Passion Profile: Starbucks Melody

I started this blog to convey my passion for Starbucks. However, I’m certainly not the only one with a deep passion for this great company. My inspiration and the person who I can give much praise to, with regards to Starbucks blogging, is Melody, but you probably know her as Starbucks Melody.

Simply put, she is the embodiment of Starbucks Passion. She writes at least two blog posts a week about Starbucks and each are unique, informative and extremely entertaining. If you haven’t read her blog posts, then you’re missing out. I strongly suggest you check out her blog and subscribe, via email updates or RSS feeds, to her impressive blog – StarbucksMelody.com. You should follow her on twitter as well, if you aren’t already - @sbuxmel.

With that being said, this post is a personal profile of this great Starbucks advocate and fan. I caught up with Mel and asked her a few questions. Each question and answer is meant to convey her passion for Starbucks and give you an inside look into what fuels her dedication to blogging and the Starbucks brand.

If you have any other questions, for Mel or myself, just ask them! Your comments are always much appreciated.

Let’s get started:

1. Me - What is your favourite Starbucks drink?

Mel - I honestly keep changing what I drink. “Variety is the spice of life” describes my Starbucks drinking habits. Right now I am hooked on black tea with orange mango juice, but I love the Chai lattes, and I drink a lot of coffee from the Clover, or drip-brewed coffee.

2. Me - What is your favourite Starbucks store? why?

Mel - Each Starbucks store has its own personality. It’s hard to compare. There are a few downtown Seattle stores that really shine. I love the Columbia Center Starbucks (store 101). The partners are amazing and never get tired about hearing my blog. They are amazing. That store is located close to the court system so they see a lot of me. Other great stores include 1912 Pike Place, the 1st & Pike Store, and although I rarely get to this store: 4th & Seneca impresses me.

3. Me - Why did you start the Starbucks Melody blog?

Mel - I had a number of reasons which were all part of my agenda for starting a blog. I genuinely wanted to create a community of Starbucks enthusiasts in the comments. Yes, I realize that there are many Starbucks blogs, but I still felt like I had something to add to the online world of Starbucks. I also needed an outlet for my thoughts, experiences, and stories about Starbucks: I felt a compulsion to express myself. I really made the decision that I would blog, even if nobody came and read what I was writing. I also believed that the site could offer constructive insight to make Starbucks better. Being a corporate cheerleader alone is not a healthy thing to do. Criticism from the perspective of “Let’s work together to make Starbucks better” is absolutely a useful tool.

4. Me - Have you ever considered working for Starbucks? (in a store or at the corporate level)

Mel - I honestly think that I could be a valuable part of Starbucks but at this point I would lose my independence from them if I worked for them. My journalistic independence is part of what maintains the credibility to my blog, so working for them is out of the question. And in addition, if you consider it from the perspective of Starbucks, I am much more valuable to them as a “customer”.

5. Me - What’s the best thing about being a Starbucks blogger?

Mel - It’s a double-edged sword. I enjoy every single small thing that Starbucks does, such as media invites to taste coffee or I especially LOVED going to the Roy Street media preview night. I am hoping that Starbucks will extend me an invitation to the preview event for Olive Way. Once in a while it’s quite uncomfortable having a spot light on me.

Over the past year I have watched a community grow within the comments to my blog and that part of being a blogger is extremely emotionally rewarding. I’m thankful.

6. Me - Is there anything you dislike about Starbucks? if so, how would you change it if you were a Starbucks executive?

Mel - It’s a big company. A billion dollar corporation. It seems to have problems associated with any corporation that size: Many of the messages flowing in the direction of corporation to customer are somewhat canned, PR type messages. That was evidenced by my experience at the 2010 Shareholders’ Meeting. Reading press materials, blog entries, and having conversations that sound like they’ve been massaged through 20 meetings is far less than inspiring. John Moore of Brand Autopsy always always nails this concept. If you read his e-book Tough Love you can see that he absolutely can articulate what I am trying to say far better than I can. He did a blog article on “mini” at Starbucks and that too sums up what I am trying to say - here is the link: http://brandautopsy.typepad.com/brandautopsy/2010/06/pathetic_starbucks_poster.html

And if I were a Starbucks executive, I would put back up the whole bean menu boards, at least for those stores designated as “Reserve” stores.

7. Me - Do you get any recognition, by Starbucks Corporate, for your work on the blog?

Mel - I passionately cherish the wonderful things that Starbucks has done for me that were “media” type events because I have the blog: Specifically, I am referring to (1) the Jamaica Mountain Blue coffee tasting event at 1st & Pike, (2) the invite to the Galapagos Island Roasting Event, (3) the Roy Street Media Preview event, (4) the DM in Sacramento who let me put on a green apron and make my own Clover, and the opportunity to go shopping at the partner store in the headquarters. All of those things happened, I think, because of the blog. The Roasting Event and partner store shopping were all one trip to Starbucks. So you can see in the course of about 13 months of blogging there have been 4 media events.

I have a wish list of things that I would like to see Starbucks do for me, but it’s just that: A wish list only. I’m not holding my breath. I would love to attend in any Olive Way media event; I’d love to have another Howard autograph to frame; and I would love to have a tour of either the Kent Roasting Plant or the Seattle Pilot Plant to talk about roasting on the blog. But in the end, I just happily accept what comes my way. I really can’t _expect_ those things.

8. Me - If you could sum up Starbucks in 3 words, what would they be?

Mel - Three words: Love. Coffee. People.