Sales growth of 5% for the 11th consecutive year seemed to support Schultz’s belief that Starbucks was close to a recession proof product, however market research findings appeared to portray a different picture. According to research findings, Starbucks was not always meeting customers’ expectations in terms of customer satisfaction. Planning to take corrective action in order to improve speed-of-service and thereby increasing customer satisfaction Day and her colleagues were evaluating whether investing an additional $40 million annually in the company’s 4500 stores was a profitable plan. Starbucks’s success is attributed to their successful focus on their brand strategy, which is to create an everyday experience around coffee. This strategy consists of three brand components namely offering high-quality coffee, establishing an intimate relationship with their customers and creating an atmosphere that makes customers feel that they are part of a community. Distribution plays a big role in their success and this statement is supported by the variety of third parties with whom they have built relationships in order to reach the diverse range of consumers, such as retail centres, office buildings (i.e., company-operated stores) and hotels, airlines (non-company-operated channels). Starbucks believes that employee satisfaction leads to customer satisfaction and therefore they empower their employees (i.e., partners) in different ways. As a result Starbucks’ employee satisfaction rate range between 80%-90% and they have one of the lowest employee turnover rates in the industry. This success has not come without its challenges, due to customers demand for drink customization it has put strain on their ability to focus on customers as it takes longer for baristas to make the drink and therefore there is a slowdown in service level.

Starbucks uses the “Customer