Wake up and smell the profit. 87Ideally you should reward the best suggestions every month with a
decent cash bonus. Taking (tax paid) cash from your own pocket
and handing it over works a LOTbetter than putting it through
their wages. It is best not to award different sums of money for
different ideas though, since this is open to resentment from the
winners (or losers) in such a deal. The concept of “employee of the
month” is flawed for coffee shops since it is so closely allied to the
fast food industry which most coffee shop staff like to think they are
above, or at least different from.
But if you’re going to operate a system like this, then stick at it. It’s a
classic example of the type of great idea that many coffee shop
operators pick up from a book (like this!) and then lose interest in
after a few months. Like anything, it will take a bit of work and
commitment to keep it going, but you could be surprised at some
of the great suggestions you get, and operated properly it reaps
great rewards simply because it shows the staff that you attribute
some respect to their knowledge and intellect.