The most confusing moments in the day are when the shifts switch. People finishing tasks, gathering items to leave, and others coming in tying to get caught up to speed, get situated, and find their place. It can get chaotic and customers are often left wondering which one of the haired people behind the bar is going to notice that thy are waiting to be served. It rarely goes very well
Unless of course, you have a plan.
That is exactly what we are going to talk about today in this episode. With just a little bit of intentionality and communication we can take what is usually a tangled mess and straighten it out to something that sets up the staff for success and the customer for a good experience even if they do happen to show up during the switching of the shifts.
Links to related episodes:
4 Keys to an Effective Checklist(Shift Break)
From the Founder Friday vault we are diving into the subject of how to care for your staff, staff culture, and setting up yourself and your people for success with amazing past guests Lauren Crabbe of Andytown Coffee Roasters San Fransisco, Dorian Bolden of Beyu Caffe and Beyu Blu,Durham, NC -Jonathan Rubinstein of Joe Coffee Company NYC, and Kathy Turiano of Joe Bean Roasters in Rochester, NY.
I have pulled out some clips from each of these amazing founder's episodes that will address this subject.
We have now had 30 conversations with some amazing founders here on the show and one of the things they all have in common is that the care for their people is of primary importance. In fact, the cornerstone of the most successful shops is that they are in constant, substantive conversation with their staff about their needs and the needs of the shop as they experience it.
I hope will inspire you to make the care for your staff a tangible and consistent foundation of your leadership and business.
LINKS:
Founder Friday w/ Lauren Crabbe of Andytown Coffee Roasters
Founder Friday w/ Dorian Bolden of Beyu Caffe / Beyu Blu
Founder Friday w/ Jonathan Rubinstein of Joe Coffee Company NYC
Founder Friday w/ Kathy Turiano of Joe Bean Roasters
Sometimes it seems like everything is crashing down around you. You break a cup, your co-workers are annoying you, customers are frustrating, you're tired, you can sense that your are 2 seconds away from biting someone's head off, and it's only 8am!
In short you feel like you're about to lose it.
We have all been there. The question is, how do we get ourselves out? How do we overcome this thing that threatens to overcome us?
Today we chat about some powerful things to do to reclaim emotional control of this familiar situation and I share a bit about my personal struggle with anxiety, and how the tools detailed in this episode have helped both on the bar and in life.
Inventory Magic with ODEKO!
Clean that equipment with Urnex!
When we listen, we tend to stay on the surface of what is being said but rarely ever venture into the deeper meaning of what is being communicated. This means we enter into dialogue with staff and customers only hearing a fraction of what can be perceived and as a result our personal and business relationships fall short of their potential.
Today we are going to take our listening skills to the next level and learn about the art of "Deep Listening" with our guest, Oscar Trimboli.
Oscar is an internationally recognized coach, mentors and speaker who spent over ten years with Microsoft Office leading the Australian division to great success. He created extraordinary opportunities for through the "Microsoft Protege" program that gave young professionals in the company access to mentors and coaching.
Oscar is also the author of the new book "Deep Listening: Impact Beyond Words". In this book Oscar codifies into a very intuitive and easy to understand format the art of becoming and taking on the practice of being a Deep Listener. It is essentially a field guide that will transform you from the inside out and take your communication skills to a level that honors and explores the depth of each conversation you have.
In this conversation you will learn:
Please do yourself and everyone around you a huge favor by visiting Oscar's website:
Download the 5 Levels of Listening and buy the book:
Deep Listening: Impact Beyond Words
Here are some related episodes:
This phrase is rarely heard in the cafe, especially not from leaders. Too many shop cultures are void of genuine and humble apologies as those with authority wrongly suppose that doing so would compromise their position. Nothing could be further from the truth. Today we will chat about the power of a good, heart felt apology, and three do when measures to take if you want it to make a difference.
This is such an important leadership skill and one that, if practiced well, can stop a huge number of dysfunctions from springing up further down the road.
Manage your inventory with ODEKO!
Clean that equipment with Urnex!
