Lakota's Philosophy(Policies & Procedures-continued)THE STREET SCENEWe've had ongoing problems for years with a number of people who hang out right in front of the store. It's great to look busy but sometimes we get an intimidating element congregating right in our doorway and unfortunately they aren't always paying customers. The element I'm speaking of is a collection of homeless people, street kids, starving artists and musicians, etc. To top it off, they often have a whole family of dogs with them. This problem can get really out of hand during the summer months, especially in the afternoon and at night. Here are the problems created by some of these people: 1. The homeless often use our bathrooms to bathe. You can usually tell by the way they look, the length of time they tie up our bathrooms, and of course, several gallons of water on the floor. 2. Unfortunately, some of these folks have no regard for our facilities and will totally trash the place, inside and out. 3. They drink our water and then leave the glasses out in front of the store… or steal them. 4. They are sometimes intimidating to the people who would have been customers. They are often dirty, smelly, and foul. I've seen people turn around and go the other direction when this crowd is unusually "active", especially if they had children with them. 5. They may purchase a bottomless cup and hand it off to friends when they leave. 6. Last but not least, (if allowed) they take up tables & chairs, indoors & out, and generally piss our regular customers off. It's not our job to judge people and their chosen lifestyles but this can become a real nuisance. The bottom line? It's really not good for business. The other problem is that there doesn't seem to be any "comfortable" solution. That being said, you still need to know that it's the responsibility of every person on every shift to monitor the street scene and make sure we keep it at a low roar! How can we do this? 1. Make frequent trips out front when there is a break in the action. Bus the area and sweep if necessary. While you're out there you'll get a feel for what's going on, who's hanging around, and you'll gain some awareness of potential problem people. 2. If you feel like things are heating up too much AND you're comfortable with it, ask people who are just hanging out to please move on. This is especially important if they are taking our tables and chairs and/or congregating right in front of the door. Just be light and casual but firm, and let them know that we're trying to run a business and that our tables and chairs are for paying customers. If you do this, it must be done without a hint of holier than thou "attitude". 3. If you don't have THAT much confidence in your people skills, call 442-3161 and describe the situation to the police. Let them know that you need help. They can drive by and break things up. 4. Of course 911 is the option if there is violence or any dangerous situation brewing. 5. We are not asking you to be a bouncer. If you feel you are putting yourself in harms way - DON'T. Just make the call and stay uninvolved with the crowd. With steady monitoring by management and staff, this problem usually goes away or at least is greatly diminished. Any new ideas about how to better control this problem will be appreciated. Thank you. NOTE: In an effort to avoid too many rules and regulations, we allow smoke breaks out front, but when you do, please take the opportunity to assess the situation out front and tidy things up a bit when your done. Clean up the cigarette butts and trash on your way back in. We also ask that you smoke as far from our front door as you can. (without actually leaving town!) It's actually kind of humorous that our city smoking ordinance puts the required distance from the front door at 25 feet. If that was observed, everyone would be smoking in the middle of the street. Anyway, please use discretion when mingling out front with whomever. Absolutely do not allow yourself to be drawn into a confrontation, We have had some really nasty (and totally unnecessary) little situations arise from our employees getting involved in arguments out front. Don't get involved. Just walk away and make the necessary phone call before things get out of hand! THE TELEPHONEThe way we answer the phone says everything about who we are. Please answer the phone like so: "Lakota Coffee Company, this is..." Telling someone who they are talking to is professional and polite. It's short but it gives everyone that calls the first two things they really need to know - yes, I called the right number and yes, I know who I'm speaking to. Please don't do laps around the building looking for someone who's wanted on the phone. No, no, no, don't come clear down to the basement to let someone know there's a call! Unless it's an emergency, please just take a message. If we're in plain sight or you know we're handy, please give us the option NOT to take the call. How? "You need Skip? Hold on for a second please, let me see if he's available..." Then press the HOLD button or TRANSFER - to put the call on hold. Otherwise, they'll hear the whole conversation and ...well... that probably wouldn't be so good. Inform Skip who the caller is and let Skip tell you if he's available or not. Also, please, please, get in the habit of asking who's calling. That way, when you tell someone they have a call, you can also tell them who it is. Obviously, you're level of busyness determines how you'll handle the phone. If you're in the weeds, take a quick message but please make sure it's legible. It's a serious waste of time otherwise. If you have no time to screen calls, just patch it through to the roasting area or the office...customer service is more important. If you're really up to your eyeballs in alligators, let our voice mail system answer the phone. That's why we have it! Please do not use Lakota's phone for non-Lakota stuff! Please do your texting and calling when you're on a break.
