The Personalization Problem

A Starbucks barista wrote, "Eat a Dick, Pam" on Ted McGinley's cup.

Thankfully, he loved it.

But if he hadn't, that could have been a pretty big problem for the coffee giant...

... and it would have been the company's own fault.

Before we continue, I'll provide some context: Ted McGinley is an actor most recently known for his work as "Derek" on the hilarious AppleTV+ show, Shrinking.

In one scene from Season 1, Episode 3, Derek comes across his wife, Liz, in a mild argument with a neighbour she clearly doesn't like, Pam.

And when Derek pleasantly greets Pam, only to be reminded by Liz that "We don't like Pam", Derek changes tone and invites Pam to, well, you know...

But why would a barista dare to write this on Ted's Starbucks to-go cup?

Starbucks CEO Brian Niccols recently instituted a policy that requires Starbucks baristas to write messages on customer takeaway cups. The goal is to add an element of personalization (a good thing)...

... but forcing people to write SOMETHING on cups could be a recipe for complete disaster.

Is a generic "have a nice day" message scrawled on my cup by a barista being forced to write SOMETHING meaningful in any way?

No. It's generic, not personal, and thus likely ineffective.

Is "You look great in that outfit!" an example of personalization?

Yes, but that could be taken well ("That barista is complimenting me, and I feel great!") or not so well ("That barista is hitting on me... ew!").

Knowing something about me and using that information in a way that makes me feel good (and not creepy) can be two very different things.

And what about, "Eat a dick, Pam"?

Well, if your name is Pam and you happened to be waiting for a drink alongside Ted McGinley, then, yes, you might have reason to be upset.

But the message wasn't meant for Pam.

It was meant for Ted.

And because of that, the message was bold... and brilliant.

A Starbucks barista recognized the Shrinking actor, was a huge fan of the show (enough to recall a specific scene featuring the actor, anyway), and decided to write what most would consider a highly inappropriate quote from the show on the cup as a show of appreciation.

It's perhaps an example of personalization at its very best: a message that says, "I know who you are and I appreciate your work."

From Ted's LinkedIn post, it's clear he appreciated the show reference, so no harm was likely done to Starbucks' brand by the barista's cheeky message.

And because Ted has over 31k followers on Instagram where this complimentary message was posted, Starbucks likely benefited from some fun PR.

But what if Ted was in a bad mood that day?

Or didn't have such a great sense of humour?

Or just had an aversion to profanity outside of his scripts?

Things could have gone very differently.

That's the personalization problem.

Effective personalization means walking the fine line between "personal enough" and "not too personal". Between "I know things about you" and "I don't know anything I shouldn't".

And if you get it wrong, customers might tell you to...

... well, you know.