Experiencing a 'Kopi Item' at Starbucks Coffee

My 80 years old father in law is a coffee lover. A cup of coffee is his mandatory daily menu in the morning that makes his face brighter every day. It’s no problem with his stomach though he drinks coffee without eats anything in the morning. Thanks God for blessing him with incredible health in his 80s.

Please don’t get a wrong perception. A coffee for him is just a coffee a la ‘kopi tubruk’. I don’t know where the terminology of ‘kopi tubruk’ came from, but, as we’ve known it is an opposite from a modern coffee that usually served in contemporary coffee shops or cafes such as espresso, cappuccino, lattes, etc. Towards those coffee varieties, my father in law definitely does not know at all. So, coffee for him is just as simple as two spoons of ground coffee plus two spoons of sugar mixed with hot water in a cup. Three of those then be stirred-up to make it ready to drink.

A pack of ground coffee with 250 gram can make about twenty cup of coffee for my father in law. The price per pack is less than Rp. 20,000,- to get a good local brand. So, with a simple calculation, we knew the price per cup of coffee.

Since I had a coffee maker, my father in law said goodbye to his favorite ‘kopi tubruk’. Now he can drink coffee without lees in the cup because the smart machine automatically proceed coffee bean to become coffee liquid directly while the lees is separated.

One day, my father in law joined us to accompany his wife (my mother in law) see a doctor in a prominent hospital in Tangerang. That day we forgot to serve his favorite coffee at home. While waiting for my mom being treated by the doctor, he walked in the lobby area and found a small coffee shop over there. Hmm…that’s Starbucks Coffee. He did not know what Starbucks was, but by smelling the aroma that always entices everyone who passes by, my father knew a ‘kedai kopi’ (a coffee shop) was sitting there.

The smiling barista greeted my father in law politely and offered him the menu. As all of the items mentioned by the barista were so strange in his ear, he just shook his head till the list completely read.
“Just give me a ‘kopi item’ please,” my father in law said expecting his favorite one. The barista understood that my father in law asked him the black coffee.
“How much?” asked my father.
“Twenty thousand rupiahs, opa (grandpa),” the barista replied.
My father in law stupefied. He groped his pocket and paid for the coffee. After received the coffee in a beautiful paper cup, he then left the smiling barista slowly. Hmm…the shocking price.

The following day, in the morning as usual, I brewed and served a ‘kopi item’ to my father in law. While he was stirring-up the coffee, suddenly he giggled when remembered the ‘kopi item’ a la Starbucks the day before. I knew what was in his mind. It’s nothing else than the shocking price because twenty thousand Rupiahs for him means twenty cups of his previous favorite ‘kopi tubruk’. Happily, he still enjoyed the morning with his lovely ‘kopi item’ that I served.

Another day, again, my father in law had to go to the hospital to accompany my mother in law to see a doctor. Apparently, the ‘kopi item’ a la Starbucks has made him little bit addicted. The aroma has tantalized him and dragged him closer and closer to the coffee shop. The same young boy barista greeted him politely.
“Good morning, opa, a black coffee again?” he asked.
“Yes, kopi item. But can I get a smaller size, please?” my father replied (actually he expected to get a cheaper coffee).
“I am sorry, opa, there is no smaller size for your kopi item”
“Uhm…no smaller size ya? Uhm…I cancel my order then,” said my father while he’s searching various cakes and breads inside the glass shop display. The barista waited hospitably, starred down my father’s face.
“How much is this one?” he pinpointed to some pastry.
“That’s twenty thousand Rupiahs, opa,” said the barista.
“Allright, I take this one,” my father said and handed over Rp. 20,000,- of banknote.

After some minutes, the barista came and served the pastry.
“Opa, here is your pastry,” he said. “And, this is your favorite kopi item.”
My father in law dazed for seconds.
“But I did not order the coffee,” my father replied. “I only ordered this pastry,” my father said confusedly.
“Don’t worry, opa, the coffee is free for you,” the barista said nicely while handing over the coffee to him.

That day was a wonderful day for my father in law. That was not just because of getting his favorite ‘kopi item’ with free of charge in Starbucks, but the ‘touch of tenderness’ by the Starbucks through the young boy barista in its small outlet at the hospital. My father in law was so impressed with his experience that day. He told everyone the story. In the middle of difficult time to deal with his wife sickness, a simple care and sympathy for an old man like him was so meaningful.

What the barista did was a confirmation toward a tenet of Starbucks that drive it to its phenomenal success, because the strength of Starbucks is not just merely a coffee business, but a relationship building between the barista and the customer. The barista who in charge at the hospital has carved the natural touch on my father’s deep of heart. “Leave your mark” is one of the five principles of Starbucks business according to Joseph A. Michelli in his book “Starbucks Experience”, and the barista did it very well.

A shocking price for ‘kopi item’ or black coffee in Starbucks? Just ask my father in law. I am sure he would come back to the hospital and come to Starbucks – whether to order his favorite ‘kopi item’ or just a pastry (expecting to get a bonus again?).

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Serpong, 22 Sept 2009
Titus J.