Integrated Case study

Individual Case study written report

Prepared by:
Dhaneletcumi Vijayakumar
MC1306BC3361

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION

OBSERVATION 1

OBSERVATION 2

OBSERVATION 3

OBSERVATION 4

OTHER RECOMMENDATIONS 9
CUSTOMER SURVEY ANALYSIS
STAFF SURVEY ANALYSIS

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12

MANAGER SURVEY ANALYSIS 12

APPENDIX 1

13

APPENDIX 2

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Introduction
Coffee Connection is a trendy new coffee shop located in west side of
Vancouver, BC. Offering popular roasts, blends, and types of coffees, the shop
would like to attract people who prefer premium coffees and hanging out with
others who have more sophisticated tastes in drinks, food, art, music, travel, and
lifestyle choices. In keeping with their focus on premium coffee and sophisticated
interests, Coffee Connection roasts its coffee beans right in the store and grinds
them fresh for each customer. The shop is very "in fashion" in appearance
because John Makepeace, the owner, designed it to have a "retro wood and
steel" look. There is a tiny stage that he thought one day might be used by a solo
singer to play in the evenings.
The purpose of this written report is to help Mr. John Makepeace to "fix"
his current coffee shop problem so that he might increase sales and profitability.
To help solve his conundrum, John hired a marketing consultant, Priya Sethi,
expertise in the marketing of upscale coffee shops and bars. As Priya, I am here
to help him change from his current coffee shop to his "ideal" coffee shop "THE
place to hang out and meet other cool people." Coffee Connection is moderately
successful financially, but not as much and in the way John would like it to be.
Instead of people engaging with each other discussing sophisticated topics and
bonding with the store's brand and special features (the smell of roasting coffee
and the retro wood and steel look), they were isolated in their own little electronic
worlds. And even worse, the customers with laptops tended to buy a coffee and
sit for between 1 and 3 hours doing work alone at a table that could seat 2 or 4
people. He had "laptop squatters" clogging up his shop and wrecking his vision of
a buzz of trendy, sophisticated people making his coffee shop famous. Some
people, when coming into the shop's door and seeing no tables or window seats
free and a lineup at the counter of customers waiting to order, decided to leave
instead of coming in. Johns customers leaving is a problem cause of the tables
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and chairs were not emptying fast enough for every customer who wanted one.
Coffee Connection has lots of space for customers to sit with seating for 80
people. Im here to give recommendations based on my 20 coffee shop survey
analysis.
Prior going through into a deep dive on improvements, I would like to
touch a bit on good vibrant or strengths that Coffee Connection do have. Firstly,
the shop is very "in fashion" based on current trend appearance in the look of
"retro wood and steel". Lastly, Coffee Connection's location has very mixed
characteristics including very large older homes for families, modern condos for
couples and wealthier singles, many modest older rental apartment buildings,
many young entrepreneurs, contract computer programmers, independent
professionals, university students, artists, and musicians.
Observation 1
Customers spend long time
With only one coffee purchased, customers will spend up to 3 hours working.
Recommendations
a) Limit the laptop hobo
Some Starbucks location in New York have even started covering up power outlets,
while other coffee shops have put a limit on the amount of time we can use their free
Wi-Fi before we have to buy something else or pay for internet use.
b) Turn it off at peak time
You have to set selected times for Wi-Fi availability and advertise those times with
professional signs at the front of the shop and on the tables. This would involve turning
Wi-Fi off during the busy lunch period. Maybe explain that you want to encourage a
buzzing environment of sharing experiences and conversations rather than foster an
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environment of blue faced zombies staring mute at digital screens, as the primary
reason for disengaging the service at lunch.
Observation 2
Long customers lineup
Coffee Connection go for a counter service in their coffee shop. People who see lineup
at the counter of customers waiting to order, decided to leave instead of coming in.
Recommendations
a) Table Service with wireless table calling system
A counter with a long queue might make people decide to not enter your coffee shop;
sure it is great to look busy and successful although you can also look too busy and
lose sales. If everybody that was in the queue was sitting down then your shop would
still look busy yet there wouldnt be any long queues and as long as there is space
people would be more likely to come in to the shop.
When people are sitting down for a minute waiting to be served they can have the time
to acclimatize to the shop and have a good look at your menu. This will make them feel
relaxed and when customer are relaxed and have the time to look at your menu they will
spend a lot more money; and more importantly they will order what they planned on
having in the first place. Of course it is important to acknowledge the customer once
they sit down and to let them know you will be with them shortly to take their order and
you can installed wireless table calling system on each table so that your barista dont
need to wait so long to take order, your barista have to go once the customer are ready
to give their orders. This wireless table calling system been practiced by Old Town
White Coffee. This is also where table service is so much more personal. There is one
host walking around and as soon as customers walk into your shop they are being
greeted and welcomed. With counter service a customer might not be acknowledged by
the staff until they have been in your shop for a full two minutes.

