The great Babychino ripoff

beanflying

What price a babychino? Up to $2 for a bit of milk and a marshmallow is a touch exepensive I reckon. Currently they are a freebie from me for about a 4oz serve. Thoughts?

http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/more-news/froth-and-trouble-in-babycinos/story-fn7x8me2-1226095560261

mycuppa

Some of my customers charge and others don't. Depends on the area and their customer mix (as per the article) Having worked on coffee carts at quite a few events (including many charities), I confess (and please don't abuse me) to dreading the order for a babychino. Maybe I was just plain unlucky, but it always seemed to "hold-up" the production line quite a bit as mum/dad go back and forth testing the milk temperature - too hot, too cold, not fluffy enough, more sprinkles, can you put a teaspoon of choc in it, 50/50 milk/water and all sorts of hand-crafted, custom-made requests. All the while kids are trying to over-turn the box of sugar sticks and knock over the stacks of lids and stirrers on the serving table. I reckon $0.50 to $0.70 is probably fair depending upon whether it's a takeaway or sit-down (rent/cost per bot on seat) when you factor in the ingredients, labor, cup, overheads, etc.

WotB

Make it worth the price, give them a shot of decaf. Had a feral parent scream at me once for not giving it away free.  She said something along the lines of it's stuff you were going to throw out anyway.  My reply, "I have negligible wastage when it comes to milk, so I actually have to make it especially for you." It was the only thing she ordered, and languished in the air conditioning for near an hour, while the child proceeded to do "laps" around in his racecar. The article goes on about how you're charged more than for a litre of milk for a babycino.  If you break down the price ($3.50)of a 8oz T/A coffee, you're paying approximately $2.65 for 180ml of milk.  Comes out to something like $14.70 for a litre of milk.  Point refuted.

shape_shifter

I love this comment: "Our target market is young mums, and like a lot of cafes, we want to give the impression we are kid-friendly and mums are welcome," he said. Mmmm to me says, we really really don't want kids running around our cafe and would smack them up the side of the head if we could but we want your mummies money so here have some froth  ;D I don't see a problem with charging for a babycino, it is your or your workers time after all and running a business, no one can afford to work for free.

beanflying

I am considering placing a nominal $0.50 per babychino which would about cover raw costs. Reminded of how to treat those loose kids too  ;D

blanyon

I have a flexible policy on the baby chino, however if you are going to come in and expect something for free then you get charged more than if you are good about it and have a few other orders. As for them being free! What all of a sudden there are no wages to pay no rent no cost of the cup? Cafe owners also need to make a profit! Mums do a good job and there are always a few who think that the world is there for them and make the rest look bad. Man I am glad I only go to businesses and not mothers groups! Brett

askthecoffeeguy

I charger $1.5 for a baby chino and we probably sell between 30 and 50m of them a day - its not just the raw ingredients, your customer's effectively 'rent' the space for the time that they're there, often mother's groups will order coffee and nothing else. come only once a week on a friday at 9.30am, and they still expect excellent service and fantastic coffee served promptly I have no problems catering for mother's groups and the like, as they're usually in after dropping kids off at school, and gone before lunch, and believe it or not many will order two or even three coffees - and most kids are very well behaved, and if not I have no hesitation in asking mum's to actively supervise their children beside's which the milk we use is biodynamic and unhomoginised - which I think is great for kids - in fact I'm thinking of putting it on the menu for $2 a glass as they do at St Ali - I'm sure there would be plenty of takers... P

adelaidecoffee

on 1310792659:

beside's which the milk we use is biodynamic and unhomoginised - which I think is great for kids - in fact I'm thinking of putting it on the menu for $2 a glass as they do at St Ali - I'm sure there would be plenty of takers... P

Just out of curiosity, do you get many orders for a 'glass of milk'?

FreshCoffee2

Re:  "....its not just the raw ingredients you're, customer's effectively 'rent' the space for the time that they're there, often mother's groups will order coffee and nothing else. come only once a week on a friday at 9.30am, and they still expect excellent service and fantastic coffee served promptly...." Well said Pat. It is tiresome to have to keep hearing from those that think a cup of coffee is charged out on the basis of the cost of the raw ingredients only. Its the cost of doing the business that is (or should be) the basis of the pricing...and that even includes whatever you think is the cost of providing and washing the cup. People running cafes and employing help to stand behind the machine and attend to the clientelle, are entitled to charge whatever is marketable in their area for the service provided. What is it about the coffee industry in general, that has clients thinking that the people employed in it should not derive a fair income for the products and services they provide? Just my opinion. Regardz, Attilio

