what to do? - Barista Exchange2024-03-29T09:47:06Zhttps://www.baristaexchange.com/forum/topics/what-to-do?commentId=1688216%3AComment%3A963028&feed=yes&xn_auth=noAs a boss, it makes me feel e…tag:www.baristaexchange.com,2010-11-15:1688216:Comment:9652932010-11-15T13:31:26.910ZAshley N Rubyhttps://www.baristaexchange.com/profile/AshleyNRuby
As a boss, it makes me feel extra great when my baristas are this eager. Not everyone is super motivated and creative when it comes to down time chores. Some people need more guidence than others. But it shows a lot about someones character if they are willing to ask for more work!<br />
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<cite>Deferio said:</cite><blockquote cite="http://www.baristaexchange.com/forum/topics/what-to-do?page=2&commentId=1688216%3AComment%3A963028&x=1#1688216Comment963028"><div>You may also ask you…</div>
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As a boss, it makes me feel extra great when my baristas are this eager. Not everyone is super motivated and creative when it comes to down time chores. Some people need more guidence than others. But it shows a lot about someones character if they are willing to ask for more work!<br />
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<cite>Deferio said:</cite><blockquote cite="http://www.baristaexchange.com/forum/topics/what-to-do?page=2&commentId=1688216%3AComment%3A963028&x=1#1688216Comment963028"><div>You may also ask you boss what they want done when it is slow. As a manager myself I always appreciate baristas taking the initiative and coming up wit productive things to submit to me as a part of their jobs expectations. So when you have 2 hours to kill, and you are TRULY done with what your boss expects of you, you can go above and beyond. Make a list of hyper picky things that you can do and do them then submit it to your boss. I guarantee they will appreciate your self motivation and self direction as long as you do it under their authority and for their benefit.<br/>-cd</div>
</blockquote> You may also ask you boss wha…tag:www.baristaexchange.com,2010-11-11:1688216:Comment:9630282010-11-11T16:34:32.018ZDeferiohttps://www.baristaexchange.com/profile/Deferio
You may also ask you boss what they want done when it is slow. As a manager myself I always appreciate baristas taking the initiative and coming up wit productive things to submit to me as a part of their jobs expectations. So when you have 2 hours to kill, and you are TRULY done with what your boss expects of you, you can go above and beyond. Make a list of hyper picky things that you can do and do them then submit it to your boss. I guarantee they will appreciate your self motivation and self…
You may also ask you boss what they want done when it is slow. As a manager myself I always appreciate baristas taking the initiative and coming up wit productive things to submit to me as a part of their jobs expectations. So when you have 2 hours to kill, and you are TRULY done with what your boss expects of you, you can go above and beyond. Make a list of hyper picky things that you can do and do them then submit it to your boss. I guarantee they will appreciate your self motivation and self direction as long as you do it under their authority and for their benefit.<br />
-cd I'm also a compulsive cleaner…tag:www.baristaexchange.com,2010-11-11:1688216:Comment:9628602010-11-11T07:14:35.286ZLaura Campbellhttps://www.baristaexchange.com/profile/LauraCampbell
I'm also a compulsive cleaner when quiet. In fact, I had this exact situation today, the afternoon before a public holiday is often quiet as we make coffee mostly for office workers. I always explore for new chores to do, having done the ones I'm allotted. Today I cleaned the machine's run off bucket- it gets regularly emptied but I got that bad boy back to it's original white! I've also stripped off that top of the machine to dust inside, and polished all stainless steel before I returned it.…
I'm also a compulsive cleaner when quiet. In fact, I had this exact situation today, the afternoon before a public holiday is often quiet as we make coffee mostly for office workers. I always explore for new chores to do, having done the ones I'm allotted. Today I cleaned the machine's run off bucket- it gets regularly emptied but I got that bad boy back to it's original white! I've also stripped off that top of the machine to dust inside, and polished all stainless steel before I returned it. As an employee I hate being bored- and cleaning is a way to make time pass and give my bosses value for money. My favourite menial task is separating the little paper doilies we use for certain types of drinks, they're press cut and hard to grab quickly because they stick together. I can people-watch the street (or chat with a regular) while doing that. LOL<br />
