Study the Rules

Chris DeferioPodcast

If you want to do well in competition you have to study the rules. Without this you are flying blind and will probably get a less that stellar result for your effort. The same thing is true for your career.  Today on Shift Break  we will be…

The Quality Standards Equation

Chris DeferioPodcast

If your shop does not have specific standards for the products your serve and the way you serve them, then you are leaving a lot of the success of your coffee shop up to chance. Question is, how do you go about setting standards? Where do the…

301 : Hiring and Training for Excellence

Chris DeferioLeadership, Management, Podcast, Training

These are the two most important and intensive processes in the cafe yet they often are the most rush and poorly thought through. The preparations we make and the actions we take when hiring and training staff will and does create a ripple effect that is felt by everyone who interacts with your business for years to come. Maybe more …

Hard Work is Hard

Chris DeferioPodcast

At work there is unnecessary difficulty and then there is just…necessary difficulty. The trouble is that sometimes we can blur the line between the two and generally will default the thinking all difficulty is to be avoided or is a sign of something…

299 : 5 Rules for a Successful Coffee shop

Chris DeferioBusiness, Podcast

What makes a successful coffee bar? This whole show is dedicated to exploring the depths of the question and yet there are a few fundamental elements that, if practiced, will greatly help your coffee bar succeed. Were are not going to be talking about the common things you might associate with success such as location, Cost of Goods, and great …

Care Assurance is the New Quality Assurance

Chris DeferioPodcast

Quality control and assurance is common in most well established coffee shops. Even if it is not a dedicated position, it at least is an area where we invest a lot of time and effort. What we don’t see very much of is a focus on care. How do the staff…

298 : A Trophy, or Atrophy?

Chris DeferioBarista Craft, Business, Career, Podcast

Winning coffee awards and competitions is pretty cool. There are many benefits to pursuing accolades for your coffee shop through such as marketing opportunities, sharpening skills, energizing staff, and networking. The question we have to ask ourselves though is, just how critical are competitors and awards tot he success of our shops and what metric should we be using to …

Encore! Curbing Their Enthusiasm

Chris DeferioPodcast

On a daily basis we have opportunities to take a customer’s genuine curiosity and excitement and either affirm it and guide them or to stamp it out and push them away. In coffee shops all over the world the former scenario play out but what we see too…