In Wikipedia-like fashion, I warn you upfront that this post is not about Dancing With The Stars (DWTS). I’ve never been a fan of the show. Of course, like the rest of the nation, I spent the summer after Season 1 caught in the grips of the John O’Hurley-Kelly Monaco controversy. And after watching Donny and Marie (Osmond) perform at The Flamingo in Vegas, I did enjoy seeing the coveted Mirrorball Trophy in person while viewing memorabilia that they collected during their successful DWTS runs in Seasons 9 and 5, respectively. I did also follow Kellie Pickler’s run to the aforementioned Mirrorball Trophy in Season 16, and not only because she is a key link in the chain that has me only three degrees of separation from Taylor Swift. OK, I’ll admit that last year I was caught up in the Pommel Horse Guy mania, casting my 9 of my 10 votes each week for Stephen and his partner Rylee Arnold – what a stirring performance in their finale. But I’m not a fan of the show.
Although now that I think about it, perhaps I should think more deeply about DWTS, as the show does give off some serious competency-based, master a new skill and move on vibes – even including a redemption dance.
Wow, 200+ words already and I haven’t even started the post. Must be overcaffeinated this morning. That’s right. Starbucks! This post is about Starbucks and the stars you collect as part of their reward program. Oh, Starbucks and stars, I just got that. Clever. But not nearly as clever as their use of those stars to shape customer behavior.
Starbucks and Me
As with DWTS, I’m not what anyone would call a Starbucks fan, a regular, a daily customer. Anyone’s who’s been in a meeting with me (in person or on Zoom), knows that morning, noon, or night Diet Coke is my beverage of choice. I’ve never been a coffee guy. As one does, I did experiment with it a bit in high school, but it turns out that coffee is one of the few things that my stomach can’t stomach.
So, why Starbucks. Well, there is the fact that everyone was doing it. Psychometricians are always in search of good ways to fit in. And as GBBO finalist Ruby Tandoh wrote in her latest book, Starbucks “gently suggested that it was OK, actually, for adults to go into a coffee shop and leave with a grown-up triple-XXX version of a milkshake.” Ah, my venti mocha Frappuccino. [Aside: I am a fan of the GBBO.]
Alas, my Frappuccino days are far behind me. My drink of choice these days when I visit Starbucks is a zero-calorie iced tea (green or black); or when I’m ready to splurge after walking on a hot summer day, an iced tea lemonade. Throw in a seasonal PSL, Chestnut Praline Latte, or berry refresher mixed in, but for me, it’s iced tea. And Starbucks knows that.
Accumulating Stars
Although far from a regular, I did join the Starbucks reward program, even earned my gold card one year. That physical card has been replaced by the app; and so too, has the traditional punch card/sticker reward program – buy 10, get 1 on the house. Now, it’s all about accumulating stars – 2 stars for every dollar spent on the app, double star days, bonus stars. Somewhere down the line, of course, you can also redeem the stars for a drink, food, or merch; but much like those tickets won at an arcade, the prize never gives as much pleasure as watching the stash of tickets flow out of the machine after a successful Skee Ball or Hot Shot basketball game.
Then there are challenges.
With my low Starbucks profile, regularly I receive “challenges” for fairly large numbers of stars for fairly small commitments: purchase an iced tea twice this week for 40 stars, 3 times and you get 80 stars. The goal, of course, is to get me used to visiting Starbucks on a regular basis; so, if I complete that first challenge, they ratchet things up. My next challenge might be to make 4 purchases in a week and perhaps throw in a bakery treat or lunch item. Then it’s 4-5 purchases in a week before 11 am for an increasingly smaller number of stars.
So, the dance begins.
Who’s Controlling Whom?
After my star total hit a low of 11 earlier this year, the Starbucks algorithm reached out. I bought a few iced teas and collected the 100 stars offered. But then I ignored the challenge to make daily purchases or four purchases in a week for 80 stars. Starbucks countered with 40 stars for two iced teas and 80 for three. Going back and forth like this over the past couple of months, my star total now sits north of 600.
But as my wife points out every time that she sees me walk into the house carrying what essentially is a glorified cup of iced water, the house always wins. No, I’m not a daily customer customizing complex cups of coffee, but Starbucks has me engaged, so they’ve won. But I feel good with the process and the outcome, and I enjoy my occasional iced tea. I’m engaged, so haven’t I won, too?
That’s the key. Starbucks has me engaged in something I enjoy. Yes, the dance, but also going to Starbucks. The reason why isn’t all that important. It may be the product, the ambiance, the generic handwritten message in marker on my cup, or the few seconds of human contact with the harried, but always smiling, barista. (Wow, that quickly took a turn for the sad.)
There are any number of apps sitting on my phone and plastic cards sitting in my wallet for reward programs with which I quickly became bored, but I continue to return to Starbucks.
Catching My Interest Is Easy. Keeping It Is Harder
“Engagement” must operate on at least two levels.
We can use bells, whistles, carnival barkers, or stars to get the person in the building or seated at the table.
But once we have their attention, something has to click to get them to stay.
I started clarinet lessons in 7th grade because I liked the way the instrument sounded when my cousin played it. She moved on to something else after a year or so, but I played clarinet (along with flute and saxophone) daily through college, compiling some amazing friends and experiences along the way. My teachers, the lessons they designed, experiencing success (i.e., seeing myself becoming good at it), and who knows what else kept me engaged.
The point is we need both, the initial act that will catch my attention and the thing that will keep people’s attention, keep them coming back.
The Stakes Are High
With music lessons, sports teams, buying coffee, or other of life’s “electives” it may not matter whether we win some and lose some.
With the core subjects, and frankly the core experience of attending school, it does matter. We can’t afford to lose some.
Therefore, if one approach doesn’t work, we have to try another. It’s not a new concept. Good teachers do it every day. Curriculum-based measurement, developed in the 1980s, is built around it: select an instructional approach, try it out, assess/evalutate, if it’s not working try another approach. It’s one of the foundations of student-based teaching and learning.
We can get caught up in the labels du jour (the more adjectives the better, right) and flashy new tools, but the concept remains the same. We have a product that we’re trying to sell. To do that, we must be successful at three distinct tasks:
- Make sure that what we are “selling” is a good product that students need.
- Get them in the door.
- Keep them coming back.
Complete that challenge, do a victory dance, grab a cup of coffee, and give yourself a gold star.
Image by Gordon Johnson from Pixabay
Embrace the Absurd 