Starbucks tests new names Max Effgen, July 18, 2009 Interesting article in the Seattle Times, Starbucks tests new names for stores. How do you compete with saturation? Change your name. Will be interesting to see how this works. Anyone remember all the “Seattle’s Best” stores that were shut down after the Starbucks buyout? Friends ask me all the time…
Starbucks recalling 530,000 coffee grinders Max Effgen, June 17, 2009 I caught wind of this story last night: Starbucks recalling 530,000 coffee grinders. I cannot imagine cleaning a device with spinning metal blades without unplugging it. There seems to be more to this story on the grinder recall. I do strongly recommend grinding coffee at home. Freshly ground beans just…
More on Coffee Max Effgen, April 11, 2009 Check out this good read by Starbucks co-founder Jerry Baldwin, Press Pots: Coffee Worth the Effort on Press Pots (a.k.a. French Press or “Freedom” Press). My coffee habits are similar — only espresso or press will do. A few years ago, I received a KitchenAid Pro Line Burr Grinder KPCG100…
Customer Loyalty Max Effgen, April 10, 2009 Time after time in discussing potential CRM technologies with clients, the issue of customer loyalty is brought forth. Clients want to make sure that their customers keep coming back. Depending on the type of relationship, one bad transaction can lose a customer. When the process of sales and service is…
Coffee Max Effgen, March 20, 2009 When I first moved to Seattle, I could not tell the difference between an espresso and freeze dried Taster’s Choice. That changed in a hurry. I now have a strong regular habit. I even brought a Starbucks Barista® Espresso Machine into the office of a former employer to slow my…