Valuetainment - February 21, 2026


“Make Me Feel Seen” - Ritz Carlton Founder DEFINES The Moment Customer Service Is Won Or Lost

Hosted by
Patrick Bet-David
Mentioned
Brian Nickel Jose Patrick Horst Chris Juan
“I Will F#cking Kill You” - Epstein Friend Les Wexner THREATENED By His Lawyer “Restoring Self Governance” - Project 2025 Purpose Broken Down By Dr. Kevin Roberts

Episode Stats


Length

11 minutes

Words per minute

170.69

Word count

1,907

Sentence count

266

Harmful content

Misogyny

6

sentences flagged

Hate speech

1

sentences flagged


Summary

Summaries generated with gmurro/bart-large-finetuned-filtered-spotify-podcast-summ .

In this episode, I sit down with the CEO of Starbucks, Howard Schultz, to talk about the importance of customer service. He talks about how important it is to have a good customer service culture at your company and why it's one of the most important skills a CEO should have.

Transcript

Transcript generated with Whisper (turbo).
Misogyny classifications generated with MilaNLProc/bert-base-uncased-ear-misogyny .
Hate speech classifications generated with facebook/roberta-hate-speech-dynabench-r4-target .
Hosts, guests, and mentioned names generated with spaCy (en_core_web_sm), reconciled against Wikidata.
00:00:00.000 Now, listen, the guy that you went into your room
00:00:02.980 who runs our cigar lounge now, his name is Mikel.
00:00:05.780 I have to give him a shout-out.
00:00:07.720 Mikel was the general manager of an Italian restaurant here
00:00:10.580 that I would go to three times a week.
00:00:12.480 I know.
00:00:12.700 He told you the story?
00:00:13.540 Yeah.
00:00:14.060 No, no, no.
00:00:15.280 You used to three days, but you ended up going five days.
00:00:18.400 Yes.
00:00:19.080 But let me tell you what happened with him.
00:00:21.020 Finally, one day, he wants to start his own thing.
00:00:23.460 I said, why don't you come here and run this whole place? 0.97
00:00:25.760 The feeling he gives you, Horst, he's able to make the customer feel like
00:00:33.660 you're the only thing that exists in the world.
00:00:35.940 It is such a valuable skill for a human being to have.
00:00:40.860 It's such a valuable skill for a human being to have,
00:00:43.760 and I'm willing to pay premium for that.
00:00:46.460 It's a very, very valuable thing for somebody.
00:00:48.900 You work hard.
00:00:49.400 You want to go to a place to be left alone.
00:00:51.360 So where do you go to right now?
00:00:53.940 Restaurant.
00:00:54.380 Where do you go to right now where you feel like the service here is impeccable?
00:00:59.100 What are some places you go to that you like the service you give?
00:01:01.520 We have some small places not known in Atlanta.
00:01:06.500 You see, I travel still 100 days a year.
00:01:09.220 Really?
00:01:09.400 I usually drive over 200 days a year.
00:01:12.240 What happens when I arrive somewhere?
00:01:13.900 They pick you up with a limousine.
00:01:15.340 They take you to a gourmet restaurant.
00:01:17.640 I don't want to go to a gourmet restaurant when I come home with my wife. 0.71
00:01:21.140 We stay home, or we go to some similar, but people know us there,
00:01:25.180 and so you have the attention because they know you,
00:01:28.440 and people say, we're glad you're here, and that's what you want.
00:01:31.860 And if that gentleman in the Ritz here would have said to you,
00:01:38.320 my gosh, please forgive me.
00:01:40.480 I messed up.
00:01:42.240 I would have moved on.
00:01:43.200 There you are.
00:01:43.940 By the way, I would have moved on the moment.
00:01:46.640 If he would have just came up and give me the attention and say,
00:01:49.980 we messed up, he told me the truth,
00:01:51.680 and if there was a valid reason why they moved the room,
00:01:53.980 I would have had no problem, I would have gone back.
00:01:55.320 But that's what we certified earlier.
00:01:58.000 We talked about that.
00:01:59.340 Every employee on problem, the solution.
00:02:02.580 We certified every employee, 24,000 employees around the world.
00:02:06.380 And they said, the first thing is you listen to the complaint.
00:02:09.700 You listen.
