Archives for posts with tag: Business

Il y a toujours un après… pour tout. Depuis Mars 2020, les commerces ont du suspendre leurs activités (sauf les boulangeries et les boucheries car ce sont des activités dites essentielles).

En raison de cette crise sanitaire, le monde a tourné au ralenti. Les gens ont du rester chez eux de nombreux mois. A tel point, que certaines activités sont restées immobiles et malheureusement, nombreuses sont celles qui n’ont pas pu se relever de tout cela. Principalement, les coûts financiers gargantuesques entrainant des faillites en cascade.

Mettre la clé sous la porte n’est jamais simple. Mais il faut s’y résigner car cela est la seule alternative. Lorsque les pertes sont plus importantes que les gains… il faut agir au plus vite.

Le click and collect est devenu la norme. Une chose totalement nouvelle pour l’hexagone ou le “à emporter” était encore très méconnu il y a quelques mois.

Beaucoup de personnes – vendeurs comme acheteurs – ont alors adopté cette nouvelle formule permettant d’exercer cet échange de biens, nourritures, services… etc

Cette situation unique et hors du commun a été presque utopique, car en raison de certaines fermetures, d’autres ont eu les moyens d’ouvrir leur nouvelle entreprise.

Coffee shop Covid

En effet, nombreux ce sont reconvertis passant d’une activité professionnelle urbaine en bureau, à une activité rurale en plein air en élevant des moutons/chèvres/bovins. Un changement total de vie et de routine afin d’apprécier une meilleure qualité de vie.

La vie vient de reprendre doucement mais surement, grâce aux vaccinations en masse. Tous secteurs économiques voient du mouvement et les gens sont prêts à bouger que ce soit pour des congés (des vrais) ou des investissements.

Avec des boutiques vides dans les grandes villes, de nouvelles enseignes (dis)apparaissent et qui dit déménagements dit l’intervention d’un service aidant a trouver un logement tel que ce que fait un chasseur d’appartement. Car trouver un travail est beaucoup plus simple que de trouver un toit pour y vivre. Les critères recherchés peuvent être – et sont souvent – spécifiques à une demande – c’est aussi ce défi qui rend le tout intéressant.

Coffee shop enseigne néon

Un local commercial ou un lieu de vie doivent répondre à des besoins et grâce à des professionnels à l’écoute cela est possible dans un délai parfois plus court.

Concernant les coffee shops, certains avaient pris la décision d’aménager leurs espaces afin de continuer une activité quasi normale, même si les places assises furent limitées. Mais au moins, l’impact Covid était minimisé et avec les restrictions et gestes barrières tout était faisable. Le système D est indispensable afin de trouver une solution rapide.

Même si le port du masque est obligatoire cela ne cause pas une vision négative des choses mais un moyen de recevoir en toute sécurité les clients. Tout le monde est alors gagnant : l’individu en recherche de caféine et le commerçant qui complète sa mission d’exercer son activité qui mêle savoir-faire, connaissances et satisfaction auprès de sa clientèle – généralement fidèle à un service de proximité.

Barista au travail – illustration

Rien n’est actuellement gagné car même si les cas de contamination Covid19 sont en forte baisse, il est indispensable de rester vigilant. Un foyer d’infection ici ou là et… tout pourrait recommencer mettant en doute/danger cette reprise actuelle que tout le monde apprécie.

Une vie avec des activités/rencontres socialescomme avant” n’est peut-être plus un rêve tant que chacun prend ses responsabilités et que les attitudes de tous soient réfléchies.

Le partage ainsi que le respect des choses permettraient de revenir à cette vie d’avant qui était si frugale.

Sharing is Caring – Partager c’est Aimer

When stepping into a coffee shop there is of course the smell of coffee and usually a great display of cakes and tarts.

Customers like to think that a barista has an easy day at work.

In fact, the head barista is in charge of various things which could change the way coffee tastes. This member of staff is generally the first in the shop in order to switch on the espresso machine to gain the right pressure as well as various grinders too. But this is not all.

Turning and pressing buttons can only happen once the grinder is correctly setup. Dialing in is about making sure that the correct quantity of coffee (between 18g and 20g) will be in the portafilter. The size of the grind is essential too. Most people in the coffee trade are aware of it…but surprisingly not the customers. They are just after their caffeine fix. Quality comes with time and rushing it wouldn’t deliver the correct extraction and ratio coffee-water.

espresso dose on scale and tamper

espresso dose on scale and tamper

The counter, group heads and grinders have to be kept as clean as possible in order to avoid a real mess inside and underneath the cup. Wiping steam wand and drip tray can be seen as a waste of time when waiting for that coffee hit. But all these details are what makes your coffee tasting fresh and clean. No one wants to have bits of dry milk or old coffee ground floating on their drinks.

Some chains don’t actually care whether you are new in town, regular or just passing-by, because there is enough foot fall to fill up their tills. As for an independent shop, the story is completely different: keeping the existing coffee lovers is important but getting new loyal customers will keep the ball rolling smoothly with no worries.