Intense Coffee

Maybe the trick is in the "put in on the menu (or blackboard etc) for $x.xx", rather than not advertise it, that way their expectations are hopefully managed, so no surprises when they come to pay. (That's hoping of course they read the menu)  I worked in a country pub in the UK many years ago, and a very small kitchen meant they could not cope with being inundated with "plates of chips" cheap meals, which held up the fryer for more the more substantial meals. So they advertised plates of chips for 2 quid each, which was exorbitant then. Got one or two comments, but no orders, and if they had ordered, they would have got their 2 quids worth, so therefore could not complain. A bit over the top, but it worked. Graham

Koffee_Kosmo

I have no problem to charge an appropriate amount for a baby chino Please dont take me to task over the next sentence - as cleaning up after a family with kids is generally (not always) twice as much work I see it with my own eyes when I am at a cafe With regards to the chips in the above quote Here in QLD we sometimes see min order purchase e.g. $4.00 chips KK

beanflying

on 1310804699:

Maybe the trick is in the "put in on the menu (or blackboard etc) for $x.xx", rather than not advertise it, ......

That is part of the reason I haven't charged for them in the past doing takeaways as they are not listed on the menu. Because of this if I Mum and or Dad are ordering coffees with little kids in tow I offer to make them one if I have the time. Very seldom with this arrangement do I get asked for one as an order. Some people will still drop an extra $1 or 2 in the jar because of it. So even though I am considering placing a charge on them I wonder if the extra goodwill generated by not charging is better for return customers and word of mouth advertising?

blanyon

As long as you don't get known as "the place who does free babychinocs" rather than for great coffee. Me I generally charge 50c just to cover the cost of the cup. Brett

Lou

I

beanflying

Love a good Rant with Pictures this one is worth a read  http://scottiecallaghan.blogspot.com/2011/08/i-order-babycinos-and-i-am-proud-of-it.html

askthecoffeeguy

Quote from scottie: News flash to arrogant sod coffee makers, "So long as you think customers should think the way you do, and drink the drinks you like you are not a barista you are just a coffee maker, get over yourself and realize it's not about you it's about the customer and put passion into every drink you make or step away from the espresso machine!" Not only do parents have every right to expect excellent product and service wherever they go, they are IMHO becoming increasingly discerning where and when they spend their hard earned - its not just a matter of splashing some hot milk in a cup, and being done with it - I've overheard parent groups in my cafe rating cafes based upon their babychinos and customer service, including size of demitasse used to serve the babychino, and the quality and consistency of the milk, and whether or not there is any biscuit or marshmallow served with it! I for one am not in the habit of turning customers away, far from it - we strive to cater for families which includes looking after the young ones, and anyone who's nose is put out of joint by not being happy about providing the utmost level of customer service, shouldn't be in the game - although I understand that some venues are more family friendly than others Went to St Ali yesterday with my two girls and had an Amazing Geisha coffee cold filtered, and although we were the only young family there at the time we were still looked after very well - which to me is the mark of a fine establishment Cheers, ACg

FreshCoffee2

Yes and it also shows up whether the person behind the machine has any idea (or not) of what constitutes good business practice As I mentioned in another topic a couple of days ago, too often these things are broken down to the simplest common denominator which in these forums, is something to do with coffee, when in actual fact it has much much more to do with a business owner and his / her staff's understanding of doing business. You can apply that to any industry not just that of coffee and cafes. What this is about is bad attitude, and it is offensive and drives away clients everywhere, not just in cafes.  If you give service with a smile, your clients will be happy to pay for it. Rgdz, Attilio.

askthecoffeeguy

Ok I went to the good bean in Mooloolaba today and had a great takeaway coffee (it would want to be great theyre using the multiple boiler version of the BFC Synchro espresso machine which I use) - and indeed the coffee was made very well and tasted great, and the shop looks great too - from what I can tell they sell coffee and banana bread and not much else! (correct me if I'm wrong but I thought I even saw customers toasting their own banana bread which I thought was a cute touch - though not too sure about OHAS) But when I went back to get two takeaway warm milks (8oz cup 3/4 full) the guy behind the machine wanted to sting me $7 for the privilege ! I told him to forget about it and enquired why he would charge $3.5 for something that cost him max 50c to make (and that's assuming that he was using organic unhomoginised milk which I doubt is the case) And he replied that he didn't really enjoy making them so the price was a deterrent for customers from ordering them Fair enough - it worked for me: I'll be taking my coffee clout elsewhere in future ...

beanflying

Topic updated moved and merged  without losing content WHEW  That's one person none of us need to consider employing  ::)

Muscles

"How much does want for it?" "$3.50" "Tell 'im e's dreeeeamin..."

askthecoffeeguy

It's a shame because good coffee is few and far between in the sunny coast - and I am prepared to travel for it There seems to be an attitude in a lot of tourist spots that customer service and coffee quality is optional, as the market is largely comprised of tourists anyway - and thus not much return patronage - so why bother? Which is startling really when you think about how much rent some of the bigger more obviously tourist orientated venues must be paying - if it were me I would be bending over backwards to provide a superior service and to develop a reputation for quality control and a willingness to go the extra mile - afterall how else do you separate yourself from your competitors (not that I'm suggesting for a monent that the coffee at the venue in question is not excellent - because it is!)

