'How are you?'
/There's something magical about the ritual of getting a coffee. It's not just about the caffeine fix or the warmth of a cup cradled between your hands; it's about a moment. A pause in the day that holds more potential than we often give it credit for. Whether it's the hurried espresso shot grabbed on the way to work or the leisurely latte enjoyed on a relaxed Sunday afternoon, each visit to a coffee shop is a story waiting to unfold. But what often goes unnoticed is the backdrop against which these stories play out—the world of hospitality. It's here, in the seemingly mundane exchange over a coffee counter, that the extraordinary can happen. Yet, how often do we stop to consider the depth of these interactions? Or the impact that a genuine, human connection can have on our day?
Continue reading to understand my take on what I believe hospitality is and means in this ever changing fast paced world we live in.
Hospitality takes on many forms depending on multiple factors. Are you in a Michelin starred restaurant? Are you grabbing a ‘to-go’ coffee from a train station? Are you in a garden cafe for a light bite and a quick refuel? Or are you in a speciality coffee shop? Regardless, Hospitality is a thread that runs through them all, and an aspect of a business which is very often, and unfortunately, overlooked.
It’s a regular occurrence when I'm not working to visit other coffee bars (unsurprisingly...), but it’s only on the odd occasion that I'm actually really impressed by the service. Admittedly, first hand, this sounds quite snobbish and rude. Honestly, I don’t mean it to be. It’s not that the service is bad (well, sometimes....), but there is often nothing remarkable that stands out. Ordering a coffee is a simple process: What would you like? Drink in or takeaway? Thats £ X amount please. Job done. I get my coffee and I sit down and I drink it. Should I actually expect anything more? No. Not really. I wanted a coffee, I got a coffee. Transaction over. Done. But that’s just it, it’s a transaction. I’ve left feeling like I'm just a number, feeling like rather than being seen as me, an individual, I’ve actually been treated as the transaction, and as such have quite a cold and unfriendly experience. Due to this, my love for the venue can now only extend to the quality of the product I have in front of me, and if that doesn't hit the mark there are no redeeming factors to endear me towards the place or to want to return. And surely that’s the point of hospitality? Being hospitable and to nurture returning and repeat business?
So why isn’t this side of business more focused on? Personally, I feel it’s the overarching, historical and stereotypical view of what the hospitality sector is... and that is, low wage, unskilled and with transient staff. This is by no means my view of the industry, far from it, but we’ll get to that. When staff are ‘transient’ (by transient staff I mean the temp holiday workers, the back from university students looking to earn some cash whilst on a break etc... the list goes on)., it becomes very difficult to create rapport with customers and build strong relationships. There is also little concern from the staff about how they engage with customers due to the short nature of their employment. The ‘here for the paycheck’ attitude shows through, and are far more focused on just processing the transaction and moving on to the next task or customer. Personal touches and customer interaction is either non-existent or gets lost, and the business has to survive on either its historical reputation or its product. Again, due to the transient nature of staff the product can tend to drop in quality, with training not always being given fully, or the lack of care due to the ‘not here for long’ attitude.
What baffles me further with regards to good hospitality in the hospitality industry, is that it’s completely free! A business doesn’t need to spend a fortune on a new fancy piece of kit, or sign up to a subscription of ‘Great conversation starters’ to get good results. A little bit of care, a desire to engage with customers and some good humour is all it takes to have a fun, interesting and meaningful interactions with customers, and create an experience they want to come back to.
At Bean Shot we decided to break away from the historical and stereotypical form of hospitality outlined above and take a different approach in almost every aspect.
We employ staff full time, they are salaried and we pay well. We give extensive training in coffee making, nurture and expand their coffee knowledge and coffee origin information. We teach brewing methods and the tricks and tips of great coffee preparation. But, most importantly of all, the business focus is much more on the people within it, be that staff, customers or even delivery drivers, basically anyone that walks through our doors. The whole goal is to encourage genuine conversations and customers interactions. Eye contact, smiling, being engaging, and taking the time to communicate effortlessly. And not just mindlessly communicating, then forgetting immediately the conversation that’s been had. We listen, are tuned in and have genuine conversations with customers. It’s a skill in its own right and one we aim to nurture and grow in all our staff. Managing conversations, understanding if someone wants to talk, or are they in a rush? do they seem chilled? are they giving one word answers or is conversation a little freer? Navigating the many different personalities that decide to spend their time and money with us is interesting, challenging at times, but is also quite good fun!
