What a SurvivalMom Can Learn From Starbucks

image by Dimitri N.

My head is ready to explode from all the choices I need to make about my blog’s re-design. So, rather than chugging down a sangria or reaching for the Valium, I’m sitting here at Starbucks with my laptop, my daughter, and a Venti-green-tea-with-one-Splenda. My favorite drink.

So what is there to learn from Starbucks? For starters, SurvivalMoms can never under-estimate the importance of cozy. Most Starbucks have a coziness that makes you not mind so much if you have to wait for your Double Caramel Frappuccino. In fact, if you don’t have your current read with you, you might even make a note to bring it next time and make an afternoon of it. Cozy. We SurvivalMoms may be stocking up on grains and learning how to make our own cheese, but above all, we are home-makers, and our home is where our family needs to feel cozy, welcome, and comforted.

On a cool autumn afternoon, you can relax and enjoy a warming Pumpkin Spice Latte because Starbucks has a seasonal menu. That’s a second thing we can learn. Starbucks plans well ahead for the change of seasons. A bunch of college kids in the back room didn’t just whip up the recipe for a Pumpkin Spice Latte last Friday. That drink, among others, was carefully formulated and tested, long before even a single maple leaf turned orange. We need to look ahead to see what the next season has in store for us, how we might prepare, and then take action.

The third lesson is that Starbucks has something for everyone. Even my non-coffee drinking husband likes Starbuck’s breakfast sandwiches and doughnuts. Now, he could eat rice three meals a day, and I’ve stocked up on about a hundred pounds of the stuff even though I prefer bread and wheat recipes. But if Dad’s not happy, well, that’s not very fair! We take into consideration the tastes and preferences of our family members when we buy groceries for everyday meals, so that same principle should apply when we stock up on food and supplies.

Finally, Starbucks is nothing if not consistent, from their drink mixes to the ambiance of their stores. They do the same thing consistently, day after day. That’s a lot like my job as a mom and a SurvivalMom, but every once in a while I need to be reminded. It’s so easy for me to get off track, whether it’s with the laundry, homemade dinners, or preparedness. I’m very much the character who says, “Oh look! A squirrel!” I love spontaneity, and if I could, I’d hire a wife to take care of me and the house! But there is no one else to hold things together, to remember to take a First Aid class (just in case), or to remember to wash the sheets in hot water. My home, and I, would be perfect if I could just be as consistent as Starbucks!

Can you think of other lessons we could all learn from Starbucks?

(8) Readers Comments

Karen
October 16, 2010 at 6:41 pm

Very true!! A girl friend of mine bought me a Pumpkin Spice Latte today on an overcast and kinda cool day (for San Diego) and it was heavenly. We sat outside, it is even cozy outside!! Love Starbucks!!

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LizLong
October 16, 2010 at 7:48 pm

I like the hot chocolate, and my kids like the lemon pound cake, M&M cookies, and bagel w/cream cheese. As you say, something for everyone.

Don't overextend. Even Starbucks has had to close some stores and scale back in places when they tried to do a little too much. And we all do that sometimes.

But also, don't forget niche areas. They have tiny stores in all kinds of places, like Target. We have small areas we need to take care of, based on family needs. I'm in the general vicinity of 40, for example, and have recently started taking Estroven to help with perimenopause (pre-menopause). My husband has asked that I make very very certain to have a VERY good stockpile of it in the basement. Large item? No. Life or death item? No. Well, probably not – but given the way my temper and insomnia were going before that…. Well, I wouldn't have wanted to make me mad. So, niche item, but important. http://www.estroven.com/ (Costco sells it.)

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Moss Walker
October 17, 2010 at 3:32 pm

Starbucks does nothing for me……..but if there's a Barnes & Noble or Borders book store. I'm there for the day…….perusing the isles, sitting on the floor, sitting in the comfy chairs by the fireplace reading…….having lunch in their cafe's…………oh, for one close to where I live.

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Mary
October 17, 2010 at 4:46 pm

I understand what you mean Moss, Starbucks is a little yuppie and high priced for me, but they somewhat redeemed themselves earlier this year when they refused to get into the "no guns" issue. Some of my favorite stores posted the "no guns" signs but Starbucks decided to go along with local ordinances and stay out of the fray, besides, I love their Chai Lattes!!

