Dairy Queen, Orange Julius and Cinnabon DESTROYING my business.

[RenaMariesCoffees]

Is this the Mall where you're located? #1146 on the Mall map?? I pictured a small Mall, but this one is quite large.

Hanes Mall -- Directory

I also saw that you've started a Facebook page too.

Yes it is.

We actually have a domain name, we just ha not built the site yet.
I have been to busy =/

 

[RenaMariesCoffees]

Most of the places where I've worked in the past offered a 25% discount to local shop owners and employees. The "neighbors" were happy, and it kept the business coming in.

Do people actually ask you how old you are?

I can see how they'd get a little jealous, especially considering your age and the fact that you inherited a business. Most people working in malls are stuck in retail jobs that they probably hate. If the business wasn't run very well before you took over, that reputation is going to stick no matter what you do.

For example: I used to get pizza at a place that made a very good pizza. They sold the business, and the people who took over changed the recipe, and I tried the pizza and it was absolutely terrible. I never bought pizza from that place again. Last year, a new owner took over, and I've heard that the pizza is good again, but I keep on remembering how terrible the bad pizza was, and I can't bring myself to give the new guy a try. Everytime I drive past the place, I immedicately recall the crappy pizza experience.

Maybe people aren't giving you a chance because of a bad reaction to the previous management/employee/quality issues.

Did you change the name of the place, or did you keep the old name?

You have 7 months until your lease is up. Are you considering looking for a different location? If you can hang in there (or break the lease without a huge penalty) it may be your chance to get a fresh start.


Rose

People ask how old I am all the time, half the time I just pretend I am just a worker. But often people just come out and ask if I am the owner, I guess because of how attentive I am towards everything, I don't know. Following "yes", there goes the "oh really? Wow, how old are you?", "hmm". And various other responses.

I know a lot of people are not giving s a chance due to old management. Due to my mothers short hold in the business we are still affected by the old name.
People come into the mall not know we are no longer Gloria Jeans, a lot of people get mad, even though they had complaints about Gloria Jeans.
Gloria Jeans had been in that mall for 15 years, switched owner 7 times. I can help but think that it is also an employee issue, one guy has been traded over through all 15 years. I got stuck with him as well because my mother did not fire him. - I am kinda to nice too, but he has to go... I mean I only have him there once a week.
He just does not fit our motif, he is a 30 year old black male who attracts customers that are often unruly. We also have had issues with him giving all the black girls free drinks. He also gets paid too much, 11.50 an hour... to make drinks wrong... I mean they taste fine but I am a stickler for execution. I mean I get pissed when someone makes latte machiatos (how ever you spell it) wrong, and I hate the stupid things.. thanks to sb.
15 years, old habits die hard. I guess? Im to nice to be business owner... =/

Anyways back to complaints and bad reputation.
GJs was upstairs in the food court for 14 years, supposedly the owner sold because she got sick. GJ dissipated out of the mall for about 6 months, and reopened in the location I am now, under new ownership. Now the mall manager at the time went LOOKING for these owners to open up because they wanted another coffee shop in the mall.
First issue, the store was half assed: empty shelves (TOO MANY SHELVES ANYWAYS; we could have tables), under painted, holes in walls and a awful set up, you have to walk to the back of the shop to fix your coffee or tea. And it is to hard for me to fix these things without dropping AT LEAST 1k.
Second, along with a hasty move, the quality dropped and GJ lost there own customers. They started charging more for baked goods ect.
Third, quality diminished, they actually got in trouble for cutting their coffee with Costco coffee and though people would not notice. Some didnt granted... but some did.
Fourth, the employees ran the store, bad customer service. The store WAS NOT owner operated. The owners manned the two prosperous stores they had in cities over 3 hours away and only came down for pay. The store was run and manged by 2 black males, whom I would never had hired. There were even stories of the one male (who is not the one I still have) who had a pregnant girl friend but was going and doing nasty crap in the office with another girl who used to work there.
Customers had made comment to me about "this young black guy who used to make the worst drinks and did not care".
Either way I had met him, very sketch and not friendly. So I know this had an effect.

Anywho. When my mom took over it was in the processes of name change, "formerly ect" so it was really throwing people for a loop. When I got there I immediately spent the money for a new sign. To end the retardation- or at least tried to. We still get people who do not read, IS THIS STILL GLORIA JEANS? Does it look like it?!? Sorry I get frustrated with it all sometimes.

My contract with the mall they have, to put it gently, have my balls in a vice. And I am female... so you guys get the point.

 

[PinkRose]

Hello again RenaMariesCoffees,

So, you're the owner, and you're the boss, right?

When are you going to clean house and dump your "bad" employee and hire a new one?

"A new broom sweeps clean." You're the new owner.....It sounds like it's time for you to do some more sweeping.

"Out with the old, and in with the new"

With a lot of effort, you can turn every negative into a positive. It's going to take a lot of work, but since you say you enjoy what you do, and since you're so young and full of energy (which is an advantage, believe me) you have a fighting chance to make things right and slowly make a decent profit.

Please think about what you do (and say) before you do (and say) it. Give a lot of thought to the + and the - of every decision you make. It won't be easy, especially considering how frustrated you are with the whole mess.

And, as always, feel free to visit the Coffee Forum where you can find some useful, and sometimes entertaining, information and support.

Rose

 

[John P]

And specific advice was given. To quote my first post,

Is it salvageable? Yes. With a VERY strong injection of cash, strategic marketing, positioning, and patience over a 6 month to 1 year period minimum. And all facets must be understood clearly and executed perfectly. But it can be done.

A quick breakdown of an example of the minimum you would need to do.

Limit your choices. Have less sizes, be more focused.
Raise the quality of what you are doing.
Be at least .25 to .50 more per drink on avg than the competitors.
No bulk auto brewed coffee. Use a full immersion brew method and brew "Press" in quantity. Highlight coffees, farms, and educate. Showcase roast dates, freshness, etc. Have beans for sale. NEVER sell ground coffee.

S-L-O-W customers down, it's not about the speed, it's about the wait.
Be the best within a ten mile radius. Know this as a certainty, not as an opinion.

It's a lot to take in, but the best course of action is to go against the grain. Not in a defiant sort of way, but with a calculated series of incremental steps that build both brand awareness and brand identity simultaneously while also doing what all the others do not do, which is "educate".

Remember: You can't compete doing what they do. You CAN compete and win by doing what they don't and can't do. Need to change to a better roaster? Need to raise prices? Need to change the menu? Need to fire a worthless employee? You can do all of that right now.

Rose said it well. It's about the decisions you make. In the real world, the best decisions are usually the toughest ones. Ones you have to be prepared to back up. Ones that may make others dislike, fear, or envy you. Yep, those are the best decisions.

Plan slow. Act fast.

 

[RenaMariesCoffees]

And specific advice was given. To quote my first post,



It's a lot to take in, but the best course of action is to go against the grain. Not in a defiant sort of way, but with a calculated series of incremental steps that build both brand awareness and brand identity simultaneously while also doing what all the others do, which is "educate".

Remember: You can't compete doing what they do. You CAN compete and win by doing what they don't and can't do. Need to change to a better roaster? Need to raise prices? Need to change the menu? Need to fire a worthless employee? You can do all of that right now.

Rose said it well. It's about the decisions you make. In the real world, the best decisions are usually the toughest ones. Ones you have to be prepared to back up. Ones that may make others dislike, fear, or envy you. Yep, those are the best decisions.

Plan slow. Act fast.

Well thank a god for chalk board menus.

I have a fine roaster, people love what we have, our house blend is golden, I have had only one person turn it away since they were apparently a sb lover. It's the finest dark roast I have ever had personally, even the aroma is luring.

I am just afraid to raise prices. The south, nc in particular, the common folk, which populate the mall are VERY VERY CHEAP. They will complain about a 4.15 16.oz organic smoothie but will happily pay 4.50 for a 12oz OJ smoothie? Or complain that we do not do free refills.

This branding thing is killing me.
I think I am to young for this =/

 

[PinkRose]

What do you put in an organic smoothie?

Since I haven't ventured down the organic road ..... I imagine an organic smoothie tasting terrible. Even if someone offered me a free sample, I'd politely say, "No thank you."

I hate to say it, but if I were a smoothie drinker (which I'm not) I'd probably go for the Orange Julius smoothie too.

Rose

 

[eldub]

LOL I ate an organic smoothie almost every day last year while working in northern CA. My favorite was fresh organic blueberries, peaches, pineapple and coconut.

 

[PinkRose]

Maybe the turn-off for some people is the word "organic." I'd be more tempted to buy a smoothie if I read a sign that said, Fresh Fruit Smoothies instead of organic.

Maybe I just don't like the word "organic."

Low Fat, fresh fruit, etc. are more attractive to me .... even if the smoothie actually is "organic" sometimes when people say something is organic, it really isn't.

Often times, when you see the word Organic, it automatically means the item is more expensive than others.....it seems to be an excuse to charge more.

Rose

 

[RenaMariesCoffees]

Maybe the turn-off for some people is the word "organic." I'd be more tempted to buy a smoothie if I read a sign that said, Fresh Fruit Smoothies instead of organic.

Maybe I just don't like the word "organic."

Low Fat, fresh fruit, etc. are more attractive to me .... even if the smoothie actually is "organic" sometimes when people say something is organic, it really isn't.

Often times, when you see the word Organic, it automatically means the item is more expensive than others.....it seems to be an excuse to charge more.

Rose

Sorry for the confusion. We actually advertise them as "All Natural Fruit Smoothies" rather than organic smoothies. Although we do (of course) advertise the coffee to be organic.

Do you think it would be a bad decision to make an ad with a catch phrase or something stating we are not expensive like you would assume?
Not quite sure how to put that without putting a sign outside that said "CHEAP COFFEE BUT HIGH QUALITY".
You know, something a little more subtle.

 

[RenaMariesCoffees]

All you need to say is CA, im in NC were mcdonalds and cicis are king... not enough people value being healthy.

I am orignly from NY, LI to be exact where almost everyone was anorexic. And I get to NC and everyone was "healthy".
Certain areas value health a little more than others, not saying being anorexic is healthy but people there would most definitely opt for a fresh fruit smoothie before a milkshake. Or just the milkshake and nohing else all day ....

Slowly health food stores are on the rise but theyre far and few between. In all of nc there are only about 5 Earthfares and maybe 10 whole foods and 10 fresh foods. Only in big cities of course. Theyr're generally busy.
Funny thing is there is a SB right next to earthfare and you can walk everyone shop at earthfare and then go to SB. Just makes me chuckle a little.

 

[Beccaray]

Thank you for your input and story! I own a flower shop in the small town of Weiser Idaho. I have been thinking of adding a coffee shop to increase sales. I came up with the coffee idea but have been afraid to invest in something I was not sure would work. We already have 2 small coffee shops so I thought it might be to much for a small town. But after reading your story about the friend who could purchase coffee through starbucks and have a starbucks sign I thought that could be the ticket. We are 50 miles from the nearest Starbucks. I do not have to be a starbucks to have a starbucks name and their coffee. Sounds like a do able thing. Could you tell me how your friend was able to purchase the coffee? Did he just call and talk to someone?

 

[Mr Shave]

Sorry for the confusion. We actually advertise them as "All Natural Fruit Smoothies" rather than organic smoothies. Although we do (of course) advertise the coffee to be organic.

Do you think it would be a bad decision to make an ad with a catch phrase or something stating we are not expensive like you would assume?
Not quite sure how to put that without putting a sign outside that said "CHEAP COFFEE BUT HIGH QUALITY".
You know, something a little more subtle.

I think you have been given some great advice, advice I wouldn't personally take, and a lot of generalizations.
Here are just some of my observations, sometimes it helps to have another set of eyes take a look.
- your menu is difficult to read. The GJ corporate looking menu was probably easier and more professional looking. If you are going to use a chalkboard, blue tape so things are straight, or have an artist friend make it POP.
-the shelves and coffee bins look empty. It looks like the store is closing. Figure out something nonperishable to put there. One shop I know bags out old beans into coffee bags and puts the price on it. Then there is a sign saying it is display and fresh beans will be hand bagged.
- Will the mall allow some paint? The shop doesn't look cool / sexy / or relaxing. It looks like a typical strip mall coffee shop.
- With the volume you are doing, how fast are you going through that coffee? You claim fresh but do you communicate your roast date?
- I'm a fan of costco muffins and I sell a bunch of them. It is a nice price point / grab and go item. With that being said the first ingredient is sugar and is NOT an artisan product. If you are pushing this organic / natural front then have sun chips and costco muffins you are communicating an inconsistent brand message. You are also losing credibility. I suggest figure out what you want to be, and do it. You don't have to have a lot of money.
- Utilizing fb for mall goers is a great tool. Keep in mind not everyone is in retail and understands B1G1, focus on using language that your target audience speaks. Another strategy for home town shops, is take pictures of customers (with their permission). Helps build community, draws traffic to fb, and shows people are visiting.

I just did a build out of a new space for about $2,000. It is a dramatic change from the space before and it was the 'look' I wanted to go after. We will be opening without any food, because we don't want to buy a display case or refrigeration. It is going to be a coffee bar with just cool drinks.

1. Do you want to keep or sell in the long run?
2. What will compliment the mall?
3. Where is your skill set at (bar management and barista)?
4. What do you want to stand for?

Best of luck!

 

[RenaMariesCoffees]

I think you have been given some great advice, advice I wouldn't personally take, and a lot of generalizations.
Here are just some of my observations, sometimes it helps to have another set of eyes take a look.
- your menu is difficult to read. The GJ corporate looking menu was probably easier and more professional looking. If you are going to use a chalkboard, blue tape so things are straight, or have an artist friend make it POP.
-the shelves and coffee bins look empty. It looks like the store is closing. Figure out something nonperishable to put there. One shop I know bags out old beans into coffee bags and puts the price on it. Then there is a sign saying it is display and fresh beans will be hand bagged.
- Will the mall allow some paint? The shop doesn't look cool / sexy / or relaxing. It looks like a typical strip mall coffee shop.
- With the volume you are doing, how fast are you going through that coffee? You claim fresh but do you communicate your roast date?
- I'm a fan of costco muffins and I sell a bunch of them. It is a nice price point / grab and go item. With that being said the first ingredient is sugar and is NOT an artisan product. If you are pushing this organic / natural front then have sun chips and costco muffins you are communicating an inconsistent brand message. You are also losing credibility. I suggest figure out what you want to be, and do it. You don't have to have a lot of money.
- Utilizing fb for mall goers is a great tool. Keep in mind not everyone is in retail and understands B1G1, focus on using language that your target audience speaks. Another strategy for home town shops, is take pictures of customers (with their permission). Helps build community, draws traffic to fb, and shows people are visiting.

I just did a build out of a new space for about $2,000. It is a dramatic change from the space before and it was the 'look' I wanted to go after. We will be opening without any food, because we don't want to buy a display case or refrigeration. It is going to be a coffee bar with just cool drinks.

1. Do you want to keep or sell in the long run?
2. What will compliment the mall?
3. Where is your skill set at (bar management and barista)?
4. What do you want to stand for?

Best of luck!

AHH you have been on facebook I see!
Those pictures are extremely dated, there has been MUCH progress since then. Have yet to have time to get new ones up.
Shelves and bins are full,
new, cleaner looking chalk boards. --No more sunchips (this was a gjs thing) and different muffins and currently working with local bakers trying to find a good/reasonable baker for local items.

The issue for what we stand for is not everyone else cares.
We are organic, fair trade, rfa, green and anti-commercial/corporate, essentially, and we are stuck in a mall where corporate namebrands are king. The unhealthier for you and your environment the better. There is a Earthbound in he mall, but it's not what it is all cracked up to be.

I am unsure, if business picks up and we become recognized I will keep the shop otherwise I will dump it and move elsewhere, where out product is appreciated and welcomed. Like a very Isrealie part of Myrtle Beach or near a arts college.


Anyways, we did samples this weekend, it actually did increase business, not as much as I hoped but enough to feel ok again.

 

[ffarl]

Humble advice from a former restaurant owner:
1: Make sure your coffee is the best, the hottest and the freshest. A terrible thing happens to a business owner when they get discouraged: you start making compromises. As a customer, the difference between hot coffee, and "Hot Enough" coffee is everything to me.
2: When your sure you've got the best, give it to the people in a position to help you. Take coffee and snacks to anyone working face to face with customers in that mall. Counter personell, security guards, the jewelry sales ladies. It puts your cup in their hand, it puts your coffee on their mind, and it keeps the coffee in your pots FRESH. Do it every day for as long as you have time. When you no longer have time to walk it over to the other stores, you know it's done it's job.

The rest is the common sense stuff. And that's my opinion, for what it's worth.