This blog has been superseded.

For those of you who followed, or use to follow this blog we have moved it to coffeegroot.com. Please follow us there.

(eventually this blog will be taken down, but for now will remain)

Humbug…but not really.

Got my list, checking it twice.  It’s that time again, isn’t it?  If the decor in the malls is to be believed, the “season” started shortly before Halloween.  Sheesh.  At our house we don’t utter “Christmas” till after Thanksgiving.  Good rule.  There’s a brief interlude here before THAT holiday where we in retail get pushed around to decorate and promote, and it sometimes makes me a little grumpy.  This week, for example, my staff worked SO hard on a beautiful coffee-themed tree as a donation for a local fundraiser, only to find out that it was supposed to go out on display on the 16th of November.  If it isn’t sold by Monday the 23rd, it’ll be picked up for the auction.  We’re wishing we could just hang on to it till the week after Turkey Day.  My other “humbug” moment came when realizing that roughly half my barista staff (the majority of them management) will be gone over Christmas.  I know, I know, I’m the one who makes the schedule, and the reality is that folks are drawn to retail foodservice work because of it’s flexible hours.  Okay.  I’m over it.  No more complaining.  Now, let’s celebrate!

Regular price increases are a must.

JP's new menu boards

I know of a pastry shop in the area that my wife goes to quite frequently. Not only does she go there frequently, but she has gone there for years. My wife and I were talking a couple of weeks ago about the fact that we just raised prices at JP’s and she made the comment, “Wow, they haven’t raised prices at Maggie’s (not real name) for years. As a matter of fact I’ve been going there for 5 years and they have never raised prices.” That made me sad.

It’s 70′s day and disco music

It’s 70′s day and disco music

Originally uploaded by jpscoffee

Here is our fabulous manager, Sherry “Fawcett”, on disco day celebrating Rita’s 15 year with JP’s.

It’s 70′s day and disco music

It’s 70′s day and disco music

Originally uploaded by jpscoffee

Here is our fabulous manager, Sherry “Fawcett”, on disco day celebrating Rita’s 15 year with JP’s.

We’re in training

A complete, effective and ongoing training system is critical for coffee success!

October will be training month, no doubt about it!  It’ll be the “old school” vs. the “newbies”, and it’s going to be a great ride!

We’re debuting new menus shortly, which will include the traditional Italian cappuccino, a yummy 6 ounce drink we’ve all fallen in love with.  It will arrive in your hands with latte art atop it…so the game is afoot!  All our baristas have been practicing their skills, and a few who’ve gotten rusty will be attending training seminars with our capable MBS trainers. 

Dear Starbucks, Dear Coffee Lover and Dear Heavens

New instant coffee from Starbucks

This entry is going to be different. Different in the following ways:

1. I am reposting a blog post from a friend in the industry because what he said is so relevant.

2. I wrote my Jack’s Blend column for November’s Specialty Coffee Retailer magazine and wrote about the same thing (great minds think alike?). I am posting it here also.

3. That’s it.

Specialty Coffee Retailer magazine, Jack’s Blend column, November ’09

Mixed messages and the demise of Starbucks.

As I write this column, the news out today is that Howard Schultz calls his new instant coffee line, “perhaps the biggest opportunity our company has ever had” (Seattle Times, Sept 28 2009). That from the company that practically birthed quality coffee across the US.

I do not disagree with Howard. It may be the biggest opportunity Starbucks has ever had.

Back to School

Back to School

Sophia’s school year (she’s a second grader) started August 6.  Needless to say, she doesn’t live in Michigan!  Here we tend to think of “summer” as being bounded by Memorial Day on the front and Labor Day on the back.  (Unless you live in Holland, where, honestly, school might as well end mid-May with Tulip Time).  This traditional take on the summer season is indicative of economies based on the tourist season in the upper Midwest.  It’s tough sledding much before Memorial Day, and by Labor Day the lake is wayyy too cold to swim in with any reliability.  So the rhythm of our year includes these conveniently-placed federal holidays.  By Memorial Day we’re all ready for the school year to end, for the freedom expressed by “school’s out”.  Yet, come September…hey, that would be a good name for a movie…we’re  ready for the return of structure.  Aren’t people funny?  Business, ours, at least, is the same way.

Leadership and the small business owner

A group shot of JP's employees in 2003

As a small business owner have you ever been asked the following question; “Wow, you have such great employees, where do you get them from?”

If you have, I bet you I can tell you a few things about you, and what you do on a regular basis.

Firecrackers

Fireworks

Here’s the deal with firecrackers:  they’re either light or noise.  Well, sometimes some of each.  But mostly you remember fireworks because of the light (beautiful) or the noise (deafening).  I’d rather be remembered as the former, but suspect many would characterize me as the latter.