Starbucks revisits standards

I'm a Starbucks fan. After reading Joseph Michelli's The Starbucks Experience, I developed a great deal of respect for how the company tries to run its business. Starbucks' commitment to the environment, the coffee workers in the third world, and its corporate standards were inspiring. Today, Starbucks has reinvigorated my passion for them.

After noticing that the average customer was having a less enjoyable experience, Starbucks is taking a radical step. They are closing their stores nationwide for three hours tonight to re-train each of its 135,000 employees. Chairman and Chief Executive Howard Schulz explains the rationale in a memo to employees. "We are passionate about our coffee. And we will revisit our standards of quality that are the foundation for the trust that our customers have in our coffee and in all of us."

What a great example for the church! What are we passionate about? How do we insure that the quality of the experience for our customers (the unchurched/dechurched) is equally inspiring? Thanks Starbucks for setting a great example in how to build trust with those who visit.