Coffee shops queues in peak!

Thought you would grab a quick coffee on the way to work, then get caught in a 20-person queue backing up out the door. We’ve all been there, right? Having long wait times in coffee shops can result in some bad reviews and damage the reputation of the business.

Why are there such long waits in coffee shops? What can coffee shop owners do to speed up service and keep the queue down and coffee flowing? We look into exactly that in this blog post.

Peak hours:

The busiest hours in coffee shops can vary depending location, but in most cases it is morning, lunch and after work seem to the peak times.

07:00 – 09:00
Morning rush of office workers visiting on their way to work

12:00 – 14:00
Of course the lunchtime rush, likely an increased wait time as customers ordering food too

17:00 – 18:00
Then there’s the straight from work caffeine boosters, straight from the office, on way to the train or a coffee to chill after a busy day.

What causes the wait times, long queues?

People of the UK have a great love for coffee, so it’s common to have to join a queue at your favourite coffee shop. But why are the queues so long and why does it take so long for the baristas to work through it?

There are a few factors that slow down the baristas:

Their workflow -
this means their set up and how they move around behind the counter. A good workflow will shave time off serving, baristas who get in each other’s way can not only create safety hazards but will also cause delays

Time taken to make a coffee -
grinding the beans, pressing the portafilter, making the espresso, steaming the milk, adding syrups, pouring etc. Even the best baristas need time for this

Cleaning –
the cleaning between each coffee, may only take a moment but per cup but this time adds up when there are 15 people in front of you in the queue

Equipment –
is the machine fit for purpose? Has the machine built to cope with high volume? Do baristas need to use multiple pieces of equipment?

Considering the above causes, there is one common aspect that can have make a huge time saving and resolve these issues…

The solution

Reducing wait times will not only increase customer satisfaction and retention, but also the coffee shop revenue. The common denominator which becomes apparent from the above causes for the long wait times, is the coffee machine.

Installing a high-performance coffee machine will maximise efficiencies. Using multiple hoppers will have all coffees in one place, with fully customisable settings for each automatic coffee. This will solve the workflow and the time taken to make a coffee, just by the touch of a screen. Easy, in place, automatic cleaning will save hours of baristas time and a machine that’s built for high volume, using only the best parts ensures quality.

Check out the 9000 S+, perfection in every cup.