Fresh Cup Magazine, providing specialty coffee and tea professionals with unique insight into the trends, ideas, products and people that shape their world.
Issue link: http://freshcup.epubxp.com/i/158781
PLEASING A TOUGH CROWD continued from page 33 CUSTOMER #4: THE CONFUSED one will probably pick up on your frustration and may take it personally. You can't please everyone, but keeping the atmosphere friendly in your shop is a huge step toward alleviating the stresses of the outside world for those who choose to stop in. On a busy day, the ideal customer will know precisely what he wants to order, have exact change ready and wear a smile. Unfortunately, that is not always the case. Whether a customer is unaccustomed to the menu, put off by unfamiliar beverage jargon or just indecisive, your influence can be the difference between a complicated interaction and an enjoyable one. To keep indecisive customers from monopolizing your time, it's important to know how to be a guide. Remember: If a customer doesn't know what to order, that means he's probably never visited before. Use the opportunity to draw him in and make him want to return. Sell your product by first finding out what he likes to enjoy, then offering helpful suggestions. "Most guests just want you to help make the process smooth for them so they don't have to be embarrassed about being new to the store," says Sherry White, operations manager for Michigan-based JP's Coffee. "Guests who are new to the store want to replicate what they get in their usual coffee shop—whether that's on our menu or not—so we will often ask, 'What do you order at your favorite cafe?' This puts people at ease and helps them realize we want them to have a good experience." CUSTOMER #3: THE EXCEEDINGLY FRUGAL A patron enters your store and orders a double espresso over ice in the largest cup you have. She then proceeds to the condiment bar to fill the rest of the cup with the complimentary milk you've provided, turning that espresso into an iced latte. With her wiliness, she just paid $2 for a drink that if ordered honestly would have cost twice as much. She sees it as no big deal, but you view it more pragmatically as a fiscal loss. The trick for dealing with the occasional corner-cutting customer? Build a solution to stop scrooges in their tracks. Maybe you'll only serve espresso hot—unless it's in a latte. Or perhaps you'll serve iced espresso in a large cup but charge the same price as you would for a large iced latte. Just remember that those who order the "poor man's latte" probably don't understand what goes into making each drink. Perry of Klatch Coffee says the key for owners is not to become "so defensive that you become a turn-off and a hassle to deal with for your customers." She says owners should ask themselves: "How do we make it so we're not having to lecture customers or have these conversations?'" Find a fair solution, train your staff on how to explain the switch to customers in a friendly manner and stick with your new policy—come what may. 34 Fresh Cup Magazine freshcup.com If a customer does know what he wants and that item isn't on the menu, steer him to a similar product you carry. Patience is vital when it comes to dealing with indecisive customers. If you choose to respond by saying, "No, we don't have that," then you will be the one slowing things down and will probably end up losing that customer in the long run. But if you are able to hand them something they love, you might have won them over for good.