The second day of the NRA Show 2013 included a keynote presentation by Howard Schultz, CEO of Starbucks. Howard focused his presentation on how restaurants have to give back to the community and create a balance between the desire to be profitable and a great sense of social conscience. He described how Starbucks currently does more than others by holding themselves accountable for making people’s lives better. “We want to create a connection with our customers that’s not based only on trying to ring the register but demonstrating a heartfelt commitment to communities we serve and where our customers live,” he said.
Howard Schultz said that he thinks it is ridiculous to talk about Starbucks as a company with millions of customers and 1000’s of stores. “We don’t have a company of thousands of stores and millions of customers. The moment of truth for Starbucks and all of you is one customer, one Starbucks partner wearing the green apron and one extraordinary experience based on the best-tasting coffee on the planet” he said. You can see this philosophy in how Starbucks leverages mobile technology to create a personal relationship with his customers one customer at a time.
There is also a great selection of education sessions for restaurant owners. Many European, South American, and Asian company representatives are here to attend these sessions to learn about the latest innovations and techniques in restaurant management. North American companies are the leaders when it comes to innovation in the restaurant space.
Stay tuned for more updates. Next blog post will be available tomorrow