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ZMalfoy
October 17, 2010 at 5:44 pm

I actually worked for Starbucks for a time! Here's some things that a lot of people don't know about Starbucks (true when I worked there, not sure they are still, but anyway):

1) The pastries have a very short shelf-life. Therefore, unsold pastries are donated to local shelters and food pantries. As Survival Moms (or, Daughter in my case ~_^), we can remember to rotate our food– if at the time of rotation we have too much of something, then giving it to those in need is an excellent option.

2) Coffee grounds are best used for growing tomatoes. I got the best compost from saving the grinds.

3) People often complain about the cost of Starbucks drinks, but the drinks cost that much for a reason. Yes, you can always buy a cheap coffee from 7-11, and God Bless America that we're all free to do so if we wish. But if you shell out the cash at Starbucks, that money goes to pay for health plans for part-time workers, for high quality beans, for the farmers of the beans getting decent pay, and for setting up schools and health clinics for the families of those farmers. Likewise, SurvivalMoms can get great deals on cheap stuff. . .but remember that you usually get what you pay for.

4) When I was working there, it was considered very important to always interact with customers with a smile. If we were in the back room, we could be as grouchy and tetchy as we wanted, but if a customer could see us, we had to be smiling and at least acting happy. (The free drinks during shift hours helped– all that caffeine helped us be perky!). I often found that a smile, a cheerful greeting, a little self-deprecating humor went a long way in brightening the day of our customers. Of course, there were some that nothing could be done for, but most of the time, a (patient, sometimes slightly faked) smile could radically change a person's attitude. As someone once said: "Someone you meet today is hurting, is frightened. Comfort them." We lived by that– every customer is facing something– all we can do is give them a warm smile and a drink to match.

In times of stress, we can remember that a deep breath, a warm smile, and a kind word may be all that is needed to radically change the atmosphere.

5) That said, sometimes people demand the impossible. When I was supervisor one night, we had one lady come in asking for extra foam on her latte, and that it should be extra hot, and extra stiff. Unfortunately, this is not possible short of miracles or magic– it's like asking for skinny jeans that are nice and roomy. She would not listen when one of my Barista's tried to explain that she was doing her best, but what she wanted couldn't be done. The customer insisted that she could do it on her espresso maker at home. At this point I stepped in and said: "Ma'am, what you do in the privacy of your own home is your business, but in this here establishment, we follow the laws of physics."

Some people will always cause trouble. I think it's because they need drama to feel important, that if things aren't always some big story around them, then they don't feel like they exist. It's really sad. For these people, there's little that can be done until they grow up.

Or, it's people who literally don't know what is or is not possible. In prepping, I'd love to have a 100+ acre property somewhere out west, with a house with a nice basement and a tank or two in the garage. But, really, that's not possible short of winning the lotto. And a miracle. I have to deal with what's possible at the moment.

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Jack
October 18, 2010 at 11:14 am

Starbucks subscribes to much of the same methodology that made McDonald's successful. That methodology is "process." The same process is used to fulfill your order every time, just like a Big Mac at McDonald's. A "Grande Cafe Mocha with skim milk, and no whip" is made the same every time by each employee. Rather, no employee makes it differently than any other employee. It is exactly the same. The lesson, is that process works. It streamlines the tasks so you get the desired consistent result every time.

To my point, If everyone in your family is of the same mind set, and you have laid out plans for home evacuation, canning, storing food and supplies, this all goes to process. If everyone knows the right way to do it, every time, it is streamlined, and there will be no questions as to how to get things done, or where items in your prepped inventory are located.

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rightwingmom
October 18, 2010 at 7:09 pm

Infinite choices and infinite personalities means no two Starbucks orders are EXACTLY the same.

The same could be said of preppers, no two are exactly alike. You must prep inorder to meet your specific needs, lifestyle, geographical location, budget, comfort, etc. We all have a common goal, however the process to meet that goal is as unique to each of us as our Starbucks' order.

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