It is easy to be so focused on comparing yourself and your business to what you see in the industry that you end up ignoring your customers and the community your shop serves. Today we are chatting about this all to common mentality and what it looks like to be put the priority on serving your actual customers.
This is absolutely critical! One of cornerstones of running a coffee bar is the ability to stay in tune with the performance of the people that work in it.
Having a system for tracking behavior that is either praise worthy or in need of correction is a must. Many shops that just shoot from the hip when it comes to correction or affirmation end up seeing their best people frustrated and their problem people hide out too long in the ranks, spreading toxicity to the others.
Today we are going to talk about some ideas and steps you can take to make tracking a performance a reality in your cafe so you can have a vibrant and thriving team the knows that the leaders are paying attention and are there to facilitate their success.
In this episode you will learn:
Links to related episodes:
Interested in consultation or training for your coffee business? Reach out and lets have a conversation! Reach out!
www.keystotheshop.com/consulting
The Indian specialty coffee market is growing by leaps and bounds. Today's guests Matt Chitharanjan and Namrata Asthana and their company, Blue Tokai Coffee Roasters, are part of the reason why Indian people are switching from instant and drink more amazing Indian coffee at home and in cafes.
From humble beginnings working shoulder-to-shoulder packaging their roasted coffee in a home's 2 spare rooms - to now 25 cafes, over 300 staff, and partnerships with over 25 Indian coffee estates, Matt and Namrata have been able to build an incredible business that makes Indian coffee the star, creates amazing coffee professionals pouring resources and training into their staff, and successfully introduces the average Indian coffee consumer to the wonders of specialty coffee grown in their own backyard.
I had such a great time talking with Matt and Namrata, I know you will find this to be inspirational especially if you are a coffee pro or business owner in a producing country.
In this episode you will learn about:
LINKS:
More about Matt and Namrata:
www.keystotheshop.com/bluetokai
Which one best describes how staff react to your presence in the cafe? The problem is that, no matter what, management will always be seen in a different light than a barista. The authority managers carry creates a certain tension and that tension either will lead to people fearing you, or being inspired by you. Today we will chat about embracing your authority, breaking down needless tension, and investing in your staff to create a culture that sees your authority in positive light and avoids the all to common fear based authority that drive people from your business.
Related Episode:
This episode was inspired by a talk I gave to the wonderful retail managers of Phoenix Coffee. If you want me to come to your business for training/ workshops./ or speaking contact me here: Chris@keystotheshop.com
What you have on your shelf is of the utmost importance. Tracking it and evaluating its performance is key to being able to make good decisions that will increase the health of your business. Unfortunately we in coffee tend to rely on either our own personal knowledge of what we can see on our shelves or on very rudimentary systems that don't give us enough information. Today we are going to be exploring the importance of accurate counting and tracking of your stores inventory with special guests Pierre-Francois Rio and Albert Amar of SwiftCount.
Swiftcount is a cloud-based inventory management solution suitable for small to midsize businesses in a variety of industries. It has been designed to make taking inventory simple, accurate, and easy to manage. Especially nice is the reporting it gives you on the back-end to help you track the flow of inventory, profitability, performance, and more.
Albert and Pierre take us through why the company was formed and detail a ton of examples, mindsets, and actionable solutions we can take to get a hold of our inventory which is life blood of our shops.
I hope you take notes and apply what is presented today because the importance of this aspect of our businesses cannot be over-stated!
In this episode you will learn:
LINKS:
Need consulting of training for your coffee business? Reach out!
www.keystotheshop.com/consulting
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Being self-aware is over-rated. Why? Because without action following it up, self-awareness becomes useless and quickly creates a situation where we seek scoring status points for being aware and then never do anything about it the thing we are aware of. In short, our self-awareness becomes a vanity virtue and we, and those we lead, suffer for it.
Today we chat about this problem and what actions we can take to take action and complete the self-awareness journey.
The design of your shop communicates the level of care you have for your customer and the community. Crafting the details of your space to evoke a sense of connection to place and a feeling of hospitality that matches the quality is absolutely critical. Today we are going to learn about the specific physical and social dynamics that guests look for in a coffee shop with special guest, Dr. Lisa Waxman!
Dr. Lisa Waxman, Ph.D. is an award winning professor and chair of the Interior Architecture + Design department at Florida State University. Her research includes topics related to the design of spaces that foster community, sustainable design, and design for special populations. She also serves on the board of directors for the Council for Interior Design Accreditation (CIDA).
Dr. Waxman has many scholarly and creative works to her name but we will be focused on one particular study "The Coffee Shop: Social and Physical factors Influencing Place Attachment"
In this study we learn of the 5 design considerations that customers most appreciate as well as specific social dynamics that all together influence whether or not a customer will feel a special attachment to the shop, which in turn inspires return business!
We dive into this study in today's interview and hit on several other great points to consider when you approach the design of your space.
I am truly excited for this episode and the impact it can have on the landscape of specialty coffee retail.
LINKS:
"The Coffee Shop: Social and Physical factors Influencing Place Attachment"
Article: https://www.inc.com/geoffrey-james/coffee-shops-build-employee-loyalty-according-to-science.html
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We communicate either care or apathy depending on how we conduct ourselves on the bar. The way we expertly handle all the work necessary to provide a great experience in the cafe is by nurturing a sense of urgency in all we do. This means the difference between run of the mill, low expectation experiences - and amazing service and quality that wins customers and gives life to your work.
Today we are chatting about urgency and the critical role it plays for you and your business.
Inventory & Ordering Magic with ODEKO!
Clean that equipment with Urnex!
Dialing in your coffee can be hit or miss. There are so many factors to consider for the extremely large variety of coffees we are tasked with brewing. Methods, recipes, and philosophies abound yet still the complexity of brewing remains a barrier to getting the best from your coffee. That is the problem that todays guest, 2013 WBC Champ, Pete Licata has set out to solve in his new book, "How to get the Best from your Coffee".
In the book Pete identifies and expounds on 4 fundamentals in brewing: Water, Device & Filter, Grinding, and Variables. He takes readers through his process of identifying key practices and insights into each of those categories that will yield a predictably great cup every time, whether or not you are familiar with that coffee.
In this conversation you will learn:
Go get this book:
"How to get the Best from your Coffee"
www.licatacoffeeconsultants.com
When a customer comes into our bar they expect that they will be taken care of and the best cafes strive to get the details of the guests visit right. Over time though, there is a migration away from the details. The customer begins to be familiar and with that familiarity there is a falling off of the vigilance and attention to detail that was what made them a customer in the first place.
Today we chat about this phenomenon and how we can re center our service to our best customers so they continue to feel cared for.
Inventory & Ordering Magic with ODEKO!
Clean that equipment with Urnex!