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This my fellow coffee lovers and
entrepreneurs is the heart of the matter. Good
People. Good Barista's.
Train them well.
It is now Showtime. If you haven't seen the new Eddie Murphy and
Robert DiNero movie, "Showtime", please do so and memorize the way they
both intone and utter that wonderfully funny: "It's Showtime".
The coffee business is entertainment. Your customers journey to
your establishment to feel good. Perhaps for some alone time,
which is fine, after the latte or cappuccino has been prepared expertly
to their delight. When you are preparing a drink, always remember
"Its Showtime".
If you love to be with people it is a good business to be in, coffee.
There is lots of social activity. There is lots of interaction.
But you also have to be a business person. If you have both
skills, terrific. If you need a business person then make sure you
get one.
If you don't like to be with people, go to the
well. If the well is dry, and it may be, think hard about the
business. People are what make any retail business good to be in
and successful. If you are a great accountant, creative and
artistic, but do not like people, hire a good people person.
Go slow when you hire!
Hire well.
Fire fast. If you think you have a problem - you made a mistake -
you probably did - so act on it. In coffee, you brew your
mistakes, don't brew your people. And don't waste time brooding
over a mistake.
Spend the money to get good people and train them well and give them
the support they need to supply great service always. Pick a
location that will give you the volume to afford to do this. Or,
be prepared to supply this service yourself. Your customers are
looking for it and will reward you with loyal patronage. Be
prompt, courteous and kind.
When you are in front of the customer be cheerful and helping always.
Never complain. Never gripe about anything. Your backroom
problems must be left in the backroom. Your customers are there to
have you provide a service to them, not to listen to your story.
Take your time and be
prepared to work hard while you seek out good people. I made lots
of mistakes because I was always in a hurry. I had two stores open
from 5 AM to 11 PM during the holidays. I needed people. The
mistake I made was moving too fast. The price I paid was an
incredibly large number of w-2's. Go slow, hire good people.
Wait for them to come along. If you don't have good people you
can't expand peacefully and safely and profitably.
Run a basic newspaper ad: Help Wanted, great business, great
customers, $8 hour, plus incentives, advancement, medical benefits, and
free coffee, come to my store. Better if you can pay $10 or more.
Lincoln Electric is a welding company in Cleveland, Ohio. They
never lay people off. Well, if you have been there for three
years, you get lifetime employment. (Time Magazine, June 18, 2001, page
40.) This is a a great idea. The staff have to agree to do
anything at any time. One day they may weld, one day they may
sell, one day they may clean the lot. Their people make $30,000
plus incentives and the incentives were over $17,000. How can this
be?
Ditto for you. Hire flexible people who will jump to clean because
they know it is there business life that depends upon it. Hire
flexible people who can bake, make and shake.
Bake the bagels, make the coffee or sandwich, and shake the blender for
a super tasting chai. Remember this: we want people who can bake,
make and shake. "Shake it up baby, twist and shout - come on".
There is so much wisdom in this song. These are the people you
need.
Smiling, twisting, shouting, happy, helping, imaginative, hard working,
well balanced.
Any hint of drugs, alcohol, lateness, persistent tardiness where the
bake is not done on time, any hint of these things - move on it.
Don't wait.
If money on the counter ends in the tip jar, move on it. Don't
wait.
If you have shortages every day. Don't wait.
The problem is you will have to fill in, or you have to have reserves to
fill in, so hire well. Hire slow. Take you time. The
time to wait is when you are hiring. The time to not wait is when
you think you have a problem. If you think it, it probably is
right. Trust your gut, trust your judgment, act on it.
You and your staff have to learn the business of coffee, the history,
the drinks, the
recipes, the names, terms, techniques of brewing, temperatures,
display, and TASTING the greatest brew in the world. Coffee.
With or without sugar. I prefer, and urge you to develop a taste
for, black coffee. You would not buy or select a book without
first reading the jacket, would you. Tasting is like reading the
jacket.
Yes, Chai, Tea, Granita, Mocha, Grande and Maxima-Grande are all part of
the mix. But in the coffee business you have to know coffee, for
lots of reasons.
Managers or lead people or leaders or just
plain key people are hard to come by, pay them well.
Customers are people too.
This is the term describing the person who makes espresso drinks and
works the espresso machine. This is the main character in the
show. This person has frequent interaction with your customer and
the best chance to sell other things and keep people involved as the
espresso drinks are prepared.
There are contests at the SCAA annual meeting for the best Barista in
the Country. They are great fun to watch.
Take your time and be
prepared to work hard while you seek out good people. I made lots
of mistakes because I was always in a hurry. I had two stores open
from 5 AM to 11 PM during the holidays. I needed people. The
mistake I made was moving too fast. The price I paid was an
incredibly large number of w-2's. Go slow, hire good people.
Wait for them to come along. If you don't have good people you
can't expand peacefully and safely and profitably.
Run a basic newspaper ad: Help Wanted, great business, great
customers, $8 hour, plus incentives, advancement, medical benefits, and
free coffee, come to my store. Better if you can pay $10 or more.
Lincoln Electric is a welding company in Cleveland, Ohio. They
never lay people off. Well, if you have been there for three
years, you get lifetime employment. (Time Magazine, June 18, 2001, page
40.) This is a a great idea. The staff have to agree to do
anything at any time. One day they may weld, one day they may
sell, one day they may clean the lot. Their people make $30,000
plus incentives and the incentives were over $17,000. How can this
be?
Ditto for you. Hire flexible people who will jump to clean because
they know it is there business life that depends upon it. Hire
flexible people who can bake, make and shake.
Bake the bagels, make the coffee or sandwich, and shake the blender for
a super tasting chai. Remember this: we want people who can bake,
make and shake. "Shake it up baby, twist and shout - come on".
There is so much wisdom in this song. These are the people you
need.
Smiling, twisting, shouting, happy, helping, imaginative, hard working,
well balanced.
Any hint of drugs, alcohol, lateness, persistent tardiness where the
bake is not done on time, any hint of these things - move on it.
Don't wait.
If money on the counter ends in the tip jar, move on it. Don't
wait.
If you have shortages every day. Don't wait.
The problem is you will have to fill in, or you have to have reserves to
fill in, so hire well. Hire slow. Take you time. The
time to wait is when you are hiring. The time to not wait is when
you think you have a problem. If you think it, it probably is
right. Trust your gut, trust your judgment, act on it.
You
definitely want commitment.
You definitely don't want to train a competitor - and lots of people in
the business have worked for other stores on purpose, with malice
aforethought, to get the training and experience so they can open a
store themselves.
So, have all your staff sign non compete non disclosure agreements.
E-mail me and I will send you our
form. No charge. Do this. I can't stand to see people
get hurt. It happens every day.
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