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I take pride in the shops (my bosses have two) being clean- whatever shop I'm at most is my baby and I make sure that place is the most hygienic shop in town! Good tip on walking in with the perspective of a customer though, I am SO going to do that! I think everyone hit the nail…tag:www.baristaexchange.com,2010-11-10:1688216:Comment:9623802010-11-10T18:25:32.975ZAshley N Rubyhttps://www.baristaexchange.com/profile/AshleyNRuby
I think everyone hit the nail on the head with the cleaning suggestions. I manage a large shop with only about 5 employees TOTAL in our off season, most are single person shifts. We have oodles of "just in case" cleaning lsits for those not-so-motivated baristas.<br />
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But even more impressive to me is the barista that takes the time to go one step further and read a Fresh Cup or Barista magazine. It makes me feel really great that some of them want to learn more about the coffee industry. We keep a…
I think everyone hit the nail on the head with the cleaning suggestions. I manage a large shop with only about 5 employees TOTAL in our off season, most are single person shifts. We have oodles of "just in case" cleaning lsits for those not-so-motivated baristas.<br />
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But even more impressive to me is the barista that takes the time to go one step further and read a Fresh Cup or Barista magazine. It makes me feel really great that some of them want to learn more about the coffee industry. We keep a stack of magazines and books in a handy place for our baristas to use as needed (I have never noticed a barista abusing this privelage yet).<br />
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We also like to create new signature beverages through experimentation in the down time! That's epic - I LOVE it! Haha…tag:www.baristaexchange.com,2010-11-10:1688216:Comment:9623722010-11-10T18:13:49.664ZAshley N Rubyhttps://www.baristaexchange.com/profile/AshleyNRuby
That's epic - I LOVE it! Haha Thought about it many times LOL<br />
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<cite>Dustin DeMers said:</cite><blockquote cite="http://www.baristaexchange.com/forum/topics/what-to-do?id=1688216%3ATopic%3A497846&page=2#1688216Comment959744"><div>Oh ya, collect all the old grinds you can find(under the grinder, on top of the espresso machine, wherever) and then pull a shot with it any taste it. Or make your co worker a "special" latte... haha awesome!</div>
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That's epic - I LOVE it! Haha Thought about it many times LOL<br />
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<cite>Dustin DeMers said:</cite><blockquote cite="http://www.baristaexchange.com/forum/topics/what-to-do?id=1688216%3ATopic%3A497846&page=2#1688216Comment959744"><div>Oh ya, collect all the old grinds you can find(under the grinder, on top of the espresso machine, wherever) and then pull a shot with it any taste it. Or make your co worker a "special" latte... haha awesome!</div>
</blockquote> If I am an owner or manager I…tag:www.baristaexchange.com,2010-11-07:1688216:Comment:9600592010-11-07T16:37:32.115ZDawn Pinaudhttps://www.baristaexchange.com/profile/DawnPinaud
If I am an owner or manager I would tell you to do a coffee tasting and take some time to talk about how to increase sales or simply ask the baristas how you all could do a better job. Get them to open up about what works and what doesn't. Try to solve some problems that you don't always have time to deal with.<br />
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If it is always dead at night consider closing earlier, but like I always say "Time to Lean Time to Clean". Dawn
If I am an owner or manager I would tell you to do a coffee tasting and take some time to talk about how to increase sales or simply ask the baristas how you all could do a better job. Get them to open up about what works and what doesn't. Try to solve some problems that you don't always have time to deal with.<br />
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If it is always dead at night consider closing earlier, but like I always say "Time to Lean Time to Clean". Dawn Oh ya, collect all the old gr…tag:www.baristaexchange.com,2010-11-06:1688216:Comment:9597442010-11-06T21:21:26.557ZDustin DeMershttps://www.baristaexchange.com/profile/DustinDeMers998
Oh ya, collect all the old grinds you can find(under the grinder, on top of the espresso machine, wherever) and then pull a shot with it any taste it. Or make your co worker a "special" latte... haha awesome!
