Schultz noticed that first-time customers sometimes felt uneasy in the stores because of their lack of knowledge about fine coffees, so he worked with store employees on developing customer-friendly sales skills and produced brochures that made it easy for customers to learn about the company’s products. Schultz’s biggest idea for the future of Starbucks came during the spring of 1983 when the company sent him to Milan to attend an international housewares show. While in Italy, he was impressed with the country’s cafés and discovered that Milan alone boasted 1,500 coffeehouses.
