According to a study by Salesforce, 76% of respondents believe that the level of service shows how much the company values ​​guests. The success of a coffee shop depends not only on how quickly you take orders and how deliciously you prepare coffee. Guests come back to the coffee shop for the atmosphere - that's why customer service is so important.

Standards or individual approach: how to guide a barista when communicating with a guest

There are two approaches to how a barista communicates with guests: to act according to standards or to be guided by intuition.

In the first case, when hiring, a barista signs a job description, memorizes scripts and passes certification. Thanks to this, every employee of the coffee shop maintains the service at the proper level.

However, it is often not enough just to speak scripts. The guest is pleased to hear not a standard memorized protocol, but something addressed to him personally. This is an individual approach, which is based on the personal attitude of the barista to the guest and on his own desire to help.

Lev Reshetnyak: “The task of the barista is to give the guest what he is waiting for. It can be delicious coffee, good mood, interesting communication, support. Or maybe all together. To understand what exactly the guest wants, you need to be able to “read” people. Monitor the state of the guests and track their reaction. Watch how the guest responds. If he answers briefly and tries to end the conversation, do not develop the topic. Be prepared for different dialogues and different questions. Maybe the guest did not come to the coffee shop, but was looking for a store. Or the guest just needs to go to the restroom. In any case, remember that the guest is looking for something and your task is to help him find it.


It is important to distinguish approaches to service depending on the format of the coffee shop. Dmitry Maurin noted: “When there is a large flow of visitors in a coffee shop, it will not work to show an individual approach to each guest. In such coffee houses, the guest comes precisely for coffee, and not for communication. Therefore, you need to work on scripts and quickly give coffee.

So, it all depends on the situation and the format of your coffee shop. The advantage in one direction or the other depends on the relevance and feasibility of a particular approach.

I think that you need to read about barista tools if this topic interests you and you will not regret it