If you want your coffeehouse to reach its full potential, you need a healthy dose of obsession. It requires total awareness of your operation—when a glass is missing on a table, the trash is overflowing, or a staff member seems out of sorts—to keep customers coming back.
Managing details like these can turn your business from good to great. Of course you don’t want to take on everything—you want your staff to be empowered and accountable—but it takes setting the example and regularly communicating your expectations to assure quality and service don’t deteriorate.
Your staff needs to see that you’re paying attention and that you care about the experience they’re giving your customers. Here are some key ways to do it:
Keep Job Expectations Crystal Clear
Written job descriptions are a must. Talk through what’s required for attire, general demeanor, types of duties to be executed, speed and skill in completing tasks, etc.
Keep An Eye On Cash Flow
Cash flow is the amount of cash coming into your business versus the amount of cash going out. It should be monitored on at least a weekly and monthly basis—or better yet, daily. If you don’t grasp this basic concept of restaurant finance, you'll put yourself at financial risk.
Track Your Sales
A daily business review report will help you build a history of the business. It will show you sales trends, payroll costs, customer counts, and thus how to predict future sales.
A POS System Can Help—Significantly!
A good point-of-sale (POS) system is like having an extra employee—allowing you to instantly track sales, cash flow and food inventory. This can greatly simplify day-to-day cafe management and help to trim food costs and payroll, as well as track the popularity of menu items.
Maintain High Standards
The bottom line: Standards are created to keep everyone on the same page for consistent results. Good leaders notice if best practices are not being followed, and they speak up immediately to get the team back on track.
Check out more articles in this series:
Coffeehouse Management Skill #1: Adaptable Leadership
Coffeehouse Management Skill #2: Open Communication
Coffeehouse Management Skill #3: Accountability
