HOW MUCH DO CUSTOMERS KNOW
ANYWAY?
Not everyone is sold on CABs.
Veteran café operator Nick Cho, co-founder of Wrecking Ball
Coffee in San Francisco, cites the self-interested motivations of
board members, the challenge of getting a representative sample
and farming out business decisions to others as potential stumbling blocks. "There's the question of, 'What do these folks know
that others don't?'" Cho says. "Plus, this group cannot speak for
those who are not customers or could be customers."
Furthermore, who's to say customers really know what they want?
Cho points to the oft-repeated words of Apple's Steve Jobs,
who famously charged that designing products based on the
insights of focus groups offered little value because customers
rarely realize a desire until it's in their hands. The same could
be said of CABs. Cho argues that the true benefit of CABs comes
through the marketing element. "You'd be known as the shop
that has this type of relationship with its customers, which could
prove valuable," he says.
There are other challenges. Stroud of Village Coffee says any
café owner instituting a CAB must be willing to push ego aside and
understand that constructive business criticism is not a personal
attack. "No one wants to be told that their baby's ugly," she notes.
Regardless of the lip service some operators pay customer centricity, the truth is that some have little desire to hear customers'
thoughts. On the other hand, some might feel obligated to implement customers' ideas, even against their better judgment.
But with the right owner attitude and the right customers
on board, the concept can work well. With her CAB entering its
seventh year, Village Coffee's Stroud has no plans to dial back the
process. "If my customers are happy, then they're far more likely
to visit more often and purchase more," Stroud says. "We only
stand to gain here."
freshcup.com May 2013
47