Book Review: The Starbucks Experience

This was the book I bought on my return flight back to Singapore. If you like Starbucks, you should probably go drink Starbucks. If you're a fan of Starbucks, like me who doesn't really drink Starbucks but just like the company, you should read this book.

This book is like those movies with happy endings. It makes you feel good at the end, and probably want to grab a cup from a barista. Starbucks has shown us how to turn a commodity product into a cafe chain with cult following. That's by making retail personal, very personal.

In the book listed the 5 principles of Starbucks and plenty of Chicken-Soup-From-The-Soul type of examples. After reading the real life stories, you'll probably go, "This, man! This is how everyone should be doing business!"

And also, you probably don't know that Starbucks is not a franchise. Every single store is owned by Starbucks themselves. That's the magic of Starbucks.

Note that this book doesn't teach you how to brew a good cup. This is more of a business book.

The other book I bought, which I regretted is, Stephen R Covey's 8th habit. It's like a psychological textbook than a self help book. Hey, 7 Habits is easy to read but this book is of a different level.