Have you ever paid attention to the caffeinated chaos of a café during its busiest hours? The sound of grinding coffee and names being called, the smell of fresh coffee being brewed, cups of swans and rosettes running past you, and crowds of people the venue is somehow serving at a noticeable pace.

It looks easy for anyone lacking hospitality experience, but for those who have been in the thick of a mid-morning coffee rush, your critical eye pays attention to what is and isn’t working for a cafe’s workflow.

You notice the organisation of the bar could be improved, and the café team are going back and forth, having to walk around one another when a simple change of layout could cut down precious wait times. For instance, a well-organized bar can make all the difference in maintaining efficiency, as noted in our 8 Tips for Making Your Café More Profitable.

The customers waiting for takeaway coffees are split into several groups. Some of them wait awkwardly inside (for some reason, it’s always by the cutlery and water station), while others, who know their name will get called out, decide to wait by the busy road or with their back facing the café so they can have a conversation with their friends.

Coffee orders are being called out instead of names, leaving customers to decide amongst themselves whose order it is. And on top of it all, the café is playing music that doesn’t fit the current ambience, nor does it keep the team focused and the customers patient.

Dedicating some thought and collaborating with your team about the best layout for the bar is crucial for giving your team the environment to provide their best possible service every day, with room to improve.

The Customer’s Journey

Good hospitality comes from how you make others feel. Having strong empathy for what makes a customer's visit enjoyable and welcoming is key to understanding what workflow will suit a café. While hospitality venues vary in ambience from one another, there are some essential details any good café or restaurant needs to consider in their workflow.

Beat the Greet

As soon as a customer enters the venue, they need to be within sight of most team members, ready to be greeted and seated or directed to the till where orders may be taken. There’s nothing worse than entering a café and feeling utterly lost with no idea who to speak to for a cup of coffee.

Signage usually works, but it can be obstructive to walking paths in the dining space. Training the team to be proactive about greeting new guests keeps the workflow consistent. A great service philosophy is Beat the Greet, where the hosts are there to greet guests before the guests have to wave for attention. You can also make sure there is a clear and obvious path to the till so that when a customer steps into the café, they are visually directed to where they can place an order.

For insights into improving customer service at the front line, revisit What makes a great White Horse barista? By Domtron.

Dedicated Waiting Space

Just because a customer has paid for their order doesn’t mean your hospitality ends. Dedicate a clear space for customers to comfortably wait for orders so that walking spaces used by your team stay unobstructed. Is it a tall table with reading material your café values? Is it outside, where dog owners can hydrate their pawed pals? Wherever it is, implement into your system that whoever is processing takeaway orders communicates where customers should wait for their order.

Names. Names. Names.

Yes. Even if there is only one customer waiting. Even if it’s a fake name. Even if it may slow down service by a touch. Taking names is simply the quickest way for customers to identify their order without your team walking around crying out, “LARGE ALMOND THREE-QUARTER LATTE WITH 2 SWEETENERS, A BABYCINO NO CHOCOLATE, AND TWO SMALL CAPPUCCINOS!”

I can’t stress enough how simple this attention to service helps workflow. You need the runner to come back to the pass as soon as possible. The longer they’re searching for a customer, the sooner every coffee in their hands and on the pass gets warmer. Reach this point, and you’ll have customers sending back coffee because it’s cold.

Names. Please. A simple "Thank you, Ian!" is all I need to hear to catch my attention and pick up my order.

This small adjustment not only speeds up service but also enhances customer satisfaction, as explored in our 5 Essential Tips for Hiring Staff for Your Cafe, which highlights how small service details can elevate the customer experience.

Life Behind the Bar

Putting thought into how the bar is set up means speeding up service and giving your team the best environment to work at their best. Keep the following points in mind for an efficient bar layout.

Within Arm’s Reach

Consider each station of the bar and have all the essentials someone would need to work efficiently without moving from that station. The till should have things like pens, napkins, and notepads. The coffee machine should be close to a sink, milk fridge, jug rinser, bin, and coffee condiments. The pass should also have coffee condiments, takeaway lids, docket spikes, and napkins.

Within Sight

Everyone at the bar should have clear visuals of the dining space, waiting area, café entrance, and each other. This encourages an attentive team to communicate clearly during a busy rush. If a barista knows where a specific customer is waiting for their coffee, they can direct a runner toward them. If no one is at the till and a customer steps up, someone on the pass can acknowledge them and serve.

Heard Without Yelling

Avoid setting up stations at the bar so far apart that your team has to either yell at each other or walk away from their station just to communicate clearly. Make sure wherever takeaway coffee is called, it’s within earshot of the waiting area.

Music Matters

Ambience can impact the kind of service your team delivers. The warm light and open spaces of a modern fine dining restaurant have its team delicately handling service. The loud beat and low light of the club keep everyone’s energy high. A café on the other hand, can have a dynamic ambience from when it first opens and the baristas are dialling in, to the hours just before closing trade. 

While ambience can improve your customer’s experience, it can also affect your team’s work. The music you play in your café can truly conduct your team’s efficiency. It’s a tool that is easily underestimated. If your team is focussed on singing along to pop music during a lunch rush, are they truly listening to other team members or interacting with customers? Is your team truly going to work fast if they are in the middle of a coffee rush with soft lo-fi tunes playing? The genre of music you play is subjective and should build on the intended ambience of the café. What helps workflow is adjusting the volume and tempo of music to set the pace.Optimizing your café’s workflow is key to improving both customer experience and team efficiency. From a clear greeting and dedicated waiting space to a well-organized bar and the right music, every detail matters. Small adjustments, like using names for orders and ensuring good communication, can drastically reduce wait times and enhance service. By fine-tuning these elements, you create an environment where both your team and customers thrive, leading to smoother operations and happier guests.