J.D. Power and Associates Reports: Among Specialty Coffee Retailers, a Courteous and Knowledgeable Staff Drives Customer Satisfaction

WESTLAKE VILLAGE, Calif., April 19, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Staff, more than price or merchandise offerings, is key to driving higher satisfaction among specialty coffee customers, according to the J.D. Power and Associates 2012 Specialty Coffee Retailer Satisfaction Report(SM) released today.

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The inaugural report finds that a specialty coffee retailer's staff is more than twice as important to customers compared with the importance for the other factors that measure satisfaction. Customer service attributes such as courtesy, knowledge of merchandise, speed of checkout and availability contribute to the overall staff factor. Other factors contributing to overall satisfaction are merchandise, cost, sales/promotion and facility.

"With staff having such a high importance to customers, specialty coffee retailers have a tremendous opportunity to differentiate themselves from competitors by focusing on customer-centric approaches and enhancing their customer service training," said Sara Wong Hilton, senior director, strategy and product management. "Customers may even overlook other shortcomings if the staff is friendly, knowledgeable and helpful."

Specialty Coffee Retailer Satisfaction

Dutch Bros. Coffee ranks highest in overall satisfaction with a score of 823 (on a 1,000-point scale) and performs particularly well in the staff, sales/promotion and cost factors.

Tully's Coffee ranks second in overall satisfaction with a score of 812, followed by Caribou Coffee at 809.

Customer Loyalty

High customer satisfaction with a brand leads to customer loyalty, as well as to a high number of customers who will recommend the brand to others.  Among Dutch Bros. Coffee customers, 56 percent say they "definitely will" repurchase and 63 percent say they "definitely will" recommend the brand to family and friends, significantly higher than all other brands included in this report.

"We see a direct correlation between customer satisfaction and commitment and loyalty to these coffee brands included in this report," says Wong Hilton. "Committed and loyal customers are often more-profitable as they typically bring in other customers by recommending the brand."

The report finds that customers spend an average of $13 per visit at a specialty coffee retailer.

The 2012 Specialty Coffee Retailer Satisfaction Report is based on responses of more than 1,300 participants who purchased any product or beverage at a brick-and-mortar specialty coffee retailer in the 30 days prior to being surveyed. The report was fielded in December 2011 and January 2012. Brands included in this report have revenue that exceeds $35 million, have at least 100 locations, and are located in more than five states.

About J.D. Power and Associates

Headquartered in Westlake Village, Calif., J.D. Power and Associates is a global marketing information services company providing performance improvement, social media and customer satisfaction insights and solutions.  The company's quality and satisfaction measurements are based on responses from millions of consumers annually. For more information on car reviews and ratings, car insurance, health insurance, cell phone ratings, and more, please visit JDPower.com. J.D. Power and Associates is a business unit of The McGraw-Hill Companies.

About The McGraw-Hill Companies

McGraw-Hill announced on September 12, 2011, its intention to separate into two public companies: McGraw-Hill Financial, a leading provider of content and analytics to global financial markets, and McGraw-Hill Education, a leading education company focused on digital learning and education services worldwide. McGraw-Hill Financial's leading brands include Standard & Poor's Ratings Services, S&P Capital IQ, S&P Indices, Platts energy information services and J.D. Power and Associates. With sales of $6.2 billion in 2011, the Corporation has approximately 23,000 employees across more than 280 offices in 40 countries. Additional information is available at http://www.mcgraw-hill.com/.

J.D. Power and Associates Media Contacts:
John Tews; Troy, Mich.; (248) 680-6218; [email protected]
Syvetril Perryman; Westlake Village, Calif.; (805) 418-8103; [email protected]

No advertising or other promotional use can be made of the information in this release without the express prior written consent of J.D. Power and Associates.

SOURCE J.D. Power and Associates