If you are running a busy cafe, and aren’t giving your staff assigned roles per day, you are surely going to run into issues; orders will be mislaid or twice-made, customers left waiting to order, important jobs forgotten about, stock will run low, staff will overlap and service will be slow. Assigned roles means less talking, but better communication throughout staff and far better teamwork. With each role, there are key responsibilities that each staff member is in charge of, as well as cover-roles they know they have to step into when other staff members are on their break/not available. If all staff are familiar with the responsibilities of each role, it also means that if they see a task not being complete (ie customer left waiting at till to pay and no one around to serve them) they know to jump in and deal with it. Below is an example of the assigned roles and responsibilities for a four person staff in a busy cafe, a model we use in our own Grand Canal Street Cafe. Obviously every cafe runs differently, but if you sit down and take the time to figure out all of the tasks that come up on a daily basis, how many staff members you have on at a time, and designate these roles out accordingly, you should find that things flow much better.
Staff A : Till : The persons main role of course is the till, but they are also in charge of greeting all customers, dishing up cakes, pastries, etc for sit in customers, and bagging and serving take away food. They are also responsible for assisting any customers at the retail section, and restocking the retail section as items are bought.
Staff B : Shots : Just like it sounds, Staff B’s responsibility for the most part, is pulling espresso shots. (If you’re working with a 3 person team and less busy, Staff A and B can be the same person). But apart from pulling shots, Staff B’s tasks include putting on and plating up filter coffee, restocking kilos of coffee, take away and ceramic cups, putting on and refilling loose leaf tea, as well as refilling drinking water bottles.
Staff C : Milk : Steaming and pouring milk takes time. Staff C’s main role is steaming and pouring milk. They are also responsible for serving all take away drinks, restocking the milk fridge, setting up serving boards/trays for all sit in drinks, filling cups with hot water for americanos and ensuring the service area is well stocked of lids, sugar and kept clean.
Staff D : Floor : The final staff members job is ensure all orders get to the tables, drinks aren’t left on the pass too long before serving, running food from the kitchen, clearing and cleaning tables, washing and restocking cutlery and most importantly, ensuring that customers on the floor are happy, and communicating with other staff any additional orders, problems on the floor etc.
If you are looking for speciality coffee and the best equipment available for your start up or existing business you can contact us directly to discuss the options available. Check out our 3fe Wholesale Page or message us at [email protected]