Java alone won't give you the jolt you seek

Nation's Restaurant News, Dec 23, 1996 by Alex Fisenko

All across the country scores of existing food operators are rushing to jump on the specialty coffee bandwagon, investing thousands of dollars in espresso equipment and remodeling costs. And while some of them will indeed benefit by increased morning business and serve hundreds of "lattes" or "mochas," many other bagel, bakery, yogurt, deli and supermarket food-court operators report that the addition of espresso stations to their operations has been disappointing.

Even in some ideal espresso locations - with the right demographics, serving hundreds of cups a day and generating much-needed traffic, mainly during the morning hours when the business is slow - they barely manage to sell 10 to 30 espresso-based drinks per day, which become palatable only when their bitter taste is disguised by adding flavored syrups. When you combine that with a poor "espresso image" and lack of effective marketing, it is very difficult to educate new customers or attract those already educated on espresso from the competing espresso bars.

Granted, adding espresso to existing food operations does not turn them into Starbucks, but many of them operate within the same demographic areas and serve the same customers. With relatively few changes, many of those stores could boost their daily revenues by 30 percent or more in many locations and create a loyal, everyday return customer base. As most of that new business would be during the morning and midafternoon hours, it would not conflict with the lunch rush.

A short time ago I was called by a supermarket chain that implemented a dual bagel-espresso concept. The owners were unhappy with the slow pace of the sales and wanted me to analyze their operation. After watching the barista prepare me a "latte" and tasting it, I knew right away what one of the main problems was: The product had no resemblance to what a properly prepared latte should taste like. To make a fair comparison, it would be like serving a stale, hard, half-baked bagel or muffin to a customer, charging $5 for it and expecting them to like it and come back for more. The espresso beans were excellent, supplied by one of the biggest coffee roasters, and the "barista" followed the preparation guidelines provided by the supplier. I proceeded to make several "lattes" using the same coffee and milk. Everybody, including the customers, agreed that those were the best lattes that they had ever had. The main comment was "What did you do - change the coffeet?"

Many so-called baristas working in those establishments are "espresso-challenged" and really don't know what a good "latte" should taste like or how to prepare it properly. The astonishing fact is that in many cases neither the barista nor his supervisor, or even the owner or the president of the business, has ever tasted a well-prepared espresso-based drink and, therefore, they have no standard of comparison. And because they do not like what they taste, they are not sold on its potential to build traffic into the store and generate new customers. That also hurts the coffee supplier, as the customer tends to blame the coffee if he or she does not like the taste of the drink. What is the use of developing and roasting the best coffee in the world if it becomes unpalatable during the preparation stage at the retail level?

Besides low revenues and customers' rate of return, there may be another danger in operating an underperforming espresso station: It may reach a point where the management will lose its initial enthusiasm for the venture and either discontinue it altogether or cut it back to the point where it becomes, for all practical purposes, nullified. That, of course, would be a great loss of opportunity, not for the lack of trying but because the concept was flawed from its inception and it did not have a real chance of succeeding.

Having opened and operated 16 stores myself and trained probably 1,000 people in the last 25 years for my own and my clients, stores, I am well aware of proper employee training challenges. But it takes the same length of time to train someone the right way that it does to train him the wrong way. And what I have found, in most cases, is that the "barista" follows the training procedure given to him by the supervisor, the coffee distributor or the equipment salesperson. The real problem arises when those people do not understand the espresso business themselves and fail to implement proper barista preparation and effective, proven marketing techniques.

So if you would like to generate more, mainly morning, revenues and attract additional traffic into your store, you should:

* Learn the difference between a good and a bad espresso-based drink. Though customer tastes may be subjective, they will know the difference right away. A supervisor or an owner would hit the ceiling if he found his employees serving hard, stale and underbaked bagels and muffins, but he never raises an eyebrow when the equivalent is done to the espresso-based drinks. Why should he? He doesn't know the difference, as he never had the real thing himself. * Get your baristas to understand that difference. Once they do, they will develop a taste for the "real thing" and won't serve anything they wouldn't drink themselves. * Make your prices realistic. It is very difficult to "hook" someone to a $1.75 and up cup of coffee even if it is the best latte in the world. It is one thing is to pay that price in a leisurely setting while watching the world go by; it's another matter altogether at a kiosk, cart or drive-thru or in a deli smelling of salami, onions and mustard. * Merchandise your espresso with morning specials such as a bagel and latte for $5. * Rearrange the layout of your espresso equipment to make it easy to work. That is extremely important for speed and efficiency of the operation and your employees' comfort. * Teach your baristas the proper preparation techniques and insist that your espresso-delivery person checks on it every time he is in the store. Before you do that, make sure they know how to do it themselves! * Develop an understanding of the espresso retail business and a passion for the product yourself and drink it on a daily basis. Only then will you understand the difference and be able to communicate that passion to you're baristas, who will transmit it to your customers, who will come to you every day because they cannot find an equally satisfying product somewhere else. That is the secret, if you will, of a successful espresso operation.