What would you do? one of your baristas posted a real bad latte art pic on your cafe's fb page.

One of your baristas posted a real bad latte art pic on your cafe's fb page that you just happened to spot! we'r talking "really bad". You start thinking of all the negative reaction it is going to attract, and what if ppl think this is the standard of latte art at your cafe!!! and the "what ifs" start to pile on and on....Would you:

A- Decide to keep it so you don't hurt anyone's feelings, after all they meant well, no biggy, just chill and go to bed.

B- Keep the photo, but schedule an immediate one one/one training session with that same barista _at 10:00 pm (only time available)_ down 15 Espressos! then spend the whole night training them on how to pour some sick latte art, while pledging your shaky hands will get more artsy as the night progresses!

C- Meet with them the next chance avail, and inquire abt how and why things went south lately (latte art speaking).

D- Remove the photo and go to bed.

Interested in hearing what everyone might say.

N--

Views: 1366

Reply to This

Replies to This Discussion

I never saw a candle done in Latte art.

"Well, if you really use your imagination it's a newborn baby dragon still sitting in it's shell puffing smoke. :-) And I'd want to see it replicated 5 times in a row or down it comes!"

Mmmman, that's what it's about, ok! (scratching head) and all this time I was wondering!!! I gota work on this imagination of mine that's for sure. Luve this response Mike, seriously, it's hilarious :) thanks.



Mike McGinness said:

Well, if you really use your imagination it's a newborn baby dragon still sitting in it's shell puffing smoke. :-) And I'd want to see it replicated 5 times in a row or down it comes!

 

Serioulsy though I'd definitely sit down one on one and possibly later with entire staff and discuss shop standards for posting latte art.

Hey everyone, picture down, barista is exhibiting "EAS" symptoms. To clarify: barista is back to school and that's why her work is slipping. Not sure at this point that "EAS" _Employee Apathy Syndrom_ can be treated successfully, it is just obvious her heart is not into it anymore; working in our cafe has become merely a pt job to pay her way through school.I think she prefers to fly under the radar, get paid and not bother trying hard unless necessary. I will keep you updated...

N--

Danger Will Robinson. Cover your butt - seems like a written warning is in order. Written. Cover Your Butt. You need to in no uncertain terms make your standards and performance expectations clear, in writing. Spell out in specifics areas of concern and what is needed to come up to standard. I'll say it again Cover Your Butt and monitor closely. To avoid possible repercussions with Gov' agencies should performance remain lax and letting go become necessary. I hate doing these type of things, however as an owner it is absolutely necessary.

Mike that seems like a written notice for this type of thing would lead to employee turnover. Back when I was in the corporate world we used progressive discipline. Starting with a verbal then written and then a career adjustment.

Before even starting the walk to the door , ask yourself a few questions, would more training be helpful, would reassignment work, and are you willing follow thru and terminate if that is where it goes.

It may also be helpful to look at it as a third party may, have you handled other in a similar situation.

It sounds like a verbal and maybe a little retraining is in order for this one. If you do nothing it never get's better.

A lot of things can be avoided or CYA, if you in a have a good signed job description, documented training and SOP manuals.

In disputes a third party is likely to side with the bad guy. That may be you if you come off too harsh.

Last thought never fire a pregnant woman.

One of our baristas recently described bad latte art as a Rorschach test, which I thought was appropriate. If you get a bad pour, quickly do some etching, and you've got a Pokemon or something.

But seriously, even though our shop is not yet doing consistently good latte art, our employees have enough sense (or pride) not to post (we use twitter and FB) anything but the best.

Determine if they're serious about the pic or if it was a lark.  If they're new and proud of it I'd leave it.  Everyone walks before they can run.

At our shop there are different skill levels of those that run bar.  Those that are just starting out don't have as consistent or crisp pours.  

We will post everything on fb.  Why because we are passionate about coffee and understand there is always room for improvement. I love seeing the excitement a new baristas display as they pour their first butt heart.  

I would be more upset as a customer if I expected a triple rosetta and instead got a leaf blob, that to me is setting an unrealistic standard and under delivering.  

I like this answer. I think that using it as a leading experience would be a good idea. It is important to be able to take constructive criticism for sure.

Stefan Vlisides said:

I think it's actually a good time to use it as a learning experience. If you don't like their work tell them what you'd like to be done differently. As long as you do it in a way that helps them grow and doesn't totally demoralize them it's a win for your business. Also, you could run a cool FB competition with your staff. Ask your staff to submit their best latte art pic every week to you. You choose the winner, feature it on your fan page, and give them a token prize. It's a win for everyone and low cost marketing tool to keep your customers engaged.

All the Best,
Stefan Vlisides
Founder and CEO | Braviant
777 East Eisenhower Parkway, Ann Arbor, MI 48108
http://www.braviant.com

stefan@braviant.com
Let's Connect on Linkedin 
Let's Connect on Twitter
P. 
 1.888.544.7127 EXT 700 

Like if something that you really don’t like online, you of course can remove it. But I would actually take it as a great opportunity for a chance at some really cool online social sharing content.

Here’s what I’m getting at: If you ever have baristas who would really want to get a very good latte art and they are playing around of it and putting pictures online and sometimes the pictures are bad, then why don’t you make an agreement with them where you help them learn how to make better latte art and you post like incremental improvements online on your Facebook page.

And what you can say to your Facebook followers and customers “Hey, check it out our baristas are being taught how to do really awesome latte art, they starting out right now, they are learning, and they are really getting cool so check back and see the progress”. And that’s just kind of a really cool little thing you can have in your Facebook page which will get people coming back and will get your customers interested. You could maybe even get some feedbacks from them and that sort of things. So think about something like that. 

- transcribed and posted for Joseph @ JR Mobile by Mark

Take it down, for sure. But, as others have said, it could have been worse!

I totally get why you would want to protect your image. At least the barista in question took credit for the unfortunate latte art? I wouldn't stress too much about it, but maybe hosting a company-wide latte art class wouldn't be out of the question? Good luck!

Reply to Discussion

RSS

Barista Exchange Partners

Barista Exchange Friends

Keep Barista Exchange Free

Are you enjoying Barista Exchange? Is it helping you promote your business and helping you network in this great industry? Donate today to keep it free to all members. Supporters can join the "Supporters Group" with a donation. Thanks!

Clicky Web Analytics

© 2024   Created by Matt Milletto.   Powered by

Badges  |  Report an Issue  |  Terms of Service