Running a cafe can be hectic at the best of times, often leaving you time poor and reactive to changing conditions.
You’re passionate about food and people, and you want your customers to keep coming back, not only for the menu, but for the level of service too, and while your measure of success might be profitability, there’s so much more involved in the successful operation of your cafe than the bottom line.
If you’re run ragged trying to maintain your profit margin, that’s not sustainable, and you’ll need to set aside some time to work on the operations aspect and long-term business and goal planning.
In today’s post, we’re going to cover off some ideas that can help your cafe grow and succeed into the future.
Staff
Your manager needs to be as committed and competent as you are, and there’s no reason to hire new talent if you’ve already got a superstar employee ready and willing. Why not promote them and encourage their career development? Knowledge is power and they already know your cafe and customers, so investing in that person and trusting them with the day-to-day operations is key in freeing up your time.
Experience
Diners love a consistent experience, so pick a theme and stick to it. Knowing your target market can help with this. Do they want your barista to know their order off by heart? Are they looking to lounge in a quiet corner and read? Find out!
Not only does the experience cover the food and beverage aspects, but the decor, theme and even the attitude of the staff set the experience, and your customers keep coming back for that.
Equipment
Has your head chef been asking you repeatedly to buy an extra oven? Do it! Trust their expertise and make the investment. Key ideas like this can improve service delivery timeframes and allow for increased service capacity.
Not only does your equipment need to be serviced and reliable, the kitchen layout is key to a successful peak meal service time too. Ensure there’s enough quality prep and storage space so your team can be ready to hit the ground running once the orders start flowing in.
Stock Control & POS Systems
Ensuring you have enough cafe supplies on hand to deliver your menu is critical, without wastage. If. you’ve delegated this task, keep your oversight so you can ensure stock and prep is on balance and your POS system is running smoothly. Any hiccups across these two areas can cause headaches at service time.
Summary
You need to trust your team to take on and execute your day to day cafe¹ operations so you can focus on the success of your business. Success is not just a monetary measure, it’s also reliant on happy staff and happy customers too.
To learn more about how we can make your wholesale cafe ordering simpler and faster, get in touch today.