Starbucks: Delivering Customer Service

Starbucks, the dominant specialty-coffee brand in North America, must respond to recent market research indicating that the company is not meeting customer expectations in terms of service. To increase customer satisfaction, the company is debating a plan that would increase the amount of labor in its stores and theoretically increase speed of service. However, the impact of the plan (which would cost $40 million annually) on the company's bottom line is unclear.