A cafe without decaf is like........

Comments

• mycuppa

  November 2015

  I'd believe it. 2 years ago, a woman harassed the hell out of me for weeks over the phone - calling every second day - to enlist our support of her new cafe concept here in Melbourne. A decaf only cafe - small, modest little place..........but still, decaf only. Located near a school in the inner suburbs of Melbourne, the cafe was to be organic only basic foods and chemical-free decaf coffee. It was thought by the lady spruking the idea that Melbourne lacked such a critical service - catering for those Mum's who were pregnant, etc. and the old folks who were on strict no-caffeine instructions from their doctor. Don't think she managed to get the concept up and running, or if she did it may not have lasted very long as she may have also been quite a standout. But I could be wrong.....

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• Lwowiak

  November 2015

  Running a coffee establishment requires sales and business development skills. Many people think these skills are easy to come by and  are not important. Boy, have they been proved wrong. The same applies to every industry. As the market shrinks, and sales become tougher, people slowly and stubbornly are starting to realise just how valuable a salesperson is. Understanding your customers, what they need, what they want, the competition, etc, etc, etc is just the beginning. Being able to understand the market, and apply a sales strategy, using this knowledge, is where experience and skill comes in. Just because a cafe stocks decaff, does not mean they know how to sell it. Many people will sit down for a coffee, finish it, have some water, and will want another coffee; but decline due to caffeine intake. A talented waiter/waitress with sales skills could suggest their "special" and delicious decaf, hot choc or alternative.... People do not visit establishments, just for the coffee, understanding the reason for the visit and their length of stay is crucial in maximising sales. Many business people meet up for a coffee; the potential for add on sales is huge.

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• FreshCoffee2

  November 2015

  Well said (written). A cafe selling ONLY decaff is doing itself out of the wider sales potential. My opinion, is you have to have both and sell appropriately to maximise the opportunities (ie income). And that then leads to the next problem for a cafe trying to spuik only decaff: If managenment is satisfied with just one type of decaff, ok. But if it wants to put on a variety of decaffs,  that will either be impossible to obtain due to lack fo demand for many decaffs (and if a roaster does a variety of decaffs in regular batch sizes there is vast potential for stock to go stale before it can be sold) OR... a roaster that takes the time to roast small batches of different decaffs will be subject to a lot of extra time spent doing what amounts to "special" small run jobs, and the price will be in the order of a figure that a cafe owner will be unlikely to want to pay... I think it would be a very special cafe indeed that would be able to trade and grow selling decaff only, but of course that's just one personal opinion. I wouldnt try it, others might.

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