We did a previous blog on the basics of starting a coffee shop talking about the “coffee ingredients” that go into a successful venture. There was one important coffee ingredient we left out though: ambiance.
There is a saying that goes: “People will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.” This has been attributed to Maya Angelou and we believe the lady had a point.
Everything in life comes with a feeling, even coffee. If you serve good coffee people will remember how it made them feel. They may remember the taste of the coffee also, but especially how that taste made them feel.
In a coffee shop it isn’t all about coffee though. People won’t remember your coffee shop fondly because of just the coffee. Hard to believe but there are more “coffee ingredients” that go into the perfect cup.
The perfect cup of coffee, the one that makes people feel amazing is delivered with great service. Service is really, really important when running a coffee shop, because how clients feel when they walk into a coffee shop is greatly dependent on the service they get. If they are met by someone who greets them with a big smile, chats to them, and hopefully remember their name and some little things about them if they are regulars, they will feel welcome and at ease – they may even start feeling at home.
There is a coffee shop in the town where one of us crazy Wholesale Coffee Co. workers live (namely me) and when I first came to town I had to ask why people loved this coffee shop, because no one seemed to be very enthusiastic about neither the coffee, nor the food, nor the décor. It was explained to me then that people came there because of the owner. He knows the whole town and when you walk in he remembers you and chats to you. He might even introduce you to other people there. It feels like you walk straight into a family. And he pours everyone a glass of free grappa every Friday morning.
The other thing that affects people’s feeling is the actual place. If you walk into a place that makes you feel at home, it’s stunningly beautiful, or it excites your senses in some other way, then you are likely to come back. This isn’t just about the furniture, layout and wall paint, it’s also about the light, the temperature and the freshness in the air. Not to mention the toilets. Unwelcoming and dirty toilets can actually scare off clients, believe it or not!
So that’s it: one of the most important coffee ingredients is how you make people feel at your coffee shop!
The perfect cup of coffee – a lot more than just coffee!