TAKING PHONE ORDERSWe have a form for taking wholesale or mail orders by phone. There is one form that is double-sided. It's imperative that you learn how to use it properly. Even though it's simple and self explanatory, it's one of the most mis-used forms we have. Once again, if you're too busy, defer the call to someone in back, if possible. If you're NOT busy, please do NOT defer the call just so you don't have to take the order. The first question you should ask when you get this kind of a call is: "Is this a mail order or a wholesale order?" Their answer tells you which side of the form to use. Then simply work your way down the form blank by blank until everything is filled in legibly. If I can't read it, well shucks, it's kind of worthless. ALL of the information I request on this form is needed to properly fulfill the order. I just LOVE it when you write your name in the space provided because then I know WHO to ask if I'm unsure about anything! Please make sure the form is on the correct side, legible, and complete. I will be deeply grateful to those who get it right! Here, let me be grateful in advance: Thank you, Thank you, Thank you! Ditto for catering orders! A catering can be a disaster if the information isn't crisp and clean. The double sided order form is displayed below: (filled out properly!)
HANDLING VARIOUS COFFEE ORDERSWe have several different kinds of accounts. Some of our "Wholesale Accounts", like Upper Crust, HyVee, and Dixie Creme, have more than one location. When you get calls from them, you need to remember to ask which location it is and make sure you put that on the same line next to the name of the company: Upper Crust - Elm Hyvee #1, #2, #3 You get the idea. We also have some wholesale accounts, like Tellers, Main Squeeze, and Cafe Berlin, that may place an emergency order on a weekend when you are the only one around to fill it. Please don't let them take large amounts of coffee out with zero notice like that. It's too much work for you, especially if your busy, and it may leave the store short of coffee for the weekend. Just ask them what will get them through the weekend and set it up for them. You must remember to fill out a quick note about exactly what you set up for them and put it on my bulletin board. The bulletin board behind the roaster is the ONLY place you should post notes or orders for the roasting area. If you forget to do this, then we just gave that coffee away! On larger wholesale orders that are to be picked up, they will always be on the railing next to the roaster or in boxes on the floor in front of the retail section. Usually, the customer will just come and pick it up and go because they pay us from the invoice. Occasionally a wholesale customer may want to pay up front on their way out. Wholesale orders shouldn't be rung up so just put the check or cash underneath the drawer and include a note with it so you'll remember what it's for. Then just stick it in your deposit bag at the end of your shift. In addition, we have some "Discount Orders" for some of the offices around town. Hines Law Firm is an example. They fax the order in and we prepare it and leave it next to the register with a sticky note attached, showing the price you will charge when they pick it up. We also do some "Special Orders". For instance, I will prepare any kind of Flavored Decaf that a customer may want. (We don't stock these) I also do some "Special Roasts". Usually, these will be prepared and set up next to the register to be picked up. There should always be a sticky note with the order, explaining what you will charge them for it, or the order will have a credit card slip and/or register receipt attached showing clearly that the order has already been paid for. If someone places a special order with you, just write it up, including contact information and any special instructions they may share with you, and stick it on my bulletin board. In the near future, we plan to create a small book or cheat-sheet to put near the register, that will list and explain each of our various accounts and how they are handled. Okay! Now it's time to move onto the next section..beginning with PROFESSIONALISM..Carry on! Back to Top!
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