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Permalink Reply by Brady on September 2, 2008 at 11:32am

Our customer flow is like this:

Upon entering the shop, customers are drawn magically to the leftmost end of the bar by the menu boards, smiling cashier, and "coffee of the day" board.
Customer line forms at register... which is adjacent to pastry case and drip coffee serving zone.
Customer orders from cashier, who will also fill drip coffee, tea, and pastry order if the barista is busy.
Cashier passes order ticket (post-it note :) on down the bar for barista to fill... unless the barista already heard the order and is working on it.
Espresso drink customers slide to their right (in front of espresso machine) to wait, watch the magic, and converse with barista. Lower machine height and bar height allow easy eye contact and conversation here.
Drinks are handed over the bar next to the espresso machine when finished.

This works well for us... during rush it lets the barista focus only on the order they are making and the customer they are making it for.

I also like for the cashier to take orders as quickly as possible and pile them up in front of the barista... this makes the line move faster because the "small drip-to-go customer" can get through quicker. Plus I can then piggyback & multitask drinks - starting on shots for the latte while the blender is going for a frappe'... steaming milk for 2 drinks at once, etc. Higher speed through efficiency, not shortcuts.

Wish I had a pic of the bar from the front to help explain this.

b

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Permalink Reply by Adrian Badger on September 2, 2008 at 11:41am

Hi Denise - I'm currently in the process of designing my coffeehouse and I've had to think this process through as well. For me, I need to determine how to best maximize my front counter use for a) POS ordering area, b) pastry display, c) grab & go, d) pick up area, e) espresso machine.

I needed to make sure that the flow worked with the two main entrances to my shop, so that it was clear to the customer what was expected (regarding lining up) no matter what door they entered from. Therefore, I decided that the flow will work best in my shop as follows: 1) customer lines up at the POS and orders an espresso drink and a pastry, 2) Counter person rings up the order in the POS and passes this info to the barista. 3) Counter person obtains the desired pastry from the case, bags it, and presents it to the customer while at the counter, 4) Customer moves down the counter to the "pick-up" area and waits for drink. 5) Barista provides drink to waiting customer, 6) Customer moves away from counter area to condiment bar by the door, 7) Customer either takes a seat in the shop or departs.

I removed grab & go from my equation for a couple of reasons, but it may work fine for you in your shop/space.

Good luck!

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Permalink Reply by Matt Milletto on September 2, 2008 at 7:47pm

I would recommend that the pastry case and morning items be in view while the customer is in line ... different shops will work differently of course, but the last thing you want is for a customer to come in, order a coffee, and then afterwards see another item, i.e. pastry, after they have ordered, that they may have wanted if it was visible or readily available ... boost those ticket averages! :)

To clarify, I recommend that the barista be the one to serve the pastry to the customer, and for pastries to be well displayed in a case or near the register. Grab and go items may consist of bottled waters, sodas, and in some cases, sandwiches, or packages goods. (this will depend on your shops ambiance, and menu.

- Matt

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Permalink Reply by Brady on September 3, 2008 at 5:53pm

Ok, snapped a photo this afternoon of our bar, as viewed from the front door:
http://www.baristaexchange.com/photo/photo/show?id=1688216%3APhoto%...

Sorry there are no customers/staff in the picture to offer perspective - we usually run one on bar in the afternoon, and I was behind the camera. Hopefully this sheds some light on my earlier post.

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Permalink Reply by Mike on September 3, 2008 at 7:45pm

I really like the model where the customer goes directly to the barista because it eliminates telephone tag,..No middle man! And the barista can connect with the customer the drinks belong to as well.Also in a busy bar the barista can multitask,moving through a group at their best pace.

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Permalink Reply by Brady on September 4, 2008 at 5:25am

Mike said:

I really like the model where the customer goes directly to the barista because it eliminates telephone tag,..No middle man! And the barista can connect with the customer the drinks belong to as well.Also in a busy bar the barista can multitask,moving through a group at their best pace.

Does the barista handle the whole transaction, including pastries, bagels, and the register?

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