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The mere aroma of coffee may give your day a fresh start, but to make it perfect, much more is needed. Ask the brew masters at Barista Lavazza who swear by sustained focus on service, says Savreen Gadhoke

A college crowd, chilling out and gorging smoked chicken sandwiches; a mother-daughter duo enjoying mango smoothies to beat the heat after a wholesome shopping experience; a lovey-dovey couple cuddled on the couch and indulging in tall glasses of sinful Swiss Mocha Frappes; an executive having a meeting with his client over a cup of Cappuccino. Well, that’s the no-pressure environment that Barista Lavazza brew masters try to create everyday. And where the aroma of coffee is so strong, how could the Head–Marketing and Product Development not start his day with a cup of pure platonic coffee. And that’s exactly what Vishal Kapoor does, a cup of Cappuccino – his favourite, before kick-starting his long day to ensure the best possible services at Barista Lavazza.

When 4Ps B&M caught up with Vishal Kapoor at a Barista Crème outlet, he was possibly trying to figure out a possible leakage in the outlet’s products, service and image, the three ingredients, which as per Vishal, have steadily glorified Barista Lavazza in India since it was launched in 2000. Not to mention, the products and services delivered to the customers are something that the honchos at Barista are always proud of. But then, they really know their most important point of service and value it the most. “The definition of service is different for every industry. For us, it is ‘something’ that happens in the store. It makes people come back again and again,” Vishal avers to 4Ps B&M.

A typical day at a Barista Lavazza outlet starts sharp at 7 in the morning with the store manager going through a 25-point check list and the brew masters preparing for the long day ahead. (All the store employees are proudly called ‘brew masters’ and educated and trained about every possible detail about the products, food and beverage preparation, promotional schemes on offer, et al). From greeting the guest as he enters the café, to escorting him to his table, bringing him the menu and taking his order, checking up with him during the meal, bringing the cheque and getting the feedback form filled, all these form an essential part of services offered to the guests. The feedback is then processed into a database. However, the well trained brew masters perhaps are one of the best things for Barista as owing to their training they resolve most of the complaints at the ground level itself. “Common complaints received are like coffee is not hot enough or a cool drink is perhaps not too chilled. Customers don’t want a senior personnel to come and resolve their problems and our store managers are trained well to handle their problems. We want our customers to take back a pleasant and enjoyable experience,” says Vishal.

Product innovation is also something that the coffee retailer lays a strong focus on. Menus are updated regularly and three to four times annualy in Barista Crème and Espresso Bars. Seasonal menus too are quite a hit with customers. “We’d launched a Valentine special menu for couples in the month of February, which was quite successful. And currently we are running the ‘Escape to Italy’ menu to beat the summer heat,” avers Vishal. Interestingly, to cater to the kids coming to Barista with their parents, the outlets have now introduced a kids menu.

They claim that consistency in service is another determinant that has enabled Barista Lavazza to maintain a standard quality of its products and services. To provide good service to guests, employee satisfaction is of utmost importance. And for this, Barista Lavazza has its own traditional yet successful method of internal promotions. A brew master, depending on his performance and product knowledge is promoted from one level to another and from Espresso Bars to Barista Crème.

Suddenly we realised we had held up Vishal for more time than what he normally takes for his breaks. But before he went back to his work we could not stop ourselves from asking him that how does he manage to ensure the smooth running of each and every Barista Lavazza outlet in the metro city. With a smile, he tells us, “by personal visit to stores every eight to ten days along with the Associate Store Manager or the Marketing Manager.” Vishal adds that as per him, there are no Sundays in retailing and Barista encourages all its executives to personally visit all stores. So what are the key things that you do at a store, we asked Vishal and he rattled off a never ending list. “Checking branding and marketing of the store, inquiring about the food and beverages served, resolving issues, going through feedbacks, listening to suggestions...” Just hearing his long list tired us out and we looked longingly at the cup of piping hot cappuccino that a brew master was bringing across to our table... Now that’s service, we decided selfishly :-)

Savreen Gadhoke

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Source : IIPM Editorial, 2009

An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri and Arindam chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist).

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