Well-behaved Barista

sistabarista

Hi all  ^-^

What are some qualities you think a stand out barista should have? I have an interview tomorrow and feeling confident, but am always looking for ways to improve on my performance at work. What do you think, anything at all?!

Cheers

Koffee_Kosmo

on 1329714781:

Hi all  ^-^ What are some qualities you think a stand out barista should have? I have an interview tomorrow and feeling confident, but am always looking for ways to improve on my performance at work. What do you think, anything at all?! Cheers

God gave you 2 ears and one mouth Use them in the same proportions  :-X Dont be smarter than the boss unless you are trusted KK

shape_shifter

Clean, neat and tidy, the last thing I would want to see is someone with dreds hanging around everywhere for whatever is in them to fall into my coffee  ;D

FreshCoffee2

Must have in addition to good coffee skills, a happy outgoing personality and the ability to upsell product ( shock horror). When someone asks for a coffee, you ask them what else they may like to have. When you clear tables, you ask if clients around you want another of whatever they've been having. Remember regulars and what they drink/. The "personality" is required to be able to do this in a relaxed friendly manner, and is more likely to get a positive result. Its not just about the coffee sista, this is serious business,  and the capability of staff cant just be measured in whether they are technically able to do the job. Everyone on staff is a salesperson for the business. Ability to communicate with the business owner on a business level wrt weekly reports on turnover and profitability of your workstation and understand what is required to maximise turnover / profitability. That's if you want to progress to be the cafe manager. Lastly....if you wanna ultimately have the bosses job, you need to dress and act like a boss. Dreds and nose rings, dirty shoes, pants that are too long and frayed at the bottom from you standing on them..... are all out. That's kid stuff and kids dont get the top job. ie....be professional. My 3 dollar bills worth 

sistabarista

on 1329715132:

God gave you 2 ears and one mouth Use them in the same proportions  :-X

Ha! Love it, great advice KK wouldn't the world be a great place if everyone did this! Thanks guys keep it coming  :thumb:

askthecoffeeguy

A willingness to change, grow, and adapt - and a dedication and commitment to refine your routine and contuously improve your performance Combined with excellent communication skills that mean that you ate always tuning into and aware of where others are at in their sections etc and the ability to encourage others to communicate clearly and effectively As well as an eye for detail, self motivation, and fastidious quality controll which means you will not accept or put out an inferior product ...

Ronin

Engage the customer. Great coffee is a given (or should be) but the consumer wants a memorial experience. Give them that and repeat business is yours, as long as its a good memory  :stir

Leaf

Best of luck for the interview. I think it's awesome that you are preparing yourself... A personal pet hate of mine is hair in the face.... ewww...

Johny Boy

What a great topic, firstly for you to get some tips, but also great for me. I am trying to staff a cafe at the moment. I always find it tough to find people. When I was chefing people would give leave refrences and i would check them only to find out the person was terrible. I wonder who would give someone that was terrible a good refrence. Anyhoo I personally hired based on how they looked first. I have no issues with clothing, I personally don't wear designer clothing lol, but I do think having an amount of personal hygiene and grooming goes a long way. Secondly I got them to make a coffee. This is of course why people come to the cafe :P Lastly I talked to them over the cup of coffee. No ridiculous "if you were an animal what would you be" questions. I just chatted to them about what they liked, thought and felt about all different things. If one of my employees can have a conversation, about many different topics with customers who are waiting, i think they will come back more often. Thought id throw my 2c in the mix from the perspective of the person hiring. JH

UNM

on 1331975585:

What a great topic, firstly for you to get some tips, but also great for me. I am trying to staff a cafe at the moment. I always find it tough to find people. When I was chefing people would give leave refrences and i would check them only to find out the person was terrible. I wonder who would give someone that was terrible a good refrence.

A current employer that can't get rid of them any other way? The other thing is, why would you put a reference down that isn't going to speak highly of you?

Kelsey

on 1331975585:

Secondly I got them to make a coffee. This is of course why people come to the cafe :P Lastly I talked to them over the cup of coffee. No ridiculous "if you were an animal what would you be" questions. I just chatted to them about what they liked, thought and felt about all different things. If one of my employees can have a conversation, about many different topics with customers who are waiting, i think they will come back more often. Thought id throw my 2c in the mix from the perspective of the person hiring. JH

This has some parallels with another thread in action here at the moment. I would contend that the conversational skill and general good, affable service does more for your bottom line than your coffee (not dissing your coffee AFAIK, I've never had it) - except if course to a vocal minority like ourselves!