coffee business strategies

Today we are going to start off with a little bit of role-playing. Close your eyes (well close one of them so that you can keep reading this), and picture yourself walking into a coffee shop. This is a newer place, so you aren’t familiar with the layout, the staff, or the menu. You approach the counter with your favorite drink in mind… a white chocolate mocha with a hint of raspberry. Standing behind the counter is a 20 something kid who looks like an auto mechanic, or a recent parolee from a near by jail house. Since you were always taught not to judge people based on looks, you still expect to get a great drink from this guy. You glance over their menu and, success; they have white chocolate and raspberry. Your mouth salivates with anticipation, and you spit out order. “Roy” the auto mechanic behind the counter gives you that look; you know the one, like a Starbucks barista when you order a double espresso con panna. Now, I know at this point, you are most likely to offer a dollar tip if you just can go make it yourself, but good judgment steps in again, and you politely tell “Roy” how to make your drink.

“Roy” takes your four bucks, and dances a little jig of excitement over still remembering how to operate the cash register, and then turns to approach the beautiful three group Astoria machine he has behind the counter. He doses out some pre ground coffee, delicately tamps it, as if to not hurt the coffee grounds, locks it in the group and pushes a button. Some muddy water is dispelled into the brew pitcher and he dumps it into your 20 oz. Perfect Touch cup, adds a few little shots of flavor, and fills a steam pitcher with some 2% (because we all know it is cheaper then whole milk). Putting it under the steam pitcher, he begins heating the milk, never stretching, never whirl pooling, just setting the pitcher underneath the steam and admiring it. About the time the odor of burnt milk reaches your nostrils, he kills the power, and carelessly dumps the concoction into the cup, slaps a lid on it, and slides it across the counter to you, totally ignoring that look of disgust on your face. You take a courtesy sip and tell him he did a fine job, walk out the door, and deposit the cup in a nearby trash can, noticing the plethora of deposited, three quarter full, Perfect Touch cups that are nearly overflowing the can.

I promise that I am not totally making this up. Something similar happened to me the other day. I was out renting some movies, when I seen a coffee shop in the plaza. It being a rather cold night I stopped in for a cup, and the above scenario was played out before my very eyes.

The moral of this story is: don’t blow your budget on top of the line equipment if you aren’t willing to invest some money into proper training. I consider myself a connoisseur of sorts when it comes to my specialty coffee drinks. I’ve spent most of my adult life chasing that perfect cup, and it breaks my heart when I see a new business owner unintentionally hang themselves because they skimped on the training. When you draw up your business plan, don’t forget to budget anywhere from $500 to $1500 just on getting yourself trained to do it right, unless you really want to lug that $8,000 Astoria back home when your customers stop coming in. If I really want a bad cup of coffee there is a Starbucks on nearly every corner these days. You have to raise the bar, blow people’s taste buds away, and make them come back time and time again.

Until next time, YOU keep chasing after that perfect cup!