Engage in conversation with your customers
Greet customers on entry and make conversation with them, even if it is just about the weather. If it is a regular customer, remember their preferred coffee and if possible, try to find out and use their name. Social media may give you a helping hand here especially if the customer regularly comments or shares posts. Even if you are clearing a nearby table, at least smile at customers and try to make conversation but be careful not to be too chatty as you don’t want to be too much in the customer’s face and you also have lots of other work to do. Remember to say goodbye when they are leaving too and ask for some feedback about their experience which was hopefully good.
Treat every customer as a VIP
Every customer is important to a business and every customer should be treated like a VIP. The simple reason is that you want customers to return to your coffee shop. Customers are spoiled for choice as to which coffee shop they can visit. The type of beans is important and the decor is important but without excellent customer service, the customer may bypass your business and head to a competitor. So the challenge is how can you “go the extra mile” for your customers in your coffee shop? Even simple things like offering to carry a tray for a customer can mean a lot to a busy mum who is struggling with a toddler and lots of shopping bags.
Listen and act on customer feedback
With Trip Advisor, Facebook and Google, it has never been easier for customers to write a review about your coffee shop. While we may give ourselves a clap on the back after a glowing review, we may not always like to hear what customers have to say about a business when if it is negative. A negative review can provide you with insight about the business which you may not know about and lets you make amends. Always reply to reviews and thank the customer for taking the time to write one.
Reward your regular customers
The loyalty card is an obvious way to do this as it encourages your customers to come back regularly as they know they will eventually get a free coffee. But what other ways can you reward your regular customers?
Be consistent in your coffee shop customer service
It’s easy to start the day being all bright and breezy but are you so bright and breezy at the end of your shift? We all get tired and our feet hurt but the customer at the end of your shift is just as important as the one at the start of the shift. So keep your customer service standards consistently high throughout your shift. This applies to whole team too – everyone should work hard to deliver a quality customers experience all day and every day.
Manage the coffee shop queue
No one wants to stand in a queue for a long period of time – five minutes is a long time to queue especially when you are in a hurry. So take steps to make sure that the queue moves quickly and that customers don’t have a long wait for that coveted flat white. Perhaps there is a training need or extra staff are needed but don’t sacrifice quality of coffee either. If the queue is slow and long, some customers will simply walk away and visit the coffee shop down the street.
Common courtesy goes a long way
Please and thank you should be commonplace in your interactions with customers. Watch your body language too as this can easily show disrespect to customers.