00:02:11.200 Then you show empathy,
00:02:12.660 and then you apologize as if it was your own,
00:02:15.180 but you own it,
00:02:16.340 and then you make amends.
00:02:17.940 And 50% is not an amend.
00:02:19.900 A situation like that was,
00:02:21.000 we will not, of course,
00:02:21.920 we will not charge you.
00:02:23.740 Of course.
00:02:25.160 Not, we will give you 50%.
00:02:26.680 No, of course,
00:02:28.120 we will not charge you,
00:02:29.240 because we mess up.
00:02:31.020 Yeah.
00:02:31.380 Forgive me.
00:02:31.980 Yeah.
00:02:32.240 And that's what it was.
00:02:33.180 By the way, the guy that helped us out,
00:02:35.200 his name was Juan.
00:02:36.380 Very nice guy.
00:02:37.980 He said, Patrick,
00:02:38.960 I told him, don't do it.
00:02:40.700 The director of events was a guy named Chris.
00:02:42.960 I won't say his last name.
00:02:44.080 And then the other guy that called us the next day,
00:02:45.720 the director of operations,
00:02:46.760 was a guy named Sam.
00:02:49.240 And Jose was the GM.
00:02:50.920 And I think Jose is the one that sent the email for 50%.
00:02:54.240 I was very turned off.
00:02:55.660 I was very turned off by that.
00:02:56.920 I mean, 50%.
00:02:57.740 I could care less about the money.
00:03:01.160 But it doesn't matter.
00:03:02.360 Who cares about the money?
00:03:03.860 Like, you know, all you have.
00:03:05.480 So again, that's the challenge, right?
00:03:08.320 A brand,
00:03:09.820 if the existing founder, driver, CEO,
00:03:13.380 doesn't run customer service properly,
00:03:16.500 Starbucks hires a guy that comes to them.
00:03:19.460 It's a previous guy from Pepsi
00:03:20.880 who used to be a consultant
00:03:21.860 for some big consulting firm.
00:03:24.000 They bring him in.
00:03:25.320 18 months, revenue drops.
00:03:27.740 It's a messy of a culture.
00:03:29.720 Then they bring a guy in Brian Nicol.
00:03:31.620 Brian Nicol comes from Chipotle.
00:03:33.860 He gets in.
00:03:34.900 He changes the culture.
00:03:36.180 Starbucks is back on the rise again.
00:03:37.500 One great leader can change a company.
00:03:39.940 Of course.
00:03:40.980 Of course.
00:03:41.420 Because you, as a leader,
00:03:43.800 you establish the philosophy that comes from you
00:03:46.960 because people immediately blow you, 0.60
00:03:49.020 copy you,
00:03:49.700 and it goes all the way down.
00:03:51.300 And if you do something negative,
00:03:53.020 they think you want that.
00:03:55.120 That's it.
00:03:55.720 All standards are gone.
00:03:57.400 That's why I say that you don't compromise standards.
00:04:00.780 You own the standards as a leader.
00:04:02.520 You own the standards as a leader.
00:04:04.680 But coming down all to a simple thing,
00:04:10.540 I cannot expect my thousands of Starbucks
00:04:16.380 to all, each one be singly trained by me,
00:04:20.700 but they all know, they all should know,
00:04:23.420 here's the standard.
00:04:24.680 We are here to care for people.
00:04:27.500 They have to know that.
00:04:28.480 And they have to be a reminder of that.
00:04:30.920 We remind those 20 things.
00:04:33.820 You cannot go to work.
00:04:35.120 You will be a reminder of one of them today.
00:04:37.300 Today is number 12.
00:04:39.000 Tomorrow is 13.
00:04:39.980 And 20 days, number 12 again.
00:04:41.920 I love that.
00:04:42.600 Pointing finger.
00:04:43.340 There's a bathroom horse.
00:04:44.760 And we use a restroom.
00:04:46.020 Right there.
00:04:46.520 Walk down here.
00:04:47.800 And done it.
00:04:48.820 Four cars and you get lost.
00:04:52.140 Yeah.
00:04:52.640 Versus somebody takes you there.
00:04:54.180 And then we taught them, of course,
00:04:56.460 you would take them there
00:04:57.340 and you create a relationship.
00:04:59.380 You say, have you tried our restaurant?
00:05:02.400 Are you a hotel guest?
00:05:04.120 Yes.
00:05:04.640 Have you tried a restaurant?
00:05:05.700 I hope you had a chance.
00:05:06.740 If you're outside,
00:05:07.720 but you, oh, you didn't,
00:05:08.980 don't send a hotel,
00:05:09.520 but you should try the restaurant.
00:05:10.660 Everybody likes it.
00:05:11.680 So you have conversation
00:05:12.820 and you're selling something
