Keys To The Shop : Equipping Coffee Shop Leaders

We have to get the shop closed! Fast! Question is, at what cost? For most of us we engage in pre-close with an aggression that lies our stated commitment to hospitality. Customers are frequently put off by how we go about re-closing and we a frequently behind the eight ball with unrealistic expectation fueling our aggressive attitudes towards it.

Pre-closing is crucial part of the day's work that can be done in a way that benefits the cafe the staff, and still allows for customers to enjoy their experience in the cafe when it is open.

Today will be talking about pre-closing and principles related to doing it well.

Related Episodes:

098 : Loving the Closing Shift : Problems, solutions, and philosophy on work

243 : Encore Episode! "The Sleepwalking Barista (Owner)"

259 : Solving Toxic Customer Service Culture

Blog: Spiders and Customer Service

019 : 10 Reasons to Love the Customer w/ Chris Deferio

Visit our Sponsors!!!

Custom branded mobile apps for your shop!

www.espressly.co

The best espresso machines in the world!

www.lamarzoccousa.com

When you have a trainer on staff there are specific responsibilities you have as a leader that will determine their success and how happy you are with their performance. Often we can set someone in a position and let them loose with little to no guidance. Of course this is a recipe for disaster and today we are going to be talking about how to provide structure for trainers hat you lead and also we will be talking to trainers about proper focus and mindsets going into the role.

When bosses come along side trainers and give structure, guidance, and leadership everyone has a better chance for satisfying work.

We cover:

• Job descriptions
• Admin time
• Focus on basics
• Commissioning and following through on projects
• Due dates and clarity
• Getting lost in esoteric coffee knowledge

Related episodes:

248 : The 5 Elements of Resourcing your Team

261 : The Basics of Managing Managers

313 : Coffee Education and Training w/ Michael Phillips of Blue Bottle Coffee

025 : Mastering the Art of Training w/ Dave Stachowiak : Coaching, Leadership, education , and how to communicate your coffee and barista knowledge so it sticks

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www.pacficfoodservice.com

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Customers have opinions that we disagree with. This is a forever truth of running a business. They have preferences and sometimes they will be disappointed in their experience and take to Yelp to voice their opinion. That can be very frustrating, especially if you feel you are doing everything "right".

The temptation is to be defensive, fight, and essentially make the reviewer the enemy. Problem is that this approach, as cathartic as it may seem, shows insecurity and shuts down opportunity for growth and connection.

Today on Shift Break we will be talking about how to adjust our perspective on critique and embrace the fact that we are here to serve the customer before ourselves.

Related Episodes:

151 : How to Respond and React to Negative Feedback : 5 Step Process

165 : The Art of Deep Listening w/ Oscar Trimboli

307 : 10 Simple ways to Level Up your Coffee Shop

196 : Understanding Customer Preferences w/ Peter Giuliano

019 : 10 Reasons to Love the Customer w/ Chris Deferio

Visit our Sponsors!!!

Custom branded mobile apps for your shop!

www.espressly.co

The best espresso machines in the world!

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Community exists all around us. When we start a coffee shop we see the blossoming of community in our customer base, baristas bonding with one another, and then across the industry people of similar interests who are desirous to learn, grow, and connect make an effort to establish friendships. One of the ways these communities thrive is when people step up and organize.

Today on Keys to the Shop we are going to re-listen to a great episode with Javier Alvarez and Joseph Gonzalez of Espresso State of Mind in NYC. They have been tirelessly and selflessly organizing throw downs, events, fundraisers, and all manner of efforts to enrich their community. This episode was recorded pre-COVID and from where I sit, having continued to see and interact with them, they have continued this effort even in spite of a global pandemic.

We get to learn from Javier and Joseph the history of ESOM, the steps of faith required, planning, best practices for organizing, and their philosophy on community.

I love these guys and hope that if you are wanting to organize your community that you will be equipped and encouraged by this encore episode!

Links:

https://espressostateofmind.com

Related Episodes:

How to host a Throwdown w/ Justin Shepard

Founder Friday w/ Jason Card

Mastering Latte Art: Interviews w/ the Best

Visit our amazing Sponsors!

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www.pacficfoodservice.com

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Hiring baristas can bring a lot of uncertainty. It is because of this we tend to go for people who may not make great leaders but default to following. Problems come when it is time to appoint a manager or have people take on. more responsibility and you don't have any candidates that are right for the role.