For so many people cold brew is the first step into the world of specialty coffee. In order to truly serve our customers well we need to make sure that, when we offer cold brew, we do it in a way that is engaging, fun, relatable, and helps showcase to them the vast possibilities of specialty coffee. Well, today we get the privilege to talk with the someone who has spent year exploring, tasting, and talking to creators of some of the best cold brew out there.
Rachel Dillon is the host of "The Cold Brew Chick" podcast. A show that takes a deep dive into the multi-faceted world of cold brew and the story of those who produce it. Today she sits down with us and gives us 6 tips on how how we can level-up our cold brew game from all that she has learned from her own conversations and experiences as the ultimate cold brew consumer
You will learn about:
Links:
Related episodes:
Huge problems come up for staff and customers when we are not on top of the may unique situations that spring up on the bar. In spite of trying to be preemptive and plan for all possible scenarios you will have baristas who make drinks differently, customers who are not charged for things they should be charged for, and many other types of exceptions that will be made on the bar without your knowledge. Customers end up frustrated at inconsistency and baristas end up confused.
Today we are chatting about actions you can take to manage these exceptions now before they develop into toxic traditions later.
Manage your inventory with ODEKO!
Clean that equipment with Urnex!
There is no better feeling than when the cafe gets busy, the pressure is on, and you and your fellow baristas dig deep, communicate well, get orders out quickly, accurately, and keep the bar clean in the process. You just crushed it!
This is the idea behind La Marzocco USA's amazing team based competition, Crush the Rush. A competition who's aim is to re-create a rush in a cafe under but with even more pressure than normal and to test team's ability to handle that pressure with professionalism and grace.
Today we get to talk to the one and only, Josh Littlefield, Events Manager for La Marzocco USA & the man spearheading Crush the Rush and its 2nd country wide tour.
In our discussion we chat about the competition's creation, goals, format, and the lessons we can learn from the both the mistakes and successes of the many teams that have all competed in Crush the Rush.
You will learn about:
Be sure and follow the link below to find more info about signing up for Crush the Rush!
LINKS:
Listen to these related KTTS Episodes:
Caring for staff is one of the main functions of leadership. Unfortunately, the reality experienced by baristas the world over is that of a dysfunctional, ambivalent, sometimes toxic, or even abusive culture that disregards the welfare and voice of the employee and safe guards the disfunction of the system and the people who run it. Today we chat about how to approach this problem in a proactive way and the mindsets that will put you on the right path for properly care for the people who care for the shop.
Links:
For more info and stories from the group of baristas that inspired this Shift Break please follow:
Below are curated links to past episodes that will act as a primer for being a great leader in the cafe:
#121 Working From Your Strengths
#4 Leadership in the Cafe :10 steps to being a People First Leader
#109 Leadership Abandonment Syndrome
#13 Leadership and Management Master Class w/ Eva Attia
#105 Leadership and Management Masterclass w/ Maria Cleavelend
#28 Why It's OK to be the Boss w/ Bruce Tulgan
#55 Personal Growth and Development w/ Jared Truby
#18 Hiring, Culture, and the Future of your Shop
#80 Changing Things in the Cafe
Shift Breaks:
Self-Betrayal and the Art of Action
The sustainability of the barista profession is a subject that needs to be talked about more. Trouble is that we have accepted that the kind of turn-over we see within the ranks of baristas is how it will always be and cannot be helped. In truth, much of what contributes to a barista leaving their job or leaving coffee is entirely preventable by focusing on "Baristastainability"
My guest today, Jenna Gotthelf, is an 8 years specialty coffee veteran and educator with Counter Culture Coffee. Jenna spearheaded this critical professional development project that is based on the results of a globally circulated survey of owners, managers, and baristas.
The survey asks professionals about their training, being valued at work, human resources, compensation, working conditions, and other very pointed questions that shed light on some root causes for employee turn-over and professional burn-out.
In this conversation we will be talking with Jenna about some of the results of the survey and what kinds of actions and steps can be taken to correct course and build a more sustainable barista profession that in turn builds a stronger retail coffee industry.
This is important work and I am so glad for Jenna taking this on!
LINKS:
The presentation "Baristastainability" will be available at the link below soon. Stay tuned!
www.counterculturecoffee.com/learn