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If members do not think that the guild is speaking loudly enough I believe that they shuold do somthing to change it. That's what this is all about right? Coming together to do what we love, support eachother and help the coffee industry keep evoling? Just a thought
Jason Haeger said:Peter, I don't think that you are wrong.
I know several people who haven't joined primarily because they just don't see the benefit.
The guild, to be honest, I don't think is doing all it could to be the voice of the barista.
A friend named Chris constantly calls for standardization of drink recipes, parameter tolerances, and the like that just don't exist in the industry here. And rightfully so.
This is not to declare that I suddenly believe that there is a standard, but I do think we need guidelines. As it stands, joining the Guild means you are committed, and that's about the extent of things.
Being a part of the Guild should entail so much more. With only, what is it now, 500? members, I'm not sure we have the muscle required to take the lead on these issues, and Lord knows the SCAA is having a hard enough time on its own trying to spread the gospel to the unwashed masses.
So, really, to join the discussion, I must ask.
What exactly is it that we, as a guild, DO? I still haven't figured it out. (and it just dawned on me that I'm way late on renewal dues. probably almost a year.)
I joined because I wanted to be a part of something bigger. Something more significant that is a significant piece of the career I'm trying to carve out. I haven't found that to be true. Not unless you go to conventions. Not unless you spend the hundreds of dollars needed to travel all over the place.
Honestly, how many working baristas CAN afford to do all that? So, for the average barista, what's the real benefit?
I'm not saying that there aren't good things going on higher up in the food chain, but we down here in the lower end certainly don't hear about it.
Communication is key. (I feel like I say this more often than "hello", for a variety of scenarios)
I have a gym membership but I haven't been in two months, and I am still trying to lose the same 20 lbs that I was in January. Is that the gym's fault?.....
Just like joining the gym gives me access to facilities, equipment, and knowledge, being a part of the BGA gives me access to some of the best, most knowledgeable and helpful baristas in specialty coffee.
...where the rubber meets the road is that the BGA needs more manpower and more resources to accomplish all of the things that everyone complains we don't do, or that we should be doing.
"I had the same issue with the local union here. they kept telling me that they wanted me to join because the needed me. If I've all the skills and nouse that they really need, why are they asking me to pay *them*?"
"Just like anything else in life, folks want to see what it is that they're getting for their money, their participation, their input and their time."
"I've been harping about certification and standardization for about four years now, and yeah, I know that there are a lot of you that are tired of it. But the truth of the matter is, that if it were started four years ago, right this very minute, someone would be looking in a yellow pages, on Google, or on some smart-phone app, for a coffee shop that bore the BGA seal of approval, or advertised BGA certified baristi. Because there are quite a few folks that need some way to separate the wheat from the chaff."
"Make the certification mean something. Make it valuable to the coffee-buying and coffee drinking public, and we'll value it . . .It's about respect, and trust. Both things that must be earned. Both things that, given blindly, aren't worth spit. You want our respect, and you want our membership, show us that it's worth it."
"Standards, my favorite harp. Without them, there is no certification that will be able to be quantified in any meaningful way. Again, if the certificate means nothing more than you're eager, and you used to have $45, well, that's all it means. Show us one that means that knowledgeable people have measured your skill and talent, and found it at very least acceptable, and let them get used to the idea that every time they see that logo in a shop that they get superior coffee, and you'll be beating baristi off with a stick."
Mike,
thanks for your response. Everyone has a value equation for whether or not spending money makes sense. The BGA EC understands that and it is why they continue to work hard to add value. I think as the Certification program continues to roll out you will be pleasantly surprised and excited to see how it has been implemented.
Dan Streetman said:I have a gym membership but I haven't been in two months, and I am still trying to lose the same 20 lbs that I was in January. Is that the gym's fault?.....
Just like joining the gym gives me access to facilities, equipment, and knowledge, being a part of the BGA gives me access to some of the best, most knowledgeable and helpful baristas in specialty coffee.
...where the rubber meets the road is that the BGA needs more manpower and more resources to accomplish all of the things that everyone complains we don't do, or that we should be doing.
Well, the gym has real facilities near your house, and a lot of really shiny kit, and staff that maintains that kit, and cleans it, and... the analogy starts to fall apart. Comparing the BGA and the gym really isn't analogous, nor helpful in illustrating what the BGA is or isn't.
I had the same issue with the local union here. they kept telling me that they wanted me to join because the needed me. If I've all the skills and nouse that they really need, why are they asking me to pay *them*?
Just like anything else in life, folks want to see what it is that they're getting for their money, their participation, their input and their time. I'm hearing what a great thing that it is for the BGA, and for the coffee community, and a whole lotta vague hoo-rah about how the coffee community benefits, but not much concrete, although, the classes are a real exception. Any real training that could be had is beneficial. I dare say that Jason Haeger could teach quite a few, and that there may not be too much that one could teach that guy about coffee unless one were pretty damned educated on the subject. He's taught me quite a bit.
I've been harping about certification and standardization for about four years now, and yeah, I know that there are a lot of you that are tired of it. But the truth of the matter is, that if it were started four years ago, right this very minute, someone would be looking in a yellow pages, on Google, or on some smart-phone app, for a coffee shop that bore the BGA seal of approval, or advertised BGA certified baristi. Because there are quite a few folks that need some way to separate the wheat from the chaff. Now, the kid down the street that operates the Super-Auto at the coffee drive-thru (the one that puts out a twelve second, no crema, white foam, boiling hot dishwater thin, doppio of about three and a half ounces) has a BGA certificate over his station.
The question that we're asking here, is, why is it that you think that we want to be giving up our hard-earned cash every year simply to be equated with that kid?
Make the certification mean something. Make it valuable to the coffee-buying and coffee drinking public, and we'll value it.
It's about respect, and trust. Both things that must be earned. Both things that, given blindly, aren't worth spit.
You want our respect, and you want our membership, show us that it's worth it.
Standards, my favorite harp. Without them, there is no certification that will be able to be quantified in any meaningful way.
Again, if the certificate means nothing more than you're eager, and you used to have $45, well, that's all it means. Show us one that means that knowledgeable people have measured your skill and talent, and found it at very least acceptable, and let them get used to the idea that every time they see that logo in a shop that they get superior coffee, and you'll be beating baristi off with a stick.
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