Accept Praise
Some customers will want to show you that they are impressed with your work and your hospitality, and they might do so by means of effusive praise. Try not to rebuff this enthusiasm. Say ‘thank you’ when a compliment comes your way — even on those occasions when you’ve just poured a latte art pattern that is not up to your usual standard. If someone loves it, then there’s no need to talk them out of that opinion.
On the other hand, at those times when you have ‘knocked it out of the park’ and done something exceptional, try never to make a customer feel obliged to give you a compliment or leave you a tip. Customers have a right to decide their own financial level of commitment; don’t make anyone feel self conscious. Give them the benefit of the doubt: maybe they have no change, or maybe that coffee was the only luxury they will be able to afford for the whole week.
Case Study: The Tip Jar
Tips are a cause of much debate in the hospitality trade. Some business cultures have relied heavily on tips; others have practically never tipped. Many people argue that employers should pay proper salaries rather than expecting customers to top up workers’ wages. We can’t solve that debate here, but we believe that some ways to invite folks to leave a gratuity are more friendly than others. Take this example from BH Dean of Studies Jem Challender (2016 UK Brewers Cup Champion):
When I first became a barista, I was working at the now-famous UK coffee company called Monmouth Coffee in Covent Garden. One day we got a new tip jar, and somehow it fell to me to label it. I wasn’t trying to be creative; I was just trying to write the same phrase we had on the former tip jar. I grabbed a pen and wrote TIPS, PLEASE on the side of the jar.
The manager,