On today's Shift Break we will be talking about how we should be hiring for future leadership and why it makes sense for your coffee shop.

Related Episodes:

301 : Hiring and Training for Excellence

278 : Making great Hiring Decisions

018: Hiring, Culture, and the Future of your Shop

013 : Leadership & Management Master Class w/ Eva Attia : Leadership | management | hiring | career

314 : The 6 Essential Qualities of Coffee Shop Leaders

232 : Rebuilding your Staff with Excellence w/ Dave Stachowiak

Visit our Sponsors!!!

Custom branded mobile apps for your shop!

www.espressly.co

The best espresso machines in the world!

www.lamarzoccousa.com

Welp, KTTS is now 5 years old! In this time KTTS has aired 560 episodes and is closing in on 2 million downloads around the world and it simply feels surreal. I have been so blessed by the guests on this show, you the audience, and most of all, my biggest supporter, my wife.

SO...on this episode my lovely wife Lynnsy takes to the microphone again to interview me about the journey over the past 5 years as well as getting to know a bit more about me and some of the things that make me tick. She has seen this thing take shape closer than anyone and it was really fun to get to talk with her about all of this.

Thanks, babe. You're the best.

You guys are cool too.

We cover:

• How and why KTTS was started
• What I have learned
• How I've changed as a person
• Favorite/most surprising episode
• Tenacity and overcoming hardships
• Dealing with fear and taking risks
• The importance of story and discovery
• Why my wife is awesome

Vote Keys to the Shop for best Coffee Podcast!

https://sprudge.com/vote

Related Episodes:

Bonus Valentine's Day Episode aka "My wife made me do it"

305 : Founder Friday! w/ Andrew Sinclair of MadLab Coffee, Los Angeles, CA

081 : Founder Friday w/ David Schomer of Espresso Vivace

315 : Growing and Connecting w/ Stephen Zinnerman of The Coffee Enthusiast!

242 : A Conversation with James Hoffmann

Visit our amazing Sponsors!

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www.pacficfoodservice.com

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Chances are good that if you are listening to this podcast, you want to grow in your career or your business. That makes sense especially since that is one of the goals of this show! That said, there are some problems with growth and the expectations we have related to it that create a dissatisfaction, self sabotage, and rob us of the joy of where we are right now

I want take this last Shift Break of 2021 to address all with you all and offer some encouragement on how to balance your pursuit of growth going into this new year.

I would be honored if you would vote for Keys to the Shop in the 13th annual Sprudgie Awards for best coffee podcast!

Click here vote!

Visit: www.keystothshop.com/consulting

Related episodes:

• 224 : Essentialism: Focusing on what truly Matters w/ Greg McKeown
• 191 : Retraining your Staff on new Standards
• 181 : Organizational Self-Knowledge
• Limiting New Things
• Turning the Ship Slowing down your Response Time

Visit our Sponsors!!!

Custom branded mobile apps for your shop!

www.espressly.co

The best espresso machines in the world!

www.lamarzoccousa.com

Relationships are what the coffee industry is built on. The quality of those relationships determines the strength of the supply chain and the success of all involved. One of the most important relationships that is not talked about very often is that between green buyer and the broker.

Today we on the Rate of Rise series from Roast Magazine we will be diving into this subject with the author of the October 2020 Roast Magazine article "What your Broker Wishes you Knew", Scott Merle!

Scott has worked in specialty coffee since 1988 and has experience in every aspect of the value chain from Barista to Roastmaster. He has extensive knowledge of green coffee sourcing, purchasing, roasting, and blend development, and is proficient in various types of coffee evaluation. Scott has participated in multiple international cupping panels, was a founding member of the Executive Council of the SCAA's Roaster's Guild, serves on the Editorial Board for Roast magazine, and has served on multiple committees and councils within the SCAA, including eight years on the SCAA Sustainability Council where he spent a three year term as chair. Scott has dedicated his career to furthering coffee quality throughout the value chain, and has emphasized and exemplified fair pricing practices to hard-working producers every step of the way.

