Terri Humphreys knows she will never be a health care provider, but as the assistant manager of the Starbucks in the Madison Plaza Building on the Memphis campus of the University of Tennessee Health Science Center, she is proud she can help support those who are.
“We enjoy coming to work, we enjoy our customers,” Humphreys said. “One of the things our district Starbucks manager asked us to do was come up with our own little mission, our purpose statement. We came up with the statement of ‘passionately united to support.’ We feel like our purpose is literally to support the people who really are the brightest minds in Memphis, Tennessee.”
The Starbucks location opened on July 20, as part of renovations to the UTHSC Food Court. Even during the pandemic, when much of the campus has been working remotely, it has continued to serve the campus and the Memphis Medical District, Monday through Friday, 7 a.m to 3 p.m.
Last week, the location was notified that it has reached a milestone, said Manager Starr Kelly. It received a customer connection rating of 95, which is the highest satisfaction score in the region. “It’s a big win for us,” Kelly said. The rating is generated by customers through the Starbucks app, based on accuracy, cleanliness, speed, product taste, and how well the barista gets to know a customer.
That pleases Humphreys to no end. “Me, personally, I came from the University of Memphis Starbucks, and I love that, too,” she said. “But I can tell you that you’re going to have to kick me out the door here, it is so much fun. She particularly likes the interaction with regular guests. “It’s nice just to encourage them or ask them, ‘how did your tests go today?’ ”
In addition to coffee and other beverage options, offerings include breakfast, lunch, and bakery items. The UTHSC location has retail merchandise, including mugs, tumblers, and bags of coffee. Starbucks gifts cards are accepted, and Starbucks Rewards members can earn rewards for redemption at other Starbucks locations. The location also is able to cater coffee, drinks, or snacks for events on campus.
“We’re just happy to be here. We’re really happy we finally got open,” Humphreys said, anticipating more interaction as the campus moves to open up this fall. “We’re looking forward to things to come.”