Many of the coffee shops have table service. When I speak to them and ask about the
average spend of the customer I pretty much always hear of a higher spend compared
to a counter service. With table service people often have a coffee and something else.
Most counter service coffee shops have customer just drinking coffee. A customer who
just drinks one coffee in a busy coffee shop and sits for a full hour could cost Coffee
Connection.
Table service allows you to turn tables over quicker as well. If you are busy and need
some tables free then table service is fantastic. It is much easier to talk with a customer
to see if they would like anything else. If not, then the bill comes a minute later. This is
usually enough for people to realise that a table is needed. In the end, table service
simply turns over tables so much quicker and turning tables over quickly is extremely
important when the shop is full.
Table service will give the customer the chance to order something else. Once a
customer has paid for an order they are very unlikely to order and pay again for
something else. With table service however the tab is still open and it is easy for the
customer to order another coffee. The great thing with table service is that it increases
the

average

spend.

Because the tab is open and the host talks to the customer, it is easier to upsell and to
receive some feedback on the products.
Suggestions are supported by an article by Kendal Austin on How to Reduce Fast
Casual Wait times with Line Busting & Limini Coffee Specialty Coffee for Coffee Lovers
Since 2008.
b) Use in-store displays to advantage
Coffee Connection can use impulse purchase method such as while customer waiting to
order, it can divert them to purchase other merchandise products. In Story Coffee Bean,
we have noticed that their usual artistic display of mugs, drinking glasses and gourmet
coffee. However, it turns out that display isnt just for decorative purposes.

A 2014 POPAI study reveals that 16% of unplanned purchases are driven by a display
the shopper saw while shopping. Advertising insights group KDM says that win at the
in-store purchase decision game, merchandising displays are great bet.
Suggestions are supported by an article by Candice Landau on 6 Tips to Maximize Your
Coffee Shops Revenue
Observation 3
Unpleasant services
Focused more on coffee than on customers.
Recommendations
Train your barista about customer service
Training is important because it build confident and competent staff, consistency of
service and able to provide customer satisfaction as follows:
a) Confident and competent staff
Once all staff have been trained in the policies and procedures or rules and regulations
of Coffee Connection, everyone knows what their job is, how to do it and when. There is
no confusion, and nothing is left to chance or goodwill. Trained staff are not only more
competent, they will usually go about their duties in a more confident and relaxed way.
And generally, there will be a greater level of staff satisfaction. Having happy, relaxed
staff who are confident as well as competent about what they are doing is essential to
good customer service and should be the aim of yours, Mr. John. This is something that
can only be achieved with good staff training.
b) Consistency of service
Another obvious flow-on from training towards common goals is consistency of service.
A customer who returns to Coffee Connection usually expects to receive exactly what
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they had the first time. So, it is important that this expectation is met. It is also important
to note that they may have returned for the coffee beverage they had the previous time,
but also for the level of service they received from the staff or the ambience of the
coffee shop. Changing anything from the size and strength of the beverage to the way
the customer is greeted and the loudness of the music, for example, may result in a
customers expectations not being met. The only way to ensure consistent experiences
for customers in a coffee shop is to have staff trained in the total coffee experience you
aim to provide for your customers. Having a written document in the form of a Staff
Handbook also helps to maintain such consistency.
c) Customer satisfaction
Finally, the ultimate flow-on from competent, confident staff and consistency of service
is usually a coffee shop full of satisfied customers who reward you with more than their
loyalty. There is a saying in business that 80% of new customers are generated from
20% of existing customers. So it makes perfectly good sense to look after your existing
customers. Word of mouth spreads particularly fast about where the good coffee shop
are to be found. And vice versa! So Coffee Connection wanting to have a stream of
loyal customers through the door every day with others following on my
recommendation must make customer satisfaction their number one priority, and the
only sure way of doing this is to focus on quality staff training.
Suggestions are supported by an article by Christine Cottrell on Why Train Your Barista
Observation 4
Occupies more space
Customers with laptop and students would be using table that could be seated 2 or 4
people alone.
Recommendations

Make new table arrangements and new type of furnitures. Refer to Appendix 1 on
Layout, furniture costing & sample of furnitures indoor & outdoor.

