Therapy with your latte?

How do you make employee training fun? If you’re Starbuck’s, you make it a game.

Any business with regular touchpoints with customers on the front lines should take a hard look at this and think about how something similar could be incorporated into your own training program. Even companies with call centers (who interact with customers many times daily vs. in the flesh) could benefit from listening to how customers talk, hearing what they’re doing, and reacting in a considerate and thoughtful way.

Customers expect you to deliver what they’re purchased. When you add a well-placed, contextual comment that shows you really care about the customer, even if it’s not at all related to your business relationship, that can go a long way.