(My Starbucks on 81st Street in Tulsa)
When I pulled up to the Starbucks drive-thru on 81st street in Tulsa last Thursday, I was greeted with the warm friendly persona that I’ve come to love. I ordered a Grande White Mocha Latte and a breakfast artisan sandwich. The lady taking my order wrapped things up by saying, “Thank you. Your total is $8.14, unless there’s something else.” I loved that! I loved it because it’s such a sharp contrast from fast food drive-thru ordering.
So often when I order a from a fast food drive-thru, I hear, “Your total is $5.49” before I’ve even had a chance to finish stating what I wish to order. Abruptly giving the total can make customers feel cut-off and employees can be perceived as rude.
Starbucks has mastered warm and friendly customer service. The warm experience is made up of dozens of small things in routine customer interactions. When it comes to closing a drive-thru conversation, warm and friendly at Starbucks is to keep it friendly and to avoid cutting the customer off.
When you’re wrapping up a customer interaction, be that in person or over the phone, be sure to keep it warm and friendly. Be careful not to make the customer feel cut off. When you keep it warm and friendly, you’ll surprise and delight customers and they’ll leave (or hang up) with a smile.
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