Ever since 2020, we as a coffee industry have been looking for ways to create more resiliency in our businesses. The cafe in particular is vulnerable to a lack of resiliency. Not only is the coffee shop a relatively low margin and high effort entity with an ROI that can take years, it also relies on the public consistently investing …
452: Championing the Customer Experience in Coffee w/ 3x SA Barista Champion, Winston Douglas Thomas of Cedar Coffee
The world of professional specialty coffee can be both inspiring and intimidating with many customers and new baristas feeling lost in the mix of rules, methods, and information. How can we create a great experience for guests and staff who all really want to enjoy coffee and find their place in it? Today we get to learn from the story …
450: A Conversation About Mobile Apps and Hospitality w/ Joe Capone of Espressly
Hospitality is a pursuit that relies on our ability to not only offer our guests excellence in quality, consistency, and interaction, but it also relies on us being able to select tools for delivery of our service that line up with our values. Mobile apps and order ahead systems have become a part of the fabric of the coffee shop …
433: Winning Staff and Customer Loyalty
How do I find loyal staff and win loyal customers? This question and many like it has been asked thousands of times as we deal with incredible amounts of turn over in our shops. We have tried tricks, incentives, benefits of all kinds but they never seem to quite do the trick. Same with customers, we offer deal, discounts, and …
421: Encore Episode: Simple, Powerful, Hospitality w/ Philip Paul Turner
One of the most important aspects of our business is how we welcome people into our space. Early on in the KTTS podcast I sat down with someone who I still consider to be one of the best examples of showing genuine hospitality in a way that is simple yet powerful. Today I am re-sharing with you all this interview …
384 : How to Run a Successful Coffee Cart w/ Sarah Naylor of Daybreak Coffee Cart
There has been a resurgence of mobile coffee carts recently. A cart offers the owner flexibility, agility, and a less risky entry into the world of coffee retail. That said, there are many elements that need to be in place for you to be able to set up and run a successful coffee cart that serves you and your customers …
382 : Hospitality, Innovation, and the Birth of a Brewer w/ Etkin Design Co-founders, Michael Butterworth and Özgür Jerdan.
Innovation in the coffee industry is no longer just about large companies tweaking their standard equipment, but it is becoming democratized through small companies bringing their ideas to market through networking, research, and good old fashioned hard work. Today we are going to be talking with 2 of the 3 founders of one such company who sought to create the …
367 : Designing Your Coffee Shop for Community w/ Dr. Lisa Waxman
It goes without saying that most of us want our shops to be a place that attracts and fosters community. The question though is how exactly to we intentionally build our spaces to accomplish that. If we are honest, probably not as much thought or effort get put into setting up a space to purposely create community as is necessary. …
344 : From Fine Dining, to Coffee w/ Nicolas Simon of El Condor Coffee Roasters
Our industry is one focused on creating memorable experiences for guests of our shops. Being detail oriented is part of our hospitality to people because we know that when all those little things come together, they deliver a real impact. This is what driven today’s guest throughout his illustrious career working for some of the worlds most prestigious hotels and …
340 : Encore Episode of “10 Reasons to Love the Customer”!
It is the 5 year anniversary of episode #19 titled “10 Reasons to Love the Customer”! Coffee professionals tend to pit themselves against the customer as and us vs them battle. The original episode in 2017 was inspired by a magazine article about what baristas hate about customers. This mentality does not good for anyone and because we easily fall …