Two Quick Starbucks Stories

Story One:

One morning last week my friend, Diana Holford (of Jones Lang LaSalle), called me to see if I was in my office. She and a co-worker had been at the Starbucks nearby my office and on their way out they decided to buy me my favorite "Grande Non-Fat Vanilla Latte" and drop it by my office. They called and instructed me to meet me in the parking lot outside my office, where they handed me my cherished hot beverage "just because".

Wow. That was cool. Out of the blue someone who is near your office buys you a treat and drops if off for no reason (other than being a nice friend).

The kind gesture made my day. No, it probably made my whole week! It was a simple act that was neither time consuming nor expensive -- but it made a big impression.

What can you do for the people in your network that will be remembered?

Story Two:

My six-year-old is currently selling Girl Scout Cookies. I took her to the University of Texas on Saturday morning to stand on the corner of 24th and Guadalupe to sell the boxes of baked goodness. My thought was that hung-over college students could not say "no" to a cutie pie such as Kate.

The strategy worked, except for the fact that it was freezing cold in Austin this weekend so the foot traffic along "The Drag" was light. It took a little longer than expected, but she sold out her supply of cookies. However, the cold and wind was awful.

I suggested a hot chocolate at the nearby Starbucks on 24th. She agreed that this was a great idea (ummm, what kid would say no to that??!!). The very nice person behind the counter recognized the familiar Brownie brown vest that my kid was sporting. She engaged Kate in conversation about how cookie sales were going, and then told her since she had worked so hard to raise money for a good cause (she, too, had been in Girl Scouts as a child), that Kate's hot chocolate was going to be free.

Wow. To Kate this was really special. She had never seen a person working somewhere reward a customer with a free hot chocolate just because!

All day she was telling people that her hot chocolate at Starbucks was given to her for free because of her charity cookie selling activities.

The $1.50 that was waived by the woman behind the counter was much more valuable to the 6-year-old customer (whose dad was going to pay for the delightfully chocolaty beverage, anyway). It made Kate feel special.

See, the little things do make a big difference. Always look for ways to make others feel special and you will be a big success in life!!!

Have A Great Day.

thom