We don't like to hear negative feedback. We get defensive and immediately start looking for ways to dismiss it rather than digging in to see if there is value there. I get it, the coffee shop is your baby, you take you profession personally. Handled the right way though, negative feedback can be your best friend.
Today on Keys to the Shop we are going to explore a 5 step process I have used for a long time to process critical feedback whether it is coming from a customer in the store, someone on Yelp, or from an employee.
LINKS:
Coffee Compass Article: The Wrath of the One Star Review
Shift Break: Creating a Feedback Culture
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On this Founder Friday we are taking a look into the before and after of Torpedo Coffee in Denver, CO. I was able to interview Kyle Wells at the Coffee Fest trade show in Denver June 2018 before ehe opened his new shop. We then sat down and talked last week about how things have played out, what has he learned, and what advice does he have for others from the now 7 months of running Torpedo Coffee.
This episode is all about:
Torpedo is experiencing great success and is providing great coffee, connection, and community to their neighborhood. I am so thrilled to present this 2 in 1 interview with you today.
Enjoy!
LINKS:
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It is something we all do in ways we don't really think of as damaging. Lying to ourselves and others comes in the form of often well-meaning affirmation but, in the end, holds people back and erodes trust.
Today shift break we talk about how the lysing we do and the way forward toward a more truthful and trustworthy communication.
Celina is about to celebrate her 2 year anniversary of joining the specialty coffee community having started with no knowledge of coffee as a roasting assistant at the great Merit Coffee in Austin, TX. Through hard work, curiosity, and integrity she has worked her way to head roaster and leads a team of people producing some of the best coffee you can find.
Today we sit down and explore her story as a newcomer to coffee and what she has experienced in her first, very busy, 2 years as a coffee professional.
In this episode you will learn:
LINKS:
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"Just show them the ropes" is a phrase we use when giving baristas the extra responsibility of helping bring up a new hire. This usually is done with little warning and almost never with any extra compensation for the barista who now must work twice as hard. Today we discuss this practice of designating unofficial trainers in the on-boarding process and how to approach it in a fair way.
We all want to extract the most out of our coffee. There are many methods and tools used to achieve maximum flavor but only a few machines offer innovation in a way that creates a substantial jump forward in brew quality and consistency. The Ground Control brewer is one of those machines and today we get to talk with the inventor of this machine, Eli Salomon, Co-founder and CEO of Voga Coffee.
Eli has roots in academia as well as in the coffee community having been on the ground floor (pun intended) of an innovative coffee equipment company then, seeing a need in the industry for higher quality batch brew coffee.
In this episode you will learn:
It was great to talk with Eli and learn more about this great brewer. I hope you enjoy this episode and check out the links below for more information on the brewer as well as a helpful map Eli has made for us to locate shops in the U.S. (and some international locations) where the brewer can be experienced.
SHOW LINKS:
U.S.+ International Map of ground Control Brewers
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It's easy to write off someone and treat them in a way that dehumanizes for the sake of convenience. We tend to make ourselves out to be better, and others worse. Today we chat about treating people you work with in the cafe with like they are people...not objects.
*Stay tuned for next week's Shift Break as we talk about the problem with using regular staff to bring new people "up to speed" and my proposed solution.
www.keystotheshop.com/consulting
Roasting is a hard job that happens behind the scenes. Even the championship itself is somewhat isolated from view! That is why I am so excited to share this talk with you. Not just because we get to learn more about roasting but because we get to learn from the Champ herself, Shelby Williamson of Huckleberry Roasters, Denver, CO!
In our conversation today we explore Shelby's path into coffee roasting as a profession, what a day in the life looks like as head roaster at Huckleberry, how she goes about developing coffee profiles, her experience as a woman in the coffee roasting space, what has contributed to her success as a roaster, and of course details about the roasting competition and what she did to prepare for it and win.
This conversation is loaded with insights and advice and I hope you enjoy it!
Links:
HEY!
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With an abundance of available resources we tend to horde knowledge and never truly apply it to our lives. Is our quest to learn getting in the way of our growth?
Today on Shift Break we talk about how to learn and grow in a way that truly makes a difference.
Want to know what goes into hosting a killer throwdown that energizes your baristas and brings the community together? Well your in luck because today we are talking with the creator of one of the nation's biggest and most successful throwdowns, Justin Shepherd! Justin owns Spencers Coffee in Bowling Green, KY and has been hosting the "My Old Kentucky Throwdown for 7 years. With a 64 competitor bracket, thousands in prizes, and 10s of thousands raised for autism awareness, this throwdown is one we should surely be learning from. In this conversation Justin covers in-detail the most critical things you need to do to make sure your throwdown goes down without a hitch and is not just thrown together.
These tips are super insightful, practical, and born from years of learning by doing.
Enjoy!
Links: