3 Barista Training Musts for Coffee Shops

As a coffee shop owner, your baristas are the heart and soul of your business. Talented baristas can turn first-time customers into loyal brand advocates who come back to your coffee shop again and again. On the other hand, baristas with inconsistent coffee skills or lacking customer service can be a liability. That’s why it’s so important to offer your staff comprehensive barista training.

The quality of your baristas will dictate the quality of your customer experience. You want customers to walk away surprised and delighted that both they and the coffee have been shown uncompromising respect. To get there, here are a few barista training “musts” for every coffee shop. 

Invest in a Barista Training Course and Coffee Education

If you’re committed to serving exceptional coffee (and you should be), it’s imperative that every barista on your staff is able to deliver a quality product to every customer. Even the most experienced baristas can benefit from training that elevates their coffee and espresso skills, introduces new equipment and techniques, or helps them troubleshoot off-tasting results. 

In our 2-Day Hands On Barista Training Course, we train baristas to craft excellent, consistent coffee and espresso based drinks. We educate them on the intricate science of coffee, it’s origin, and how to make it taste exceptional. We help baristas of all levels feel confident working in a quality-oriented coffee shop environment. It’s the perfect class for barista staff training and for home enthusiasts who want to refine their espresso, milk, and coffee skills. 

If you’re in the process of opening your coffee shop, though, we recommend our Coffeepreneur® 3-Day Coffee Business Master Class. It includes all of our barista training and coffee education, but it also provides invaluable lessons, resources, and training material for opening, operating, and managing your coffee shop business. 

Train Baristas for Customer Service

Sometimes we forget that customer service is a learned skill. Equip your baristas to offer an experience your customers will rave about to their friends. We recommend both training your baristas to give customers an over-the-top experience, and posting customer service standards as daily reminders to your entire staff. Show your baristas how to be approachable, genuine, fun, friendly, empathetic, knowledgeable, and patient. During training, role play interactions with upset customers. What do you want your baristas to do when a customer orders something that isn’t on the menu? Set your baristas up to gracefully handle all kinds of people and requests. 

As a coffee shop owner or manager, knowing how to lead your team and making the right hiring decisions is as important as training. Your baristas do so much more than make (and love) coffee. They have to learn your point of sale system, keep inventory of supplies, master your recipes, communicate well, train other baristas, or lead shifts. That’s a lot to juggle while working to keep your customers happy. 

In our Coffee Shop Operations Master Class and 3-Day Coffee Business Master Class, we cover hiring best practices as well as implementing the systems, operations, and protocols that keep coffee shops and staff running smoothly. You are leading by example. Remember, the better things are running behind the scenes, the better positioned your baristas are to offer an unparalleled customer experience. 

Create an Employee Operations Manual with Clear Standards

Barista training is an ongoing process. Once you’ve assured your baristas will offer an exceptional coffee and customer experience, make sure they know how to manage all of the parts of their work day. Create an Employee Operations Manual with clear standards for opening procedures, down-time, and closing. Include sections about cleaning, efficiency, and general do’s and don’ts. 

An Employee Operations Manual that is used and referenced can build excellence right into your coffee shop’s culture. The systems you put in place for your employees can prevent turnover in your staff. Investing time, intention, and education in your baristas, the backbone of your business, will help you thrive as a coffee shop.

We offer barista training, coffee shop management classes, and coffee shop business classes. 

Running a coffee shop is unlike operating any other business. For hands-on training on every single aspect of a specialty coffee business, sign up for one of our classes. Not sure which class is best for you or want to learn about our cafe consulting services? Contact us with your questions.