The Starbucks effect: Use names, not order numbers

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📝 Intro

You’re running a successful coffee shop and the customer flow has gotten difficult to manage, with people queuing up and orders getting mixed up.

You decide to introduce a system to help match the client to their drink.

You like the way Starbucks asks for the client’s name and writes it on the cup, as it feels personal, but you worry that it might be less efficient than simply giving out order numbers - like McDonald’s or Burger King do. 

Is it worth going the name route? 

Here’s why it probably is. 

P.S.:  New research found that personalizing email subject lines by first name doesn't work anymore. Instead, be creative and relevant (e.g. personalize with locations, weather, previous purchases). However, this does not mean using customers' first names is not useful in other situations.

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Use customer names - instead of order numbers - when fulfilling their orders

Topics: Customer Experience 
For: B2C. Can be tested for B2B
Research date: June 2024
Universities: University of Urbana-Champaign, Cornell University, The Ohio State University, University of Vienna, WU Vienna

📈 Recommendation

When handing out orders (e.g. an online order a user placed, takeout restaurant meals) use customer names to match the person to their purchased product (e.g. “Double bacon burger for Jenny” or inviting a customer for their service by using their name “Come on in, Anushka, your hot stone massage therapist is ready”).

People will feel more personally cared for, like your brand more, and be more likely to choose it. 

🎓 Findings

• People prefer and are more satisfied with (both in-store and online) businesses that use names to match the order and person, compared to businesses that simply use order numbers.

• As part of 5 experiments, researchers found that people:

  • Liked a bakery selling cookies that used names 37.5% more than a bakery that used numbers

  • Had an 82.5% stronger preference for a fictional patisserie that called out names (vs numbers)

  • Had a 32.6% stronger preference for a fictional chocolatier that sold online and used names (vs numbers)

  • Were 4.3% more satisfied with a cafe when their names were called (vs when it was not)

• The effect:

  • Works for both, only first and full names

  • Disappears when the seller is non-human (e.g. an automatic SaaS sale is “handled” by software, so people don’t consider it human. A handmade item bought on Etsy is made and handled by a human, so names will have an effect)

  • Reverses, and backfires, when the product is embarrassing (e.g. buying medicine for an STD)

🧠 Why it works

• When businesses refer to us as numbers, we may start to feel as if we are means to an end profit, rather than individuals.  

• Giving a personal name to an object makes us treat it more like a human. When we are referred to by our name, we also feel less objectified and more human. 

• This boosts our opinions of and attitudes toward businesses that use our names and treat us well.

• When an order is delivered by a robot (vs a human employee), we do not mind being referred to by a number, since we know robots lack a mind or feelings, they simply perform functions. 

• When the order is embarrassing, we become concerned about the negative judgment of others and would rather remain anonymous (so referred to by a number, not a name).

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✋ Limitations

• The experiments were mainly conducted in the US, where people tend to be individualistic. More collectivist cultures (e.g. Thailand, India) may not enjoy being singled out by their names.

• The study did not take into account the time or efficiency that might be lost with name use. For example, for languages that are harder to write (e.g. Mandarin), in in-person retail it may be easier to use numbers (unless it’s done online/through apps by the customers themselves).

🏢 Companies using this

• Many retailers, especially in fast food, use customer names, rather than order numbers:

  • Starbucks 

  • Chipotle

  • Dunkin’

• Name-order matching is common:

  • In smaller local businesses where a personal touch is important (e.g. neighborhood cafe)

  • In e-commerce amongst smaller or family-owned businesses such as hand-crafted jewelry on Etsy or independent fashion boutiques. Sellers tend to include handwritten, name-personalized thank-you notes.

  • In beauty services (e.g. hairstylists, manicure salons), where there is a strong relationship between the service provider and the customer.

• However, a lot of large, operations efficiency-focused retailers still rely on order numbers:

  • Macdonald’s 

  • Taco Bell

  • Five Guys

Even if names on Starbucks orders often end up misspelled - it works. 

⚡ Steps to implement

• Use names for calling out retail customer orders:

  • Ask for the customer’s name 

  • Write it down in or on the order

  • Call the person by their name to hand the order over

• Online: 

  • Show their name in web interfaces (e.g. when showing the status of their order), when you are a business in which it is clear that there is a person on the other side (e.g. small coffee roasters, not fully automated messages in SaaS)

  • In thank you notes (e.g. “Robert, thank you for purchasing this hand-made wine cork”) 

• Never use people’s names for services, orders and products that might feel embarrassing (e.g. certain medicines, intimacy products like condoms, feminine hygiene products). Use order and queue numbers. 

• If possible, enhance your orders by including handwritten thank you notes - they increase the likelihood of repeat sales. Write the customer names by hand.

• Personalize the customer experience by showing there is a human on the other side of the transaction (e.g. for ecommerce, include a picture of the person who packed the order). This will increase satisfaction, sales, and product quality perceptions and will make the use of a customer’s name especially effective.

🔍 Study type

Lab and online experiments, and field experiment (at two Cornell University coffee shops with 1120 real customers over 2 weeks)

📖 Research

The Starbucks effect: When name-based order identification increases customers’ store preference and service satisfaction. Journal of Retailing (June 2024)

🏫 Researchers

• Sarah Lim, University of Urbana-Champagne

• Stijn M.J. van Osselaer, Cornell University

• Joseph K. Goodmanc, The Ohio State University

• Christoph Fuchs, University of Vienna

• Martin Schreier, WU Vienna University of Economics and Business

Remember: This is a new scientific discovery. In the future it will probably be better understood and could even be proven wrong (that’s how science works). It may also not be generalizable to your situation. If it’s a risky change, always test it on a small scale before rolling it out widely.

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