This doesn’t have much to do with earning money online, but with business in general, and how companies can keep their customers happy by empowering their employees.

So I was out the other day, and on my way home, I decided to stop by Starbucks to pick up a delicious drink for my wife.  As it often is, Starbucks was packed.  It took a few minutes to order, and then I waited for my drink.  And waited.  And waited.  Growing up, my family owned a store, and I dealt with my share of rude customers.  As such, I always hesitate to complain about slow service.  When several people in line behind me got their orders, and it didn’t look like anyone was preparing mine, I finally asked the barrista if my order would be coming up soon.

As it turned out, the order taker never relayed my order to the barista, so she was completely unaware of my order.  She quickly made the drink, and handed it to me along with what looked like a small brochure.  She said she was sorry for the wait, and to come back soon.

As I left, I realized that what she had handed me was an apology for the poor service, which doubled as a coupon for a free beverage.

I assume this is Starbucks’ policy, to automatically give these to any customer who has been inconvenienced, even if only slightly.  If so, it’s certainly a good way to keep people coming back.

What I like most about it was that it wasn’t a manager who gave me the coupon, nor was it given to me after I complained (I didn’t complain at all).  It was immediately given to me by the employee I was speaking to.  Presumably, all Starbucks employees have the autonomy to hand these out as they see fit.  By empowering their employees, Starbucks has ensured that their customers will walk away happy, even if they were inconvenienced.

A similar principle is outlined in my favorite business book, The 4-Hour Workweek, by Tim Ferris.  Bogged down by questions from his call center employees who needed Tim’s approval for everything, he tested a plan in which his employees had the authority to fix any problem on their own, without asking him, as long as it cost less than $100 to fix.  Instantly, his workload dropped dramatically, along with customer complaints.

So anyway, I just wanted to share that.  It’s a great principle to keep in mind as we run our businesses.