Coffee shops need to keep customers moving as consistently as possible. With the morning rush, in particular, you face a lot of people who want to get their favorite cup of caffeine and get to work as soon as possible, and if you want your customers to keep coming back you need to make sure they don’t spend too much time in line and get to their job late. A good latte will always take time to make, but there are a few strategies you can use to keep the wait time as brief as possible.
Use The Right Equipment
Cappuccinos, lattes, cold-brew coffee, and other specialty drinks can demand a lot of equipment to prepare, and if you want to prepare them quickly it pays to invest in quality equipment. That means espresso machines with the right number of spouts for your customer count, coffee machines that automatically start brewing a fresh batch when it senses the pot is low, a hot-water reservoir for tea, and so on. The right equipment will keep delays to a minimum and get customers their drinks as fast as the baristas can work.
Create A Helpful Workflow
A bad workflow at a coffee shop will force baristas to spend time backtracking, make them juggle hot drinks trying to get everything to the serving counter at once, and cause them to bump into each other and potentially spill scalding water on themselves or customers. None of that is good for business or for people’s health, so keep it to a minimum by setting out ingredients and equipment in a way that lets baristas move from the ordering counter to the serving counter without backtracking.
Use Smart POS Devices
A lot of coffee shop customers prefer to pay with cash, especially since a cup of coffee isn’t that expensive. However, a growing number of customers expect to pay with cards and smartphone wallets, and coffee shops need certain equipment to accommodate them. If you want to keep momentum up and the line moving, you should choose a POS device that’s simple to use, works with every type of electronic and plastic payment, and can approve a payment within a few seconds.
Rate of service is an important statistic at a coffee shop, especially during the breakfast and lunch rushes. Long lines mean irritated customers, so keep them coming back by streamlining your process, training your baristas, and using the best equipment to avoid delays.
