You belong at a Kaldi’s Coffee cafe. But what does belonging at our cafes mean?
What do we hope to make you feel when you first walk in, when you receive your latte or cappuccino, or when you get ready to leave? Here, we'll talk about our hospitality philosophy and how we want you to feel when enjoying your time at a Kaldi's Coffee cafe.
QUALITY COFFEE MEANS QUALITY SERVICE
Your Kaldi’s Coffee cafe experience is the last part of the specialty coffee chain, and the best way we can represent the hard work of our producer partners. The best beverages and foods will fall flat if served poorly, whether from inadequate technique or mediocre service. Our guests deserve to experience our specialty coffees, the literal fruits of our producer-partners’ labors thousands of miles away, paired with exceptional service and a welcoming environment.
The “guest points of contact” (GPC) system is a tool that Kaldi’s Coffee utilizes in day to day operations at each cafe. Every team member, whether front of house taking orders and making espresso, or back of house crafting sandwiches and salads, is familiar with this metric and its importance to our guests’ experiences.
From the moment a guest walks in, the GPC method guides team members to greet newcomers and make them feel welcome and noticed. Order input, hand off, fulfillment, and follow-up are all done with the goal of ensuring no one feels stranded or confused, and that your order meets your expectations. Our relationship with our guests is more than just transactional; we want your entire experience in our cafes to be inviting and comfortable.
Our relationship with our guests is more than just transactional; we want your entire experience in our cafes to be inviting and comfortable.
COMFORT & COMMUNICATION
Our cafes are your home away from home, and we want you to feel that every moment you’re with us. The Kaldi’s Coffee cafe experience begins with design and buildout. Each of our coffee shops have a unique ambience. In some cafes, comfy booths offer a sense of intimacy for a group of friends, while in others, a sleek countertop gives you the chance to better interact with your barista. Small tables, armchairs, and patios at some of our coffee shops are perfectly suited to breaking out the books or catching some sun.
Ultimately, your experience as our guest is paramount. While we aim for a perfect experience every time, we also believe mistakes and mishaps are just opportunities to better serve you and let you know that no matter what, we care about your experience first and foremost. Continual improvement has always been a core value of ours, and that means listening to our guests. We want you to always feel seen and heard, and happy to return for a personal favorite, or to try something new.
Our retail operations director, Keith, explains that there’s no such thing as a wrong question or request from a guest, and our team is here to help you get the most out of your experience. Because your perfect mocha or your heavenly avocado toast begins not just with the right ingredients, but with our commitment to the positive experiences of our guests. And that is rooted in communication, and a desire to find the perfect item or customization that works for you.
TRAINING FOR GREATNESS
Designing a cafe for maximum vibes is one thing; keeping it running smoothly is quite another! Coordinating all the moving parts of a cafe while emphasizing guest service is at the heart of our hospitality philosophy: making guests feel at home, and delivering a cafe experience they’ll want to return to time and again.
The heart of our hospitality philosophy: making guests feel at home, and delivering a cafe experience they’ll want to return to time and again.
Team member training is essential to the Kaldi’s Coffee cafe experience. We teach our team members to pay close attention to guests’ needs. Training isn’t about memorizing facts and figures, but empowering and encouraging the individual to better serve the guests, particularly in challenging situations.
“It starts at the top,” says Tricia, co-owner of Kaldi’s Coffee. “People respect what we inspect.” Kaldi’s Coffee leadership will routinely tour each coffee shop and evaluate them on various aspects of the ideal experience: cleanliness, product quality, guest interaction and satisfaction. These inspections aren’t aimed to criticize, but to teach and share ideas. That’s why they’re often paired with early weekend shifts where leadership will help out in the cafes, working alongside team members.
Additionally, Kaldi’s Coffee cafes will break down the many hospitality goals, including the guest points of contact, into bite-size nuggets that can be better emphasized over the course of a day or a week. These are written as a “Daily Lineup”, our co-owner Tricia explains: “How do we communicate and execute these three focus areas for the week?”
BECAUSE YOU’RE WORTH IT
We don’t just source and roast delicious, word-class specialty coffees. We serve these specialty coffees to you, our honored guests. From the moment we gratefully welcome you to a cafe for the first or fifteenth time, to when we hand you your freshly-made drink with a sincere wish that you enjoy it, we are creating your Kaldi’s Coffee experience. Our coffee wouldn’t be as delicious, as warming and energizing, without that level of care and attention in each of our coffee shops.
From the moment we gratefully welcome you to a cafe for the first or fifteenth time, to when we hand you your freshly-made drink with a sincere wish that you enjoy it, we are creating your Kaldi’s Coffee experience.
In the end, creating new, sustainable ways to serve you is at the heart of what we do, in these unpredictable times and beyond. We are dedicated to serving you great coffee, food, and drinks — it’s why we exist, and what motivates us to always be better, just like the beverage that we are so fortunate to serve.
The next time we are fortunate enough to serve you, know that we have been planning for your visit for 26 years. And even when you leave, remember that we are planning for your next visit to be even better.
Some comments from our guests:
"The Kaldi's I go to is in the hospital where I work, their sunny disposition is always refreshing and helps me start my day on the right foot!"
- Olivia, St. Louis, MO
"[Favorite Memory] Walking into Chesterfield Kaldis with my teenage son one morning and everyone working there knew his name."
- David, Chesterfield, MO
"When I ordered the fall drink and asked it to be frozen the cashier new exactly what I wanted! He was so amazing and sweet and helped me get exactly what I wanted and that is my go to drink. Makes me want to go back everyday (I definitely do...)."
- Allie, St. Peters, MO
"The baristas at my cafe are so incredible! I work at Washington University Medical School. There are several baristas that know my name and order! They are also smiling and singing and I always look forward to chatting with them when I pick up my coffee. Thank you!!"
- Brooke, St. Louis, MO
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