tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7539211123814378617.post2544792371133509362..comments2024-03-28T07:18:38.342+00:00Comments on Haggie's Coffee Lab: Stage FrightMike Haggertonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14861016522670661079noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7539211123814378617.post-42697520813624115092016-04-22T17:05:46.096+01:002016-04-22T17:05:46.096+01:00Nice article, talks about coffees in a very good w...Nice article, talks about coffees in a very good way and I like it, goodluck there!Bisuzs Coffeehttp://bisuzscoffee.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7539211123814378617.post-51771802622322682402012-09-25T00:41:26.054+01:002012-09-25T00:41:26.054+01:00Thanks very much for your comment, and the best wi...Thanks very much for your comment, and the best wishes :) <br />The barista's ability to cope with customer choices is a subject that could be examined much more deeply than it generally has been, I believe. We're generally left to our own devices in that regard, as comprehensive barista training (in the UK at least) is scarce and at best one-dimensional i.e. hard skills. Soft skills usually aren't formally trained. We pick up habits and ways of handling customers as we work, or as we read a blog, or as the boss tells us exactly how to respond to certain customer requests. How is it that a customer-facing role like a barista can end up being so overlooked in the soft skills stakes, I wonder? The SCAA/Barista Guild of America's certification programme offers a CP103 Customer Service module right at the outset in the Level 1 training. Counter-intuitively, perhaps, branded chains are better at this than independents. Many years ago I worked for Pizza Hut, a statement which rarely wins much respect from anyone, but it was one of the richest educational experiences of my career and played a big part in my returning to hospitality so many years later. Pizza Hut's customer service training was very effective. It helped overcome many potential flare-ups and disappointments, and ensured that customers left feeling happy even after a (rare but still too common) disasterous dining experience. The correct mindset for working in hospitality and coping with customers doesn't come naturally for most people, but it can certainly be taught. So I think if I was going to modify the Customer Is Always Right statement I'd probably just add "even when they are wrong". It's a mindset on the barista's/host's part rather than one of product quality, and requires the barista to be estabish how they can please the customer without sacrificing (a) the business' product quality standards and (b) the barista's own core principles and beliefs. But ultimately I think if a barista really has a hard time accepting the desires of their customers then they are probably not cut out to work as a barista in the hospitality industry... which I've just realised is one of the points Erin Meister makes in her article. <br />Cheers :)))Mike Haggertonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14861016522670661079noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7539211123814378617.post-32876461521537675472012-09-24T23:06:29.942+01:002012-09-24T23:06:29.942+01:00"The Customer Is Always Right" hmm don&#..."The Customer Is Always Right" hmm don't i hate that phrase. naturally it is of course not true. I think it is much better to say "The Customer very often believes he/she is Right".<br />That said you will cope better with the disappointing and frustrating decision making by customers, quite possibly negating the careful crafting of a coffee, by adopting the approach of "some I win over many I wont".<br />To often do we as baristas forget that customers are divided into/over three groups: Caffeine need, Comfort and Taste; the latter being by far the smallest currently.<br />So any converted soul is a major success and should be celebrated rather than growing grey hairs over the chap who puts 4 sugars into your wonderful Colombian espresso even before tasting it.<br />With your enthusiasm I am certain of a higher than normal conversion rate.<br />Best of luck Michael<br /><br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7539211123814378617.post-34455971727592983152012-09-24T21:24:58.009+01:002012-09-24T21:24:58.009+01:00great post mike,coffee blogs and opinions are ever...great post mike,coffee blogs and opinions are everywhere but good coffee is not.look forward to your doors opening,jim gAnonymousnoreply@blogger.com