00:05:13.720 at the same time.
00:05:14.580 You're selling something, yeah.
00:05:15.580 What would you say is your biggest gift?
00:05:17.340 Like, what's your superpower?
00:05:18.760 Mine?
00:05:19.220 Yeah, what's your superpower?
00:05:20.340 Oh, relentless.
00:05:22.360 Relentless.
00:05:22.880 Yeah.
00:05:23.040 Would your wife say the same thing about you?
00:05:25.460 Yeah, yeah, probably.
00:05:26.200 She would say you're relentless.
00:05:26.800 Probably, but in the positive way,
00:05:30.560 think about wife, 0.85
00:05:31.740 think about marriage.
00:05:34.060 It's the same thing.
00:05:36.080 What's your high intent?
00:05:38.960 What is your,
00:05:39.460 when I got married,
00:05:40.560 before I got married,
00:05:41.520 I picked,
00:05:42.000 I saw my wife
00:05:42.700 and there was so much love.
00:05:44.440 I mean, come on.
00:05:45.140 I mean, young men,
00:05:46.160 you look, wow, wow.
00:05:47.680 This beautiful,
00:05:49.060 wonderful human being
00:05:50.680 and we can't get married.
00:05:52.620 And then I thought,
00:05:53.260 wait a minute,
00:05:53.620 I know friends
00:05:55.080 are getting divorced
00:05:55.880 because they don't feel like it anymore.
00:05:59.740 And then I established
00:06:01.320 my high intent.
00:06:02.820 I will be in love
00:06:04.040 for the rest of my life.
00:06:07.040 In that moment,
00:06:08.520 and that is the model of leadership,
00:06:11.460 have intent, purpose.
00:06:14.300 But then you have to commit yourself to it,
00:06:16.140 not to have a pipe dream.
00:06:18.420 And then you have to initiate the things
00:06:20.020 that make it happen
00:06:21.680 and keep focused on it.
00:06:23.620 And that's where people break down.
00:06:25.340 They focus all of a sudden
00:06:26.560 on an excuse.
00:06:28.120 What was your philosophy
00:06:29.280 in raising kids?
00:06:31.520 Raising kids,
00:06:32.720 two things we want to accomplish,
00:06:34.600 my wife and I.
00:06:36.620 Please forgive me, everybody.
00:06:37.880 We want them to be believers.
00:06:39.640 Okay.
00:06:40.940 And we want them to have,
00:06:43.100 understand the difference
00:06:44.560 between wrong and right integrity.
00:06:47.060 People with integrity.
00:06:48.180 That's it?
00:06:48.880 That's it.
00:06:50.180 That's it.
00:06:51.120 Those are the key things
00:06:52.240 that we worked on,
00:06:53.760 prayed for,
00:06:54.580 and were successful.
00:06:57.660 Are they in the business you're in or no?
00:06:59.660 No.
00:07:00.140 Not at all.
00:07:01.340 Is it two girls or four girls? 0.78
00:07:03.120 Four girls.
00:07:03.620 Okay.
00:07:04.020 I'm going to make sure
00:07:04.500 I get that fact right
00:07:05.400 because two places
00:07:06.180 said two different things.
00:07:07.840 That's great.
00:07:08.460 So you've got the family.
00:07:09.060 So even family,
00:07:12.080 you have to have objectives.
00:07:15.360 My objective was to be in love
00:07:17.520 with my wife.
00:07:18.460 And I am in love with my wife.
00:07:20.500 But I work on my mind even.
00:07:21.800 When I drive into the driveway
00:07:22.920 and the gate opens,
00:07:24.180 I say,
00:07:24.600 thank you, God,
00:07:25.240 for my wonderful wife.
00:07:26.280 I can't wait to take an arm now.
00:07:28.000 Affirmations.
00:07:28.680 You have to work on it.
00:07:31.200 I mean,
00:07:31.740 if you let,
00:07:32.980 and I'm multi-minded on that,
00:07:37.600 first of all,
00:07:38.360 I want it for me.
00:07:39.160 Secondly,
00:07:40.220 I see the end of family happens
00:07:42.200 and that it will be the end
00:07:43.500 of our civilization
00:07:44.400 unquestionably,
00:07:45.820 unquestionably,
00:07:47.320 if a family goes.
00:07:49.200 So I am
00:07:50.180 zealous about
00:07:51.820 what is marriage.
00:07:54.400 Work on it.
00:07:55.080 I ask,
00:07:56.320 in every speech,
00:07:57.440 I ask the,
00:07:58.140 oh,
00:07:58.360 guys in this room,
00:07:59.860 when have you asked
00:08:00.860 your wife last time 0.99
00:08:01.780 how you can be
00:08:02.580 a better husband?
00:08:04.960 She'll tell you.
00:08:05.860 I saw that in all of you as well.
00:08:06.820 Oh, and after she cries,
