Company can use the formats to advertise their brand in Australia. Upload videos for the YouTube users, put many pictures on their website which they can link to the social media platforms to display how quality their services and goods are.

References

The Android platform brought about a great change to the social media. With its combination with other companies like Google, consumers can access different social media applications on their phones.

Most times, the human mind is often set to remember the bad things more than the good ones. Giving the fast wrong impression of your services to them will kill the firm’s reputation. It is always good to provide quality services to everyone (Bragg, 2015).

The communication challenge in the institution can be addressed based on different strategies. With different communication languages, the premise should decide the official language to use in the work environment. Making English the standard language will serve best for the employees and the customers since most do use it for communication. The misunderstandings will eventually be reduced (Balzer, 2017).

Starbucks is where it is due to consumers, without them, there is no Starbucks. This means that the first priority should be to satisfy the consumers’ needs. But, how will it ensure that?

• By taking care of the needs of its employees. Taking care of employees needs makes them comfortable to work (Bradler, 2013).This builds a relaxed working atmosphere which is vital for every person.
• Assuring them of quality services and products.

The methods which we employed during our research provided us with a lot of information despite having faced several challenges in the field.  The most effective of all was observation which ensured that we got access to firsthand information. The biggest disadvantage of the observation method is its ability to limit coverage since it entails being in the scene. Some events do not happen when we are there. Nevertheless, people usually tend to behave differently when they notice that they are being the subject of study. This might lead to biased data. However, if one gets a chance to visit so many places, the possibility of getting accurate data about the perception of individuals regarding the customer services (Blanchard, 2010) is high when compared to relying on other sources. Since most of our study was done during the evenings, since this is the time when most people were from work, school, and their daily activities, we managed to capture the fine moments at the Starbucks restaurants as well as the services provided (Brennan, 2017). We had to divide our team into groups for effective application of the observation method. This was aimed to save time. This will help to cover a large area over a short time. Nevertheless, teamwork is necessary.

Interviewing and questionnaires were good, just like observation method. However, some of the respondents were not confident when giving their responses. Despite this, the advantages we saw in the execution of questionnaires and interviewing included:

• Quick and fast responses.
  Feedback from the respondents was instant.
• There was room for clarity. The methods involve being there personally or sending a form to be filled. In areas where there was no clarity, more especially with verbal interviews, the interviewer had room to rephrase the question to make it clear for them hence resulting to reliable answers.

References

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Bradler, C. (2013). Employee recognition and performance: a field experiment. Munich, CESifo

Bragg, S. M. (2015). Billing and Collections: Best Practices. Hoboken, N.J., John Wiley & Sons

Brennan, C. D. (2017). Proactive Customer Service: Transforming Your Customer Service Department into a Profit Center. New York, Amazon.

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