They Started My Coffee Before I Walked In

Customer loyalty comes down to one thing. How you make people feel. A coffee shop taught me that the day I stopped going.

My office is a coffee shop

About two years ago I quit a cushy corporate job to build my own business.

Working from home turned out to be extremely hard. I have a three-year-old, and a wife who loves me and wants to talk to me all the time.

So I work from coffee shops. Almaty has plenty of them.

For an entire year, I went to the same one.

They saw me through the window

I was there nearly every day. For hours.

They got to know me. They got to know my order.

I'd walk past the window, and before I stepped inside they were already pulling a triple shot for my cappuccino.

That place became my second home. Maybe my third.

Then the people changed

About six months ago the shop changed owners. The staff changed with it.

And I stopped feeling at home there.

Now I'm coffee shop agnostic. I drift from place to place like I'm shopping for a new office.

Still searching for that comfortable, familiar spot where I can actually get work done.

Looking for my people.

What actually kept me coming back

I tried to figure out why that shop suddenly felt interchangeable with every other one.

Sure, the atmosphere matters.

Fast, stable Wi-Fi matters.

A barista who can make a proper flat white matters.

All of that has a lot to do with it. But ultimately, it was the people.

They made me feel welcome. They made me feel at home.

Will I ever be 100% loyal to one coffee shop? Probably not.

But if another one makes me feel that way again, I won't have a reason to leave.

Your business is a coffee shop

This transfers almost one to one to your business.

Your product is the coffee.

Your process is the Wi-Fi.

Your customers expect both to work. They come back for how you make them feel.

So take an honest look:

• How do your customers and clients feel when they deal with you?
• Do they feel at home?
• Do they feel welcome?
• Are they pleasantly surprised by the little things you do to go above and beyond?

Restaurateur Will Guidara has a name for that last one. He calls it unreasonable hospitality, and wrote the book on it.

Pulling the shot before they walk through the door.

It's worth sitting with this one for a while. It's likely the biggest shift you can make for returning customers, and for how your brand grows.

FAQ

What drives customer loyalty?

How customers feel when they deal with you. Product quality and convenience get them in the door. Feeling known and welcome is what brings them back.

Does product quality still matter for loyalty?

Yes. Atmosphere, Wi-Fi and good coffee all count. They weren't enough to keep me once the people who made me feel at home were gone.

What is unreasonable hospitality?

The term comes from restaurateur Will Guidara's book, Unreasonable Hospitality. It's the small, above-and-beyond things that make a customer feel known. Like a barista who sees you through the window and starts your order before you walk in.

How do I make customers feel at home?

Know them. Learn their order. Then act on it before they have to ask.

Where's your coffee shop?

The place you keep going back to. And the real reason you do.

Tell me. Then ask what your customers would say about you.

Here's to your next story,

George V.K.