Working magic with coffee, quietly

The Costa Coffee outlet in one of Delhi's high streets has found an answer to the monotony of coffee chains.

In an India not too fond of its coffee, cafes have managed to bring in a cultural shift. These have created, for the Indian urbanite spaces where one can sit back, meet up, relax or just work away amidst the warm, fuzzy smell of coffee beans.

But with an ambience similar to other players', save for the decor colour, is the menu enough to win over the loyalty of customers who drop by the first time? The Costa Coffee outlet in one of Delhi's high streets "" the M-Block market in Greater Kailash "" has found an answer. The people manning the store are the ones working magic here.

From the person taking your order and billing you, and the barista whipping up a hot cappuccino, to the one bringing your coffee to the table, the first thing you notice about them is their effortless winsome smile.

A few minutes in the store and you realise why. A smile is more than a weapon to disarm the customer for them. It is their only tool to instantly connect to others, for they cannot speak nor hear.

Virag Joshi, president and CEO, Devyani International Ltd, the Indian master franchisee for the British chain of Costa Coffee, and his team including the store manager, Deepak Dhiman, will tell you instructions to smile, or be warmer and more patient than others, weren't included in the training drills of these youngsters. For, there were more fundamental aspects to cover in the two and a half months of putting the team together.

They had to be taught skills from coffee making to etiquettes while dealing with the customer by chucking theoretical manuals for role-playing and illustrative guides and menus. The team steering them "" the store managers, HR personnel and even the CEO (who is a regular at the cafe himself) "" went through two months of training in sign languages too.

However, the way this young team of eight has endeared itself is evident when you see coffee drinkers trying to learn the sign language to interact with them.

When at the store, notepads help them clear any confusion as do the menus, with spaced-out items and choices, which help you point out your preference to them. But what is remarkable is that some of the youngsters can even lip-read you.

Joshi recalls that the initiative to hire individuals who were challenged in ways we are not was a spontaneous result of a brainstorming session on making their routine recruitment process more rewarding.

"We also wanted to look for a team with a greater dose of enthusiasm and motivation," he says.

What started off as an idea turned into a conviction when Costa's team watched the poise and enthusiasm the trainees, picked up from associations such as the AIFD, Delhi and Silence in Calcutta, displayed. Their alertness led to their response time being quicker than an average individual.

However, training is still different from going live which did result in hiccups in the initial days in September, 2007. "We didn't promote the store in any way, no signage, and no declarations, which meant a few irate customers who mistook their inability as an affront". That is when the store manager, such as Dhiman, stepped in to explain.

"Our business demands a greater level of communication and responsiveness," notes Joshi. So, while the extensive training and a manager ironed out the communication gaps, word of mouth and the team's natural warmth and perseverance has ensured that customers don't complain about a lack of spontaneity, a plastic smile or an unpleasant wait anymore.

With Dhiman interpreting for them, they will share with you their life as a barista. While Ravi Ranjan Mishra from Jharkhand does not want to go anywhere else, Zakhir from Manipur sees himself as a manager someday.

But all of them were unanimous about one thing: interacting with the customers and handling the different tasks at the store liberated them from the feeling of being any different from others.

Dhiman adds, "They are more courteous than even I am. They tend to the smallest requests with equal care, be it making sure the customer gets an extra cookie to holding the door open for him." Both Joshi and Dhiman underline the fact that working as a barista has also meant that they are no more relegated to back-end jobs.

Of the 150 people who walk into the store daily, it is perhaps 'talking' to this team that draws them the most. Notes Joshi, who is a regular himself, "The service is personