Brewing Enthusiasm

When you order at The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf, a 250-unit specialty coffee retailer, employees are adding a new ingredient—The FISH! Philosophy.

 

“It fits our culture,” says Mike Serchia, director of human resources. “The whole philosophy has allowed our people to be more creative and have fun, and that seems to mix well with our customers.”

 

“Each store’s take on it is different,” Serchia says. “It’s not dictated from the home office. It’s presented as ‘Here’s something you can try, if you want.' ”

 

At one store, employees dress by themes, such as pajama day, or season, such as ski hats in the winter and Hawaiian shirts in the summer, then offer discounts to customers who dress the same. Many do weekly trivia questions with a discount for customers who answer correctly.

 

“We tried to come up with something that would strike up a conversation with the guest and engage fun in the stores,” says Blair Gill, director of the San Fernando Valley region.

 

In some of Gill’s stores, customers play Coffee Craps. A pair of dice is kept by the cash register. Customers who roll a seven or 11 get a free drink.

 

Employees enjoy coming up with creative ways to have fun, and the customers appreciate being included. “There are days when things aren’t running as smoothly as hoped,” Gill says. “Say somebody called in sick. Customers are a little more forgiving when they become part of your routine of the week. They might have won a free drink the previous Friday, and so they are more forgiving when things like that happen.”

 

Since The Coffee Bean introduced FISH!, Serchia says sales are on the rise. At one store, the average amount spent per customer by 12 percent in six months. Employee and customer retention are up, too. The average tenure of general managers, which was 22 months, has increased to 31 months in just two years. Hourly turnover has fallen from 200 percent to 69 percent over a three year period.