All throughout high school and a little bit into college, I worked at a local coffee shop back home. It wasn’t a Starbucks by any means, but it also wasn’t one of those hipster/artsy coffee shops either–it was somewhere in the middle. Coffee shops are typically well known for being places to go with friends and acquaintances to catch up, chat, and hang out over a cup of coffee or tea. In our culture today, I believe there is an awesome sense of community/fellowship that can be created in the coffee house environment.
However, even th
ough there is a really neat sense of camaraderie created between people who frequent a particular coffee shop, something I never even thought of were the relationships that can be built through the sales transactions at the very same coffee shops. When I started working at my coffee shop, I was immediately able to see how bonding over a cup of coffee is so prevalent. But I soon started to realize how, I too, was able to bond and connect with my customers who came in to buy drinks and pastries. Yes, there are some people who want to quickly come in, order their drink, pick it up, and be gone as soon as possible, but the majority of people try to engage in conversation with me and the other baristas as they decide on their order, or wait in line.
Instead of quickly suggesting a drink or pastry to help them make up their mind and pay already, I took advantage of these opportunities to actually develop bonds with my customers, and have genuine conversations with them. While I did offer my best advice on our menu content, or explaining what some of our drinks were, I didn’t view them as just potentials to make more tips by being fake. This allowed me to know a lot of my customers by name, and turn them into daily regulars. I grew to become friends with a lot of my customers, and instead of viewing me as the guy who made caramel macchiatos for them, they viewed me as a friend. I’m appreciative of this change of perspective and how I was able to see how being genuine amidst sales transaction truly is the best way to be.
BoweryJE22
Not being fake with customers is so key! I know at Chick-fil-a, which is much different than a coffee house, building relationships with customers is super important.
I love this post!!! It’s fascinating how something simple like coffee and food can take the pressure off of a situation and encourage relational growth.
I’m sure many of those customers you built connections with would consider themselves brand ambassadors. Such a difference from the fast paced environment of a Starbucks, and much more focused on building and maintaining company/customer relationships.