BLACKBEANS COFFEE
Blackbeans Coffee is a popular organization, which majors in coffee sales. Devin Beans and her son Scott Black established the company in 1989. The two chose on a beverage business after their hardware business incurred tremendous losses resulting from frauds by the top management. They, therefore, resorted to having a smaller business which they could manage by themselves, and which they were more informed about. Moreover, the present coffee dealers at the time were offering low-quality coffee, and they were aiming at bringing a new stock of high quality coffee into the market. The business has since grown into a globally recognized organization having approximately 1800 branches inside and outside the U.S.A. In the U.S.A alone, Blackbeans has 784 branches throughout the 50 states of the U.S.A. Its headquarters are in Houston, Texas where the first retail outlet was established in 1989. The company prides itself of 40,000 employees who are committed to their course and have all contributed to placing the company on the global map.
Mission
Vision
The vision of the company is to be the world’s leading coffee retailer.
Strategy
Blackbeans has since its establishment faced a stiff competition from the two ‘bigwigs' in the coffee making industry: China mills and Delica. The company came up with a variety of unique strategies to tackle this stiff competition. These strategies mainly revolved around the quality of their coffee and the satisfaction they could give to their customers on a daily basis. The strategies were such as'
Make Wi-Fi available in every outlet to increase the probability of a client's overstaying and ordering for more coffee. Clients who love the internet can browse through their gadgets and stay longer prompting them to order for more.
Coming up with offers twice a month to promote coffee sales: Blackbeans offers a buy one get one free promotion every two Sundays of the month. Here, the customers buy one mug of coffee and is given the other mug free at the usual price of one. This has helped to boost their sales, with sales going up to 40 % above the normal sale percentage.
Continues coffee improvement: Focusing on top quality coffee only unlike their competitors who deal with all varieties of coffee. It has invested in research and development to enhance innovation and creativity.
Blackbeans emphasizes on value for price by charging slightly higher prices for their coffee and giving the best coffee quality (Gammelgaard & Dörrenbächer, 2013). This is enhanced by the homely set up which characterizes all its outlets. Consumers who value quality over price prefer it to its competitors.
Creating a fascinating coffee-drinking environment by emphasizing on a traditional interior design setting and comfortable sitting chairs to make their customers even more comfortable. The company has increases their chair capacity to become slightly bigger than it used to be. Customers who love comfortability and their space find this set up very enchanting.
Blackbeans has faced increasing competition over the years from other companies dealing in coffee. What sets it aside, or makes it unique, however, is the quality of coffee beans it offers to its customers. It is slightly more expensive than its competitors are, but the quality they offer gives customers value for their money. An additional advantage to Blackbeans is the comfort of its environment; a mixture of nature and modernity, making it a favorite spot for most coffee lovers.
Organizational Structure
Blackbeans Coffee has an organized management team, which consists of the Board of directors, the C.E.O, and functional heads. Functional units include marketing, finance and accounting and administration. This team functions to make critical decisions about the company when various issues arise. The C.E.O is responsible for the overall operations of the company and communicates the decisions made by the executive to the employees through the departmental heads (Takahara & Mesarović, 2003). Each functional unit is headed by a manager who is in charge of the operations within the functional unit. Departmental heads report to the CEO.
Scenario Setting
I managed to book an appointment with three employees from Blackbeans coffee over the weekend. The interview is to take place at one of their famous restaurants in Houston Texas. The interview will take place at different moments such that each interviewee is given his/her ample time and enough privacy to answer the questions supplied. The three employees selected for this interview include; the customer service manager, the head chef, and the Human Resource Manager. The interview is scheduled to take place over coffee and to last for one hour each. The interviewer will use an audio recorder to record the responses given as well as a notebook to put down the important points noted by the interviewees.
Customer Care Manager- Mr. Frank Lampard
What is unique about the customer care service at Blackbeans? How do you make it so unique?
What is the key factor in keeping up with your competitors?
Why do you put so much emphasis on the quality of coffee than the prices, and can you say, it has added to the growth of the company?
Can you say that the mission and vision of Blackbeans have been achieved so far? Which ones specifically, and in what way have they been achieved?
How can you grade your performance so far, and whom can you identify as your main competitors?
Chief Chef- Mr. Aiden Houghton
What do you enjoy most about your job?
Do you like working as a team or making your decisions as an individual?
You say you have worked here for 25 years. What has this company done for you as a committed employee, and how can you compare it to other companies?
As an employee, do you feel like your opinion is valued by the management, how?
What is your personal goal in this organization? What do you aim at achieving?
Human Resource Manager- Miss. Olson
What are the main challenges you encounter in your job?
As the HRM, can you say that you have managed to recruit the best professionals for Blackbeans?
How far are you, as a human resource manager, willing to go to ensure that the company has the best personnel?
How many times do you recruit in a year?
What are the circumstances under which an employee is dismissible from the company
References
Gammelgaard, J., & Dörrenbächer, C. (2013). The global brewery industry.
Takahara, Y., & Mesarović, M. (2003). Organization structure. New York: Kluwer.
