Managing Expectation

It’s relatively common for coffee shops to encounter customer service issues – no matter how experienced or well-trained staff members might be. Joshua Stevens is the owner of the Café Cultura coffee chain, which has over a dozen locations across Brazil. He states that serving coffee to the public is full of challenges and difficulties that he could never have imagined taking place.

Communication is everything in a coffee shop. As your coffee shop will see a diverse range of cultures, perceptions, and beliefs present in its customers every day, this will directly impact how everyone understands each other.

Communication failure occurs for many reasons. Identifying how an error took place as well as when it took place can pinpoint where a shortfall is so that a solution can be found. The purpose of this exercise should not just be about pointing out a mistake and assigning blame. It should also be about finding solutions so that it doesn’t occur again.

This should also be a team effort. When a group works together on identifying possible causes of a problem, you’re likely to generate a range of creative solutions that take into account your local conditions and all team member’s feedback.

Customers Are Waiting For Long Periods

Problem: Customers are complaining about long queues or waiting periods to be served.

Possible Cause: You might be unexpectedly short-staffed, dealing with a sudden influx of customers, or experiencing an external issue (broken machinery or ingredient shortages).

Possible Solution: Creating and displaying signage communicating delays and expected resolution times will help manage expectations. This way, those in a hurry can leave without having a negative experience with your shop, and return again when the issue is resolved. Research into service delay times indicates that providing an explanation of a delay reduces customer dissatisfaction, as does having staff members communicate this in a timely manner.

KEEP IMPROVING YOUR COMMUNICATIONS

Managing and improving your communications is an ongoing process, and one that you’ll need to keep testing. It’s important to keep looking for new and better solutions, as well as evaluating what has worked and what can still be improved on.

Doing so will create an environment of trust for all involved, and ensure that your coffee shop remains a popular place for people to work – as well as visit – for years to come.