15. A coffee shop is all
about people–and
people need clear rules
Make sure you understand this. It is not a production line with
impressive machinery. It’s about kitchen staff working with counter
staff dealing with the public. Get your rules together and stick
to them. Make your employees grasp that the business is an
extension of you. But do not, under any circumstances, play the
game of “being the boss” or arrogantly strut around the place
because you’re the “owner.”
If you are working daily on the site and your employees have to pay
for their lunch and are only allowed a sandwich, then so are you. If
they aren’t allowed a premium coffee for their break, then neither
are you. Play the game. If you bend the rules for yourself then you
bend the rules for them.
The rules are slightly different if you have several sites but still need
to be kept very clear. When you eat in a site and don’t pay you
need to make sure it is clearly recorded so that you don’t let any
control slip.
If they see you eating free food or “entertaining” a friend or family
member, that could be a green light for them to steal and justify the
reduced margin by saying that the boss is eating the profits.
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