Oh ya, collect all the old grinds you can find(under the grinder, on top of the espresso machine, wherever) and then pull a shot with it any taste it. Or make your co worker a "special" latte... haha awesome! Here's my list of insane clea…tag:www.baristaexchange.com,2010-11-06:1688216:Comment:9594132010-11-06T04:03:21.591ZAlexander Stephen Roothttps://www.baristaexchange.com/profile/AlexanderStephenRoot
Here's my list of insane cleaning chores to do when it's dead in the store.<br />
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- Don't stop doing things until the entire drink prep station (machine, grinders, syrups, fridgerators) is entirely spotless and singing.<br />
- Everything that has a space under it gets lifted and scrubbed.<br />
- Sinks, ironically enough, get filthy. I take a scotch-brite and make sure the sides, bottoms, and drains are all grimeless.<br />
- Pastry case crumbs? Hello, shark vacum.<br />
- Sweep the entire floor. And I mean the. entire.…
Here's my list of insane cleaning chores to do when it's dead in the store.<br />
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- Don't stop doing things until the entire drink prep station (machine, grinders, syrups, fridgerators) is entirely spotless and singing.<br />
- Everything that has a space under it gets lifted and scrubbed.<br />
- Sinks, ironically enough, get filthy. I take a scotch-brite and make sure the sides, bottoms, and drains are all grimeless.<br />
- Pastry case crumbs? Hello, shark vacum.<br />
- Sweep the entire floor. And I mean the. entire. floor.<br />
- Bring a ladder out and dust all air vents/light fixtures. Check the bulbs. If you have track lights that can be positioned, fiddle with them until everything has great spotlight/filler light/ambience.<br />
- Also take LadderTime to dust/clean the high up windows and door frames.<br />
- Get behind coffee brewers and grinders with a brush to catch all of those old grinds you know are back there.<br />
- Go look at stock areas. Are they organized and nifty as well as they can possibly be? If not, have fun doing that AS LONG AS YOU HAVE PERMISSION.<br />
- Stock fridges? Empty them, clean from top to bottom and then restore the supplies.<br />
- Go outside and clean trashcans with a hose.<br />
- Did you know Blendtec blenders can be taken apart and cleaned entirely? If not, here's a good task for you.<br />
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And of course, the first one you should do before thinking of anything else, <b>make sure your entire cafe is adequately stocked and prepped for the next inevitable rush/shift change.</b><br />
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Tootles! I used to create new tip jar…tag:www.baristaexchange.com,2010-11-06:1688216:Comment:9593812010-11-06T03:09:45.473ZDustin DeMershttps://www.baristaexchange.com/profile/DustinDeMers998
I used to create new tip jar signs while it was slow(after doing chores and what not). My store had 15 to 20 different tip jar signs at any given time.
I used to create new tip jar signs while it was slow(after doing chores and what not). My store had 15 to 20 different tip jar signs at any given time. The biggest and most producti…tag:www.baristaexchange.com,2010-11-05:1688216:Comment:9591442010-11-05T18:13:11.295ZKim Sammonshttps://www.baristaexchange.com/profile/KimSammons
The biggest and most productive thing you can do is keep smiling, dont look bored (even if you are), dont look unhappy or fed up as this will just beam off from you and then when a customer does come in, they see your grump face, bad posture (cuz you're leaning against a machine) and your first impression is not so good. Also, if you can keep yourself smiling and make an effort to not be bored, you might find that you're time will go a little quicker and you'll find odds n sods to keep you…
The biggest and most productive thing you can do is keep smiling, dont look bored (even if you are), dont look unhappy or fed up as this will just beam off from you and then when a customer does come in, they see your grump face, bad posture (cuz you're leaning against a machine) and your first impression is not so good. Also, if you can keep yourself smiling and make an effort to not be bored, you might find that you're time will go a little quicker and you'll find odds n sods to keep you busy.<br />
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And if all else fails clean!....lol<br />
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Kim xx