Starbucks is Global, Training Should Be Global -- Here's Why!

Bias is global and inherent to all cultures. However, it does not mean that inherent bias should exist in this day and age. What happened at Starbucks in Philadelphia was tragic and abhorrent. The CEO has taken the right course of action and should be applauded. That said, inherent bias is a global issue not just U.S. And Starbucks is a global brand. It would do well to conduct inherent bias training all over the globe. An anecdote illustrates the point.

I travelled to Changzhou, Jiangsu, China, near Shanghai in the summer of 2016 for my daughter's badminton training. During the week I was in need of a good cup of java and discovered Starbucks at WANDA Plaza in Changzhou, a major shopping district. With the able assistance of my then 11 year old daughter who speaks fluent Mandarin, I ordered a Cafe Mocha Grande. I gave the barista my name as Gerry and patiently waited for the order.

In typical Starbucks fashion I noted the characters on the cup and thought it was some sort of translation of "Gerry." Frankly I did not give it much thought until my observant daughter wondered what were the characters' meaning. At that point I swiftly texted a photo to my China-born better half back in the states for translation. She responded with a chuckle and noted the characters as "foreigner." I thought it was odd since I gave the barista my name. It seems that "foreigner" has a negative connotation so I took it upon myself to inform Starbucks HQ.

With the stroke of a single Tweet, Starbucks responded, "Not the experience we strive for at our stores in China; we are addressing w/ the team. Thanks for sharing with us."

So let me be clear, my experience was in no fashion equivalent to the unfortunate Philadelphia example. But what it does point to is that "inherent bias" is global, no matter what form it takes.

The Philadelphia experience is one we can all learn from, be conscious of our own biases and take commensurate action. Starbucks would do well to train all of its representatives that customers, potential customers and visitors are vital and without them, the enterprise would not survive.

Gerard (Gerry) F. Corbett is Founder, Chair and CEO of Redphlag LLC , a strategic branding and communications services and counseling firm and instructor in the Entrepreneurship Program at UC Berkeley, Extension. Gerry has more than four decades of technology, PR and marketing experience in several Fortune 200 firms. He also is past chair and CEO of the Public Relations Society of America and an avid photographer, career coach and blogger.