Pre-Opening Training
Starting a coffee shop is fantastic and people often can't wait to open up. All the furniture has arrived, the coffee machine is in place and the menu's are on the tables. Ready to open up, right?
Well, not really! Are you really prepared? Do you know how to handle an order of 4 coffees and 3 cakes? Are you 100% familiar with the till? Have you worked out when to take lunch yourself? Do you know what to do when the queue builds up? Do you have enough change for the till?
Probably not. And that's ok, it's not a big deal. If, and I say if, you have customers that are forgiving. Because let's face it, most people give you only one chance in life. And if you mess up on the first week of opening than you might have to work for another few months just to work on your bad reputation. So why not do it right from the start?
Why not do a pre-opening day? How much is it really going to cost you? Pay your staff a little, a bag of coffee, a few bottles of milk, a couple of sandwiches and a bit of time from your family and friends.
Run an opening day as if it's lunch hour. Have at least a few people in the queue and play it the way it will be in real life.
Do it right and this will benefit you enormously!
And don't forget: do all the coffee training before you open if you can!