Competing wants in the espresso line

Today's Wall Street Journal carries a story about a decline in same-store sales growth at Starbuck's, the venerated U.S.-based coffee retailer.  Starbuck's CEO, James Donald, attributes the slowing fiscal growth to a slower through-put within the stores as barista's spend extra time making the frothy, sweet Frappuccino drinks popular with customers during hot weather.  While one could turn this into a case study in the folly of Wall Street's irrational expectations of ever-higher sales growth, the real story seems to be about the tension between speed of service and degree of customization.  A cup of black coffee requires very little customization, apart from "Tall," "Grande," or "Venti."  A latte requires more, but not nearly as much as the blended drinks which are even assembled on a separate line apart from the espresso machine.

Customers want customization.  Customers want speed.  They two wants come into conflict precisely at the point where someone orders a grande, nonfat mocha Frappuccino with extra whipped cream and chocolate shavings, and the next person in line wants a double espresso.  A homogeneous product line is fast and efficient.  It is also boring.  Extreme variety breeds interest and excitement, but it is inherently slow.  How to handle both types of customer wants well is a challenge for every business.