It works both ways too, by employing staff full time our customers get to know who the staff are and can build a relationship with them. Sounds pretty silly, small and insignificant when writing it down, but if a customer knows the barista they are being served by, the interaction immediately becomes much more personable. The social benefit of this is huge. Imagine someone who lives alone who only comes to town for a lunch break after a morning of sitting alone working at a computer. The barista could be the only person they have physical communication with that day. Being served by someone who doesn’t care, who doesn’t give them the time of day, or fails to engage at all, they might as well have gone to a hole in the wall coffee machine. Not fun, not exciting, you get your coffee, but that’s it, transaction focused. Flat.
Before the COVID lockdowns we were solely focused on promoting the quality of our product. ‘Bloody Good Coffee’ was the main drive, producing and shouting about making the best coffee and using that the as our main marketing tool. Post COVID the population across the world realised how important social interaction was. Being segregated for so long, not just from the people we love, but from literally everyone, was challenging. It changed people. It changed habits. And with that, it also changed Bean Shot. We switched from being product focused to being people focused. Our goal shifted from being the best place for a coffee to the best place to hang out - that also serves ‘Bloody Good Coffee’!. It was a small shift but it’s made an incredibly massive difference to how busy we are, for the better!
So how do we actually do it? Well, it’s pretty simple. In fact, it couldn’t be simpler. And is the title of todays blog post:
‘How are you?’
Three very simple, and unassuming words, but three incredibly powerful words that we ask every single customer. Not just that, we listen and respond to the answer... Honestly, that’s it.
It’s the very first thing we say (ok, we might say hello first.... but you get the idea), before anything else, before asking you for your order, before any other conversation starts. It gives a sense of warmth, care and genuine interest in you, the customer, as an individual who’s seen, rather than being solely focused on getting the transaction done and moving on to the next.
As soon as we implemented this change and made the switch to becoming more personable, conversations started getting longer, friendlier and overall happier. We got to know our customers better, we would find out random snippets of people's days, where they were heading off to or where they have come from. We’d discover people who had recently moved to the area and ended up giving contacts for tradespeople, who are also customers, to help they out with renovations, and everything else in between.
‘How are you?’ is such a fantastic ice breaker, and when used by staff who actually care, who can guide conversations and who can help and assist with anything, a much deeper connection is made, rather than just making and serving a coffee. Over the course of time the conversations grow, not just between staff and customers, but between customers too.
Weirdly by us being friendlier to patrons, customers become friendlier with each other. Friendships have been made, groups have been formed and Bean Shot has become the community space they gravitate towards to meet. Personally, I think that really sums up what we’ve created, a community space, a community space that just so happens to sell Bloody Good Coffee! These days I refer to Bean Shot not as a coffee business, but as a people business. As an owner I look after my staff, they as a result are happy, work hard and commit to the brand values of Bean Shot, and in turn they look after our customers, making sure everyone who walks through our door is happy and comfortable, feels seen and heard, and is respected and valued. Customers then look after the business by continuing to visit, popping in not just once per week but maybe 2 or 3 times (or even the full 7 days per week.... you know who you are!) to say hello, meet friends or to just sit and soak up the buzzing atmosphere. It’s a wholesome circle that benefits everyone involved. Truthfully it’s amazing! Being the driver behind the community we’ve created is a hugely humbling feeling, and being a business where so many interesting, wonderful and genuine individuals congregate always makes me smile. To run a venue where everyone feels respected, welcome and safe makes me very proud and I’m super pleased we can offer such a space to Sherborne and to the wider community.
If you’ve not visited before then please do. We’d love to welcome you into our community, include you in our world and embrace you into the Bean Shot family.... to tempt you further, we’ve got Bloody Good Coffee too!
It’s been a little while since I’ve written a blog. Sorry… I’m going to try and get them a little more regular from now on. `No promises though!