Muscles

While customer retention may not be of concern to some cafes, word of mouth should be. Market research (for retail in general) suggests that a happy customer will normally only tell 3 or 4 people about their experience but an unhappy one will try to tell as many as they can about their experience in the first 5 days after the event. Shame on this bloke for the attitude that comes with the coffee - priced high so he doesn't have to make them!

askthecoffeeguy

Newsflash: my wife tells me that the guy only wanted to charge six bucks and not seven for two babychinos - gee... That's a tremendous relief !

Brett H

on 1314438607:

Newsflash: my wife tells me that the guy only wanted to charge six bucks and not seven for two babychinos - gee... That's a tremendous relief !

Glad you didn't get the cheesecake... That'd require a second mortgage! People who don't have or work with kids don't realize how much money we're prepared to spend to keep them happy.  If he had have done the bcinos for a buck each with a smile you'd have probably come back and spent $120 with the family having lunch and buying paraphernalia there the next day. I know we would have. Idiot!

askthecoffeeguy

At the very least I was in the market for some fresh beans for home use - still in the market actually, seems like a lot of the top operators don't trade weekends (although admittedly pioneer coffee is pretty close-ish to where we're staying) We're also having a sizeable family gathering today so of course we'll be on the look out for good coffee !

RichardM

on 1314489261:

At the very least I was in the market for some fresh beans for home use - still in the market actually, seems like a lot of the top operators don't trade weekends (although admittedly pioneer coffee is pretty close-ish to where we're staying) We're also having a sizeable family gathering today so of course we'll be on the look out for good coffee !

If you are near Noosa, Costa Noosa do fantastic coffee. I *think* they are open sundays: http://www.costanoosa.com.au/contact.php

askthecoffeeguy

on 1314489261:

At the very least I was in the market for some fresh beans for home use - still in the market actually, seems like a lot of the top operators don't trade weekends (although admittedly pioneer coffee is pretty close-ish to where we're staying) We're also having a sizeable family gathering today so of course we'll be on the look out for good coffee !

yeah their on my hit list but we decided to hang local today and headed to coolum instead - probably do Noosa tomorrow !

madpierre

on 1310800617:

hearing from those that think a cup of coffee is charged out on the basis of the cost of the raw ingredients only. Its the cost of doing the business that is (or should be) the basis of the pricing...and that even includes whatever you think is the cost of providing and washing the cup.

Either through ignorance or the "I should be able to expect to get what I want for minimal effort or outlay" attitude, many people today seem to think that it's just not right that someone can charge what they do for what seem to be inexpensive and basic products. To be honest, I know at times I have thought "how can they charge $x.xx for that". When there are so many variables which are covered by the price of a product, it's easy to forget the business owner is trying to make a buck and pay wages. Some trying to make a bigger buck than others does get my goat though.

Dry_bean.

on 1314930997:

Either through ignorance or the "I should be able to expect to get what I want for minimal effort or outlay" attitude, many people today seem to think that it's just not right that someone can charge what they do for what seem to be inexpensive and basic products. To be honest, I know at times I have thought "how can they charge $x.xx for that". When there are so many variables which are covered by the price of a product, it's easy to forget the business owner is trying to make a buck and pay wages. Some trying to make a bigger buck than others does get my goat though.

Guess it's a business decision all cafe's have to make, do I only charge a token amount or even offer a babychino gratis and generate enormous amounts of goodwill, or charge the actual cost or more and piss people off no end. It's exactly the same principal as the publican at your local buying you a beer once in a while, what a great guy, while he in turn is laughing all the way to the bank.

beanflying

Revisiting this. A nice idea gold coin donation for babycinos but some unhappy on both sides of the fence  ::) http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/sydney-nsw/cafes-in-a-spot-of-tiny-froth-and-bubble-trouble/story-e6freuzi-1226188202455 http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/lifestyle/free-babycino-charity-debate-sparks-reader-backlash-on-the-telegraph-website/story-e6frf00i-1226189200317

Dry_bean.

Spotted this today, http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/sydney-nsw/cafes-in-a-spot-of-tiny-froth-and-bubble-trouble/story-e6freuzi-1226188202455 cant believe parents/mothers expect a business to provide a service for their annoying little darlings and not have to pay for it. Charge em to get in I say. :stir