Caffe Nero when standards slip
All froth and no coffee
Sit back for a moment in any Caffe Nero, and you see the same customer
Caffe Nero has consistently been one of my top 100 brands. The combination of great tasting coffee, efficient service (with a smile), location, ambience... but above all, consistency of brand has made it my preferred destination of coffee houses.
However, I am starting to doubt myself. At my preferred coffee house of choice (Caffe Nero, Cross Street Manchester), standards have been slipping recently...
Example 1. Lady wanting a fresh coffee everytime she went for a cigarette
Example 2. People with no aspiration or other interest in life... lowering the tone of conversation in the building... and worse that the staff encourage this type of behaviour
Example 3. All froth and no coffee. Inconsistency.
Competition and competitive forces. Independents.
And although Caffe Nero, has a loyal following. Loyalty card. Ability to recite the menu and come up with correct change.
Stand back and you do see regular customers ordering the same regular sized coffee on the
Brand ranking = 21-50
Areas for improvement
Things that are currently letting this brand down:
Broken toilets. Not just once, twice but it is a regular theme to regular customers.
Lack of music. This does't create the right atmosphere, especially early morning when customers like to concentrate on work or their own conversations, without being distracted. Caffe Nero (like many brands) has a defined playlist that positively reinforces the brand - this is one of those intangibles that often goes unnoticed (sometimes by the staff).
- Staff who can only single task create bottlenecks. Unobservant staff. Can you teach observation. Orders, housekeeping, MBWA
How to prevent standards slipping further
Things that a business could do that will increase brand loyalt
- Define standards and make it explicit to your staff about how important it is to live and breathe those standards.
Recruit and select the right staff
Give staff the skills required to do their job (note - their job is not just about serving coffee, it's much more than that, it's about living the brand and providing consistency against a tightly defined set of brand rules)
Demonstrate what it means to live the brand
- Give a damn (about your customers)
Things that a business could continue to do that erase brand loyalty
