What is your mission?
It may not seem like it…
But your mission is the most important factor in delivering great customer experience.
In this Takeover episode, host Ethan Beute speaks with Levi Ayriss, VP of Southwest Field Operations, and Lance Risser, VP of Field Operations, at Dutch Bros Coffee.
Having fun
Levi sees customer experience as a moment created between two individuals where a desire meets a craft.
That moment provides an opportunity.
That opportunity is a chance to really emphasize the “experience” part of customer experience.
You do this by creating a moment when your customer can feel honor — a moment they want to share with other people so they can experience the same feeling.
That’s how Dutch Bros approach customer experience: creating moments for people when they need them.
And one thing that helps them create these moments is the company’s emphasis on having fun.
“If we’re not having fun, how is it going to be attractive? Everybody is attracted to doing things that are enjoyable.”
If you look at their website, you’ll notice that they love playing with language. Positions within the company have playful names entirely devoid of the stuffiness found in other businesses.
They do things differently.
And it’s paying off.
Mission drives experience
What makes the fun and humor they use so effective is that it creates a community rather than some lifeless transactional relationship.
Their personality attracts people with similar personalities. There is an authenticity and an honoring of that community inherent to this approach.
But Dutch Bros has extended this well beyond playful job titles.
It’s central to their mission.
“We want to make difference in the lives of the community, but we also want to make differences with our community as a whole.”
The company prides itself on its impact on the communities it serves.
Coffee’s just a way to get their foot in the door.
The company takes this seriously. Many employees, franchise owners — the Dutch Bros community at large — dedicate time, money and effort to doing good in the community.
After hours, it’s common that they extend the company mission by volunteering at food banks, shelters, and other important causes in the community.
Their values are lived and breathed by everyone in the company.
But it takes work to inculcate these values and elevate them above simple slogans.
It takes intentionality.
Intentionality
The company has a policy of giving 1% of gross earnings back to the community.
This is how to be intentional.
This framework is how they keep the mission from being a platitude and make giving a core feature of the business.
And it works.
Because, in the end, that 1% serves as a foundation — a symbolic tithe to inspire their community.
“Life is a team sport. And the more open you can be to every stranger you run into, the more you’re actually going to make an impact on the planet.”
In practice, this giving is amplified many times over by the many members who go above and beyond.
The intentionality sets the tone for the culture, but the real work is done by the culture.
And Levi and Lance wouldn’t have it any other way.
For them, the company has a duty to serve the communities they partake in — they need to give back to show their appreciation for all the community gives them.
After all, those important moments are a two-way street.
And if you’re doing everything right, they’re effortless.
This is a #FlipMyFunnel podcast. Check us out on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or here.