Other Recommendations
a) Stage for Performance
It is recommendable to Coffee Connection to take advantage of street buskers
(performers) who promote their songs or performance in the streets for recognition
purposes by providing them the stage to showcase them and at the same time enable
them to sell their CDs in the coffee shop is a great idea to keep the coffee shop
happening and eventful instead of hiring a paid solo performers on a daily basis.
b) Eliminate low margin items
That do not support the companys core business of coffee sales that add traffic but do
not increase coffee shop profits or promote coffee sales should go. It is important to
train coffee connection customers to order the beverages that most benefit the coffee
shop.
c) Establishing cost standards
Based on my surveys, most the coffee shops doesnt know how the process to set a
competitive price for each menu items. Set the price above the food cost according to
the ratio as follows:
Menu item
Selling
Menu items Cost
Ratio
(RM) Price (RM)
Menu 1
2.50
7.5
2.0
Menu 2
3
9
2.0
Eliminate items that dont sell well, reducing your food costs.
d) Expand your menu
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Reasons to expand the menu is to sell costly F&B which can generates the maximum
revenue. In Coffea Coffee has the menu details and the bean origins. This will help the
customer to know the ingredients of each menu. This will help the customer to make
fast decision in ordering.
e) Reduce the cup size
When it comes to sizes, try to keep it small 3oz cup as it will produce better tasting
coffees and your customer will not feel too full when they finish the drink. Big cups are
not always good, give people value for their money, not quantity. Its better to serve two
regular coffees than one large one.
Promotion
f) Loyalty Cards
Rewarding your most loyal customers can reap you the most profitable benefits for the
long term. You can hand out these cards to see who among your customers serve as
your most loyal patrons. Then you may hand out loyalty rewards a free drink for the
rest of the week or a decorative mug after a certain number of purchases have been
made within any given period.
g) Gift Card Promotions
You can also hand out a promotional gift card to your customers, whether its a card
they can use to reward themselves or a gift they can give to someone else. With the
help of a promotions company, you only need to get the email address of your
customers and everything else can be done online. The promotions company will take
care of emailing the redemption code to your customers, allowing the latter to redeem
the reward at their most convenient time.
h) Website Announcements and Promos
Through a website, social media presence, or email marketing, you can easily post the
latest updates about your business, from new coffee mixes to upcoming promotions. A
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website or a blog can prove a valuable promotional strategy even if you target local
customers. This way, your customers only have to go online or use their smartphones to
be able to check your newest offerings.

i) Position promotions through signage

Signage are promotional tools that attract customers to your coffee shop. Placing a
signage strategically for passersby which mentions your daily specials is best here.
Example: buy a coffee and a cake for a discount. This type of information is perfect for
an A board outside your shop, its eye catching and informative and can be read really
quickly by fast walking passersby. It is recommendable for Coffee Connection to display
promotion through signage.
j) Raffle promos
Aside from having free tastes for the treats that you have in your coffee shop, you can
also consider having raffle promos. Every time your customers buy something from your
store, you can some raffle coupons that they can fill up and get prizes as a token as
they patronize your shop. They can place there their name, address as well as their
contact number. This strategy is very beneficial especially that you know their contact
numbers and addresses that will give you the access if you would like to send them
invitations for some events that you might held.

Customer Survey Analysis

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Customer survey

20
16

20
Total Analysis

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19

Staff Survey Analysis

1. Training Period
Twice in a month
Train by supervisor or senior staff
2. Peak hours
Lunch hours (12pm 3pm)
Dinner hours (7pm 10pm)
3. Type of customers
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 weekdays - working adults, students

weekends families
4. Customer environment
more happening environment in morning
using devices after lunch & after work in evening
5. Majority type of coffee sold
coffee latte, cappuccino, Americano, mocha slush, caramel latte, flat white
6. Other than coffee what is being ordered
hot chocolate, ice blended, bread, muffins
Manager Survey Analysis
1. Specialty
Variety of food and drinks
Good taste of food and quality drinks

2. Customers get attached

Seasonal menu
Competitive price
Unique coffee taste

Appendix 1
Layout
Before

After

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Furniture Costing:
RM/Unit
Bar Stool- Steel (RM165 *11 units)

1,815

Wall mounted drop leaf (RM159 * 11 units)

1,749

Bar Table and 2 high bar stools (RM1280 *4

units)

5,120

Rattan tray table (RM249 *6 units)

1,494

Chair (RM175 *24 units)

4,200

Table fold wall and 2 fold chairs for outdoor

(RM279.8 *2 units)

560

Side pole umbrella (RM298 *4 units)

1,192

Total Furniture Costing

16,130

Sample for furniture Indoor

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Bar table and 2 high bar stools (4 units)

Bar Stool Steel (11 units)

Wall-mounted drop-leaf table (11 units)

Rattan tray table (6 units)

Chair (24 units)

15

Table fold wall with 2 fold chairs for outdoor (2 units)

Sample for furniture Outdoor

Side pole umbrella (4 units)

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Appendix
2

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