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The rule of all rules: branding begins with your people: when launching your business, there is more to selling than the product. Proper staff training and service techniques will guarantee business success. Bearer's Gourmet Coffee Shop reports.

Article Excerpt
As I think back on the elements that made our organization skyrocket into profitable growth, since opening our first modest location, I instinctively know the answer. It's our people! The unique back-of-house operations and customer service systems support their work.

Success of our specialty coffee chain has really been the culmination of a lot of hard work; the great store operators, attention to the finer details, and a fundamental understanding of what makes a retail operation, like a specialty coffee card, tick.

The one thing that draws the most compliments (besides our coffee!) is our staff. Our franchise is composed of 33-units, but like most, we started in one converted building with just a few dollars and big dreams.

I have found that independent operators always give and get "kudos" for their people, whereas chains rarely focus on their staff as the key to their success. When was the last time you heard somebody say: "I really like going to (insert any chain name foodservice or otherwise) because of the people." It just doesn't happen. I am always getting my sleeve tugged by customers insisting, "You guys are so lucky to have such great people!"

There is seldom a mention of the quality of the coffee or our level of professionalism in drink preparation. It is clear our customers believe good enthusiastic, energetic and caring employees just magically show up on our doorstep, and by some divine intervention we hire them. So I have to ask myself, why? What is it that we have done that has essentially "branded" not just our product, but also our "people"?

A Cup of Coffee with a Smile

Beaner's Gourmet Coffee sends out surveys to one in ten customers from our database, or out of 40,000 total names, that is 4,000 people a month. In that survey there are several open-ended questions, one of which asks, "What do you like best about Beaner's Gourmet Coffee?" The number one and two answers are "people" and "product", most often...

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