Showing posts with label eating and drinking. Show all posts
Showing posts with label eating and drinking. Show all posts
Monday, 13 April 2009
Tuesday, 7 April 2009
When It Comes to Customer Service, Try Thinking Like A Coffee Shop
In Edinburgh at the weekend I soon sussed out the neighbourhood’s coffee shops and I came across Coffee Angel. Friendly, serving good coffee with a nice vibe and a mixed clientele; from people having a meeting, parents and babies in buggies to workers with their laptops. It had all the necessary ingredients to become my coffee shop base for the 4 days I was in the city. In that short experience, customer service was spot-on, and I had a good chat with the proprietor who juggles the shop with a business advising clients on food safety. He joked that I was such a regular; it would have merited me having one of their loyalty cards for my short stay.
After having enjoyed their espressos and free wifi. I checked out their website. It’s always good to experience a product or brand first; and compare against their website or brand promise second. So much of the time we experience brand promises that are never delivered. Other times we may spot things in a brand's positioning or mission statement that we didn't experience or notice. Coffee Angel delivered. Their philosophy is ‘that it is always about the customer. So we’ll make your drink, your way; we’ll listen. We’ll chat’. They also source their products locally and pride themselves on their independence. They've not yet been open 12 months but deserve to be a great success. Here's proof too that you can juggle more than one role or business interest withour diluting individual success.
That customer focus is – of course – so essential whether you are a huge brand or a single neighbourhood shop. And I got more of a quality experience in my four days of visits than I have with other neighbourhood coffee shops that I have visited forty times.
So whether you are a one-person business or a big business, learn a few lessons from Coffee Angel.
After having enjoyed their espressos and free wifi. I checked out their website. It’s always good to experience a product or brand first; and compare against their website or brand promise second. So much of the time we experience brand promises that are never delivered. Other times we may spot things in a brand's positioning or mission statement that we didn't experience or notice. Coffee Angel delivered. Their philosophy is ‘that it is always about the customer. So we’ll make your drink, your way; we’ll listen. We’ll chat’. They also source their products locally and pride themselves on their independence. They've not yet been open 12 months but deserve to be a great success. Here's proof too that you can juggle more than one role or business interest withour diluting individual success.
That customer focus is – of course – so essential whether you are a huge brand or a single neighbourhood shop. And I got more of a quality experience in my four days of visits than I have with other neighbourhood coffee shops that I have visited forty times.
So whether you are a one-person business or a big business, learn a few lessons from Coffee Angel.
Wednesday, 25 February 2009
Saturday, 21 February 2009
I hate queues but...
I hate to wait in line, but I'll always be happy to wait for the best coffee in London.
Monmouth Coffee Shop, Borough Market, Saturday 21st February
Tuesday, 18 November 2008
Sunday, 2 November 2008
Loving Variety...
Of all I love about my Juggle life, I love the rich variety of projects, people and priorities that make up my days.
Whilst this juggling does cause me headaches along with inevitable stress, that variety can be really enriching. Take an afternoon of meetings one day last week as a snapshot. A quick lunch meeting in the funky surroundings of The Hospital Club for – what else - a ‘club’ sandwich to accompany a catch up with a business partner. Then a bus and a walk through Green Park to the next meeting; a coffee in the elegant surroundings of The Lanesborough Hotel with a contact of mine, who the week before had just been dining with – and interviewing - Buddy Holly's widow (he had some great stories to share); then – via some proof reading of a company newsletter in the back of the 74 Bus - off to a pub in Farringdon to have a beer with an ad agency account manager. 3 very different meetings in very different settings with very different agendas. Not untypical; it's what most days are like, switching from one project to another, like a chameleon. But it reminded me one of the things I like about living on Planet Juggle.
Whilst this juggling does cause me headaches along with inevitable stress, that variety can be really enriching. Take an afternoon of meetings one day last week as a snapshot. A quick lunch meeting in the funky surroundings of The Hospital Club for – what else - a ‘club’ sandwich to accompany a catch up with a business partner. Then a bus and a walk through Green Park to the next meeting; a coffee in the elegant surroundings of The Lanesborough Hotel with a contact of mine, who the week before had just been dining with – and interviewing - Buddy Holly's widow (he had some great stories to share); then – via some proof reading of a company newsletter in the back of the 74 Bus - off to a pub in Farringdon to have a beer with an ad agency account manager. 3 very different meetings in very different settings with very different agendas. Not untypical; it's what most days are like, switching from one project to another, like a chameleon. But it reminded me one of the things I like about living on Planet Juggle.
Friday, 22 August 2008
My 'Dam Week
I’m back from Amsterdam and 40,698 words later the latest draft of my 'Juggle!' manuscript is ready. One week of ‘polishing’ to go!
I really enjoyed the trip away, I spent many hours in the coffee shops (the ones where they serve espresso) and bars of the city.
My highlights: Café De Doffer on Runstraat for a club sandwich at cup of tea; Panini on Vijzelgracht for a late night bowl of penne and a tumbler of house wine; the lovely Cafe de Jaren for a cheese sandwich and a coffee or two. My true highlight was dinner at Sluizer on Utrechtsestraat, a really classic restaurant. Highly recommended.
I stayed at Hotel Orlando, not so much a hotel, more some rooms in a lovely old house. The Sunday Telegraph described it as "This discreet little pad, spread over three floors of a stately, canal facing house dating from the 1680s, feels like a rather swanky private home. The owner, an affable ex-lawyer, has furnished the bedrooms with great flair: bare oak floors, silk curtains, Philippe Starck lighting and big, bold modern paintings set the tone". It felt like my very own writer’s garret.
I really enjoyed the trip away, I spent many hours in the coffee shops (the ones where they serve espresso) and bars of the city.
My highlights: Café De Doffer on Runstraat for a club sandwich at cup of tea; Panini on Vijzelgracht for a late night bowl of penne and a tumbler of house wine; the lovely Cafe de Jaren for a cheese sandwich and a coffee or two. My true highlight was dinner at Sluizer on Utrechtsestraat, a really classic restaurant. Highly recommended.
I stayed at Hotel Orlando, not so much a hotel, more some rooms in a lovely old house. The Sunday Telegraph described it as "This discreet little pad, spread over three floors of a stately, canal facing house dating from the 1680s, feels like a rather swanky private home. The owner, an affable ex-lawyer, has furnished the bedrooms with great flair: bare oak floors, silk curtains, Philippe Starck lighting and big, bold modern paintings set the tone". It felt like my very own writer’s garret.
Above, some photos of my 'office' for the week...
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