Running an espresso bar is more than making coffee – there is the customer service too. Looking after people is a service which is so often missing. Serving a cup, taking the cash…this is not enough. People want more and this includes an interaction and checking that their drink/cake are as expected. Ignoring feedback is never a good idea. Listening to comments and recommendations will help the business to develop better/faster and improvements are always possible.

It is also thinking about the little personal touch that can attract more people to come in. “Attention to details” as recruiters like to say.

What could this be?

Fresh tap water available to continue the day after having had a snack. Some newspapers and magazines to go through while waiting for a friend. Able to guide clients when it comes to buy some coffee beans and eventually grind them at no extra cost.

In other words it is about being sociable and keeping this communication going as the barista is the host and keeping the guests entertained is what creates the buzz. People always like to keep or take home something from a great place.

Remember as a child, yourself would certainly like a promotional sticker or fridge magnet – this is still applicable when being an adult. It is just to show to your entourage that you have been there (been there, done that, got the t-shirt) . This can just be a paper take-away cup with the logo of the business on it or even better, a reusable keep-cup which will stay with you for a long time.

Over all it is not about the actual value, this is secondary.

Finally, thinking of restocking (soya) milk, sugar, stirrers, tea leaves, disposable napkins and all other ingredients vital to run the business is part of the head barista’s duty.

It happens (rarely) that there is a short period during the day when the staff can sit down to sip a well deserved flat white or cup of tea. If this is when you are actually coming in for your brew, it would be wrong to assume that he/she has been slacking since 8am… Remember that if you want to smell the coffee, baristi are actually up and working hard well before everyone else.

Wake up and smell the coffee - animation

Wake up and smell the coffee – animation

Wherever you go in town and city centres, there are more and more coffee shops. Not easy to decide where to go. Not every “cafés” provide the same kind of customer service and coffee quality. It all depends on what you are after.

Some people like to monopolize a table and seat for hours because they NEED to work online: all this is fine as long as they purchase drink or food regularly. If the business provides free WiFi internet access, the customer needs to show respect and help the espresso bar to run by putting some money in the till!

Sadly, not everyone sees it this way.

Barista life is an interesting one. That person making/preparing coffee can see and observe a lot of things from behind the counter even when busy.

The role is not just about pressing a button and steaming that milk according to the order placed by caffeine lovers. There is a compulsory but natural eye-contact and subtle panning through the room to make sure everyone is fine – no need to ask anything.

Too many people assimilate a barista to be a kind of hipster looking person – the trendy type with beanie, beard, tattoo and other lumberjack shirt. This is just a stereotype… don’t believe what everyone is saying.

What is essential is the quality of the brew: getting the ratio (water – coffee) and the extraction right. The rest is just irrelevant.

Looking cool is too much of a 21st century topic – for some (unknown) reasons individuals like to deal with fashionable members of staff. This is not a guarantee of quality though… it is just the image and appearance. A more classic looking coffee maker can be as good as (if not better) than the regular laid back barista.

Before going further into this, a barista is a knowledgeable and hard working person – sometimes customers believe that they are allowed to treat him/her (because yes, there are female barista too) like a close friend. Why is that? This type of attitude wouldn’t be welcome in other businesses such as bank, civic centre or pharmacy.

Respect your Barista

Respect your Barista

The procedure is straight forward: a person comes to the counter, orders a drink (based on an espresso) and eventual cake, the barista makes that crafted coffee and charge for the various items. After this process and according to the layout and flow of customers, a dialogue can take place on various subjects. It can be about the coffee itself or just a brief “are you enjoying the aroma/flavour of the coffee“?

Maxwell Colonna-Dashwood of Colonna & Small’s in Bath is an expert and almost a scientist when it comes to making the perfect cup.

This interview produced by Shot By Shot Films gives you an idea of what running a successful business is about.

Colonna-Dashwood has won the UK Barista Championship in 2012 and 2014 and finished 5th of the World Barista Championship 2014 (video HERE) – this means that those beverages are without a shadow of a doubt prepared with care.

But things don’t stop here. There is a forthcoming adventure about expanding and…diversification of services: Colonna & Hunter.

This is a lifestyle or even better…real dedication. The amount of hours involved are just enormous. Most of the time, people are surprised to hear how hard it can be to work in a coffee shop. The opening “mise en place” and keeping everything perfectly tidy requires constant attention.

Last but not least, a market survey and strategy are vital, because it would be insane to pick and invest in a commercial property randomly then “wait and see“. The return on invested capital (ROIC) has to bring positive results…this is the aim of all companies.

Spending around 10 hours a day on duty and ready to serve customers without showing signs of tiredness is a job that not everyone could fulfill. This is barista life… when closing the door after such shift, you can understand why that very barista won’t be seen in local pubs/clubs…it is generally a choice!

Black coffee and doughnut

Black coffee and doughnut