Specialty Coffee Retailer is a publication for owners, managers and employees of retail outlets that sell specialty coffee. Its scope includes best sales practices, supplies, business trends and anything else to assist the small coffee retailer.
Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/38014
his shop, which seats about 30 people. Most of his customers are workers from surrounding industries and local residents. They come mostly for the freshly roasted coffee, but they also come because the baristas treat them well and keep the shop clean. “We hire completely on customer service,” he says. He recalled hiring a few employees who had great experience, and despite their impressive product knowledge, they were bad employees. “We hired a couple coffee geeks, and they turned out to be the worst employees ever,” he says. “I’d walk in, and the place was a mess.” The problem was their poor work ethic, he says. They spent most of their time standing around talking to customers, completely neglecting the other parts of their jobs. He had great experiences with coffee novice employees who had a good can-do attitude, he says:` “We’d rather train a nice person from the ground up.” WEST COAST Café Bravo Temecula, Calif. The most important characteristic of a barista is a passion for coffee, says Gina Venegas, the manager of Café Bravo. The shop takes up a picturesque corner suite in the city’s “Old Town” area, dotted with buildings dating back to the city’s Old West origins. It has eight tables and a meeting room with two sofas and two armchairs. The shop is up the street from City Hall, so most of its clients are city employees, tourists shopping for souvenirs and regulars from the nearby homes. The owner’s son runs a roasting business in the industrial area nearby, so the coffeehouse’s culture is steeped in appreciation for the product. “You have to have a passion for coffee,” Venegas says. “If they say, ‘I don’t really drink coffee,’ how will you know what’s good and what’s bad?” Many of their employees were customers who came in looking for work, she says. Venegas prefers baristas with no coffee experience. This is because they train their baristas the old-fashioned way, with a manual espresso machine, how to pour latte art and how to listen for when the milk’s properly foamed. “We like to train people the classic way, and it’s easier when they have no bad habits to break,” she says. THE SOUTH Madagascar Coffee Co. Kingsport, Tenn. The best way to make sure your coffeehouse has great baristas is to keep the ones you have, says Pam Goforth, the manager of Madagascar Coffee Co. Getting a new employee loses money in the form of training time, she says: “That’s a constant issue.” Keeping good employees saves money in the long run, and it also makes customers happy. The coffeehouse opened nearly 10 years ago, and many who came in on its opening day still go there for their morning jolt now, she says. The shop seats 46 inside and about 15 outside in a two-story professional building near the Kingsport convention center. The environment is light and clean, with a gray tile floor, glass-topped tables and plenty of sun shining through the big windows taking up the front wall. Many of the customers are doctors, attorneys and other businesspeople working in the building. Part of the reason these people keep coming back is the convenience. Another part is the baristas. The shop has a low employee turnaround, and most have been there for years. They develop relationships with the clients and memorize their drinks. Goforth keeps her employees by giving them lots of positive feedback and encouragement. Also, if she senses that a good employee might be getting bored, she changes the person’s job. If they’re a barista, they might start roaster’s training. The shop serves lunch, caters and even microbrews beer, so there’s lots for an antsy employee to learn. SCR Fill in 82 on Reader Service Form or visit www.OneRs.hotims.com/35096-82 August 2011 • www.specialty-coffee.com | 37