00:08:07.560 she will tell you.
00:08:08.120 She will tell you.
00:08:09.120 Did you guys ever have a moment
00:08:10.520 where it didn't work out?
00:08:11.720 Oh, sure.
00:08:12.640 Many.
00:08:13.180 Really?
00:08:13.600 In between,
00:08:14.140 no,
00:08:14.560 where it didn't work out.
00:08:15.740 Where it was like
00:08:16.500 clothes falling out,
00:08:17.560 big fights.
00:08:17.920 No, not quite there.
00:08:19.280 But there was.
00:08:20.120 Fights.
00:08:20.780 Oh, yeah.
00:08:21.160 That's sure.
00:08:22.160 Yeah.
00:08:22.480 How do you overcome that?
00:08:23.580 Sure.
00:08:24.380 By sitting down and talking
00:08:25.940 and admitting that you were wrong.
00:08:29.460 It was my wife
00:08:33.380 who is 14 years younger.
00:08:35.240 So I married,
00:08:35.760 I'm 14.
00:08:36.220 She's 26.
00:08:37.080 And we have an argument.
00:08:39.120 And I start screaming.
00:08:41.600 And she said,
00:08:43.260 why do you scream?
00:08:44.800 Why don't we talk about it?
00:08:46.040 Maybe you're right.
00:08:47.680 Oh, my.
00:08:48.600 She said that to you? 0.90
00:08:50.400 And I said,
00:08:52.040 here,
00:08:52.480 this kid is teaching me
00:08:53.940 how to communicate.
00:08:55.020 Good for her.
00:08:56.640 Wow.
00:08:57.040 And I realized
00:08:58.700 I didn't want to talk about it.
00:09:00.480 What if I'm wrong?
00:09:03.520 Wow.
00:09:04.300 Yeah.
00:09:04.520 Let's talk about it.
00:09:05.580 Maybe you're right.
00:09:06.840 Maybe you're right.
00:09:07.700 Let's talk about it.
00:09:08.100 You guys have been married
00:09:08.700 now, what,
00:09:09.200 47 years?
00:09:09.940 47 years, yeah.
00:09:11.120 Unbelievable.
00:09:11.700 Good for you.
00:09:12.340 Oh, it's great.
00:09:13.200 Good for you.
00:09:13.800 Respect for doing that.
00:09:14.960 What a great thing.
00:09:16.080 Unbelievable.
00:09:16.960 I mean,
00:09:17.820 look,
00:09:18.420 what is this?
00:09:19.920 Marriage.
00:09:20.480 The only God-ordained union,
00:09:22.800 the greatest union there is.
00:09:23.920 Why wouldn't you work
00:09:24.760 like crazy on it?
00:09:25.900 And she was a partner
00:09:27.660 with you while you're
00:09:28.280 building, traveling,
00:09:29.180 moving, all this stuff.
00:09:30.240 Yeah, yeah.
00:09:31.420 Yeah, wow.
00:09:32.340 Let me tell you.
00:09:33.520 I admire her for her.
00:09:35.660 She raised children
00:09:37.220 and I was on the road.
00:09:40.100 And there too,
00:09:41.200 I come back
00:09:41.960 and I said,
00:09:42.420 here's what we're going to do.
00:09:43.380 And I said,
00:09:43.840 and she said,
00:09:44.340 whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa.
00:09:45.160 Here's what we have planned.
00:09:48.660 And I had to learn
00:09:50.120 in the beginning.
00:09:51.300 I said,
00:09:51.440 wait a minute,
00:09:51.860 here's,
00:09:52.120 this is how.
00:09:54.360 And she said,
00:09:54.800 when you weren't here,
00:09:56.280 we had to make decisions.
00:09:58.100 I had to learn
00:09:58.920 to communicate
00:10:00.140 and respect decisions
00:10:01.800 that are being made
00:10:02.740 with much more input
00:10:04.400 and points
00:10:05.660 that I wasn't even aware of.
00:10:07.640 You were not there.
00:10:08.600 Success
00:10:08.920 is built
00:10:09.960 on how you think.
00:10:12.480 Influence
00:10:13.000 is built
00:10:13.800 on how you show up.
00:10:16.980 Every detail matters
00:10:18.660 because presence
00:10:20.900 speaks before you do.
00:10:22.400 This is more than style.
00:10:28.300 The future
00:10:29.080 looks bright.
00:10:34.800 If you enjoyed this video,
00:10:36.000 you want to watch more videos like this,
00:10:37.380 click here.
00:10:37.760 And if you want to watch
00:10:38.440 the entire podcast,
00:10:40.100 click here.
00:10:40.540 And if you want to watch more videos like this,
00:10:41.580 do you know?
00:10:44.080 Let's do the next video.
00:10:44.780 Bye-bye.
00:10:46.080 Okay.
00:10:46.260 Bye-bye.
00:10:47.080 Bye-bye.
00:10:51.140 Bye-bye.
00:10:51.600 Bye-bye.
00:10:51.780 Bye-bye.
00:10:52.320 Bye-bye.
00:10:53.120 Bye-bye.
00:10:54.120 Bye-bye.
00:10:55.320 Bye-bye.
00:11:07.200 TFO
00:11:08.060 Bye-bye.
00:11:09.100 Bye-bye.