Yesterday, the Offbeat team visited the Lunch! exhibition at the Excel Centre in East London. As well as gaining further insight into the latest food and drink trends characterising the hospitality industry, we also attended a question and answer session with five leading players in the independent coffee shop scene. They highlighted the importance of great customer service – paramount to any successful coffee shop business! Here are a few considerations:
What Do Your Staff Do?
Firstly, it’s important to establish what your staff currently do or don’t do when interacting with customers. Through the use of surveys, mystery shoppers, and customer reviews, you can get a true impression on how your staff work and get an idea on which aspects require improvement. This will not only provide you with an honest feel for what your shop is currently offering, it will also give you a starting point and an opportunity to measure the outcome of the subsequent staff training.
Training
Once you have a strong understanding on those aspects of your customer service that require improvement, you can then target your training programme. Exercises and activities where staff can get practically involved will help them to understand the fundamentals of great service. Role play is an excellent tool to help staff talk about their positive experiences and get them interacting and communicating with one and other more successfully. Highlighting issues that prevent great customer service and suggesting ways to improve on these points will embed a positive mind set in your staff.
Staff Development
The importance of developing your staff professionally and personally is worth the investment of your time and energy from the start. The satisfaction of helping your staff to feel valued and watching them continue to progress and grow is priceless. Equally, the happier your staff are, the less your staff turnover will be and the less hassle for you.
Incentives
Following staff training, it’s important not to allow standards to slip. Implementing incentive programs aimed at improving customer service can help staff feel motivated and appreciated whilst positively impacting your customer experience. Additionally, ensure that you have a customer service standards manual that you can reflect on for staff briefings and staff reviews to regularly reiterate the importance of great customer service.
We can’t express the importance of great customer service enough, but with these key points, you will be well on your way to providing an excellent service which will have customers coming back to your coffee shop time and time again.
By Charlotte Anderson
Opening a coffee shop or restaurant and need advice on branding or interior design? Let’s discuss your coffee shop concept at hello@offbeatcreative.co.uk or call 020 7060 3121