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/85691
JACK'S BLEND Customer service as a business builder A the conversation he veered off -topic and shared some thoughts he had about JP's with me. He said, "You know I've been coming here for years, but I want you to know why. Yes, you have great coff ee and a great atmosphere, but honestly you have the best staff in town. Th e other downtown restaurants should come and learn from you because you have such a great staff and I love the way I am treated and how I feel when I come here. Wow, I love hearing that. And all the more when it is not " about me in particular, but about my staff . Th at means I have accomplished (at least up till today) what my goal has always been: to create an incredible team. Th ere are a number of important details to running a coff ee shop. But the trump card, the thing that holds it all together, is a great staff . It took me a number of years to create a great staff , but you can't train a bad person into a good employee. Keys: Use a customized business employment application; do your due diligence in reference checks; make sure your needs and their desires are a fi t; make sure they are coff ee lovers; make sure they have a great attitude. Make your expectations clear. Communicate to new it can be done. By being a great owner, implementing great procedures and being consistent, you can do it. To help you create a great staff I have compiled a list of what I believe got me to the point of having a great team: Hire right. You can't roast a bad bean into a good one, and employees are confi dent in their jobs and customer service. Keys: Document all jobs; train staff and test for competence; consistency is critical in everything you serve. Empowerment. Encourage employees to think of your store as their store. Keys: Encourage employee input; assign Gerber states in his book "Th e E-Myth" that all businesses need to think like a franchise, "by building internal systems that control processes." Keys: Policies must be followed at all times; implement well-created and well-run systems; processes must be routinely updated. Th ink of your business as a training school. Well-trained 6 employees your expectations and do not tolerate anything less. Keys: Fill out all required paperwork; have a thorough employee handbook; communicate all workplace policies; hire on a 90-day trial basis. Document and systematize your entire business. Michael couple of weeks ago, a long-time JP's customer and attorney and I were talking about a business-related matter. During by Jack Groot responsibilities and follow up; communicate with staff ; when employees say, "your store, Be that person. Keys: Have a great attitude every day; smile and engage employees/customers; compliment employees regularly; have high expectations; have fair and immediate consequences for policy infraction; set an example of integrity; live in a way to gain respect; be serious about your business. Get your staff to love you. If your staff likes you, they will others. Be a servant and your staff will follow your lead. Keys: Take care of your employees' needs; set an example of doing what it takes to get the job done. Scheduling. Surveys have shown that job fl exibility tops stay longer, work harder and not steal from you. Keys: Have high standards; set an example of thrilling customers and empower your staff to do likewise; talk to your staff regularly. Serve, serve, serve. Th e power in relationships is in serving the list of why people work in foodservice. If you give employees the time off they need, they are more likely to give you time when you need. Keys: Fair scheduling; good communication between store needs and employee needs; honor time off requests every time unless you absolutely can't (this should be rare). Patience. Building a great team takes years. You'll make Leadership. People are looking for examples to follow. " correct them with "our store." But the keys I've listed are principles that can be learned and implemented by anyone with a heart to do so. If you set an example of being a passionate servant leader, with the right people in place how can you not create a team of like-minded people? SCR mistakes, hire someone you thought would be great and fi nd that they are not, and learn along the way. Also, it takes years to create, tweak and oversee all of your policies, procedures and training practices. Allow good practices time to work. Creating a great staff is easier for some people than others. Jack Groot owns JP's Coff ee in Holland, Mich. He also provides coff ee s new blog, business consulting and training through the Midwest Barista School (MBS) and On Track Coff ee Consulting. Also, check out Jack' "Jack Groot's blog – confessions of a coff ee shop owner" at www.coff eegroot. com where you can read more from Jack's two decades as a coff eeshop owner. Jack can be reached at jack@jpscoff ee.com or 866-321-4MBS.