In this conversation we cover:

• Communication
• Honesty and follow through
• Game planning and
• Capacity as parallel parking
• Setting parameter for your size
• Brokers and quality control decisions
• Reasonable differences in QC/Assessment
• Getting better at cupping
• How and why to Pay your bills
• Collaboration and problem solving
• Complexity at origin
• Impact of our decisions on farmers
• Defaulting to generosity and relationship

Links:

www.laminita.com

Subscribe to Roast Magazine!

www.roastmagazine.com

Related Episodes:

RoR #1: A Conversation w/ Anne Cooper of Equilibrium Master Roasters

RoR #2: Exploring Quality Control w/ Spencer Turer of Coffee Enterprises

RoR #3: Making Contingency Planning a Reality w/ Andi Trindle Mersch of Philz Coffee

RoR #4: Practical Thermal Dynamics w/ Candice Madison of Royal Coffee / The Crown Oak

RoR #5: Time and Color in Roasting w/ Morten Munchow of Coffee Mind"

RoR #6: Buying Less and Doing More w/ Ever Meister

RoR #7 Illustrative Sample Roasting w/ Mike Ebert of Firedancer Coffee Consultants

ROR #8 How Post-Harvest Processing Impacts Flavor w/ Siva Subramanian and Byron Holcomb of Olam Food Ingredients

RoR #9 Inside the Roaster's Tool Kit w/ Kat Melheim of Black and White Coffee and The Coffee People Zine

Creating a path forward and up in the coffee industry sometimes requires we take matters into our own hands and build the opportunities for ourself and others that we don't see. This is exactly what today's guest, LaNisa Williams did with Barista L.A.

LaNisa Williams has been in coffee over 14 years as a barista, manager, trainer/educator, and all around inspiration. At a critical point in her life and career she decided that coffee was not only her route to a better life, but that she would create a platform to spotlight and give opportunity to the black coffee community.

Barista Life L.A. is a full service coffee brand that provides training, education, and consulting to individuals and companies. Under the Barista Life L.A. banner, LaNisa founded Black the platform "Black in Brew" which highlights black excellence in coffee. In addition LaNisa provides private events, in home brewing demos, and also runs the retail expression of Barista Life L.A., "Hustlers Cup".

In all this her goal is to create a safe space for people of all colors, genders, and backgrounds in hopes to educate, restores, and uplift them in the coffee community.

In today's conversation we will be talking about how LaNisa got her start in coffee, how it provided a path for a new life, and the story of founding Barista Life L.A. and the experiences, lessons, and impact it has provided.

We cover:

• Developing a love for coffee and the industry
• The drive of Hospitality and people
• Getting a second chance on life through coffee
• Addressing the lack of opportunity for black people in coffee
• Starting barista life LA
• Expanding the view of what a barista is
• Educating and training and putting yourself out there
• How the journey has shaped who she is today
• Receiving feedback and avoiding self doubt
• Paying attention to your customers
• Helping people succeed beyond the bar
• Advice on overcoming obstacles

Links:

www.bristalifela.com

IG:

@Baristalifela

@hustlerscup

Related Episodes:

233 : A Conversation w/ Anthony Ragler, Black and White

315 : Growing and Connecting w/ Stephen Zinnerman of The Coffee Enthusiast!

116: Understanding Gentrification w/ Dr. Stacey Sutton

183 : Exploring Diversity w/ Phyllis Johnson

159: Addressing Unconscious Bias w/ Lauren Lathrop

139: Founder Friday w/ Phil Sipka, Kusanya Cafe

067: 6 Truths about Power

235 : 4 Tips for Training your Staff

Visit our awesome sponsors!

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The Barista Series: Best Plant Based Beverages on Earth!

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The best event for building a successful retail coffee business!

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One of the ways we like to make our mark as leaders is by introducing various ideas, initiatives, items, and changes to the shop that we hope will make an impact. I know I have certainly seen putting new things in place as my main service to those I was tasked with leading. Thing is, instead of creating a positive impact as we hope, it often does the opposite.

On this Shift Break we chat briefly about why it is a good idea to limit new things as a way to avoid burning your staff out and to refine the things you currently have in play.

Related episodes:

080 : Changing things in the Cafe : A workflow for Refinement

074 : The Life Changing Power of Good Authority w/ Jonathan Raymond

267 : The Power of Delegation

181 : Organizational Self-Knowledge

Grass Roots Improvement: Tapping into the power of your staffs observations and ideas

Source vs Supplement

Visit our Sponsors!!!

Custom branded mobile apps for your shop!

www.espressly.co

The best espresso machines in the world!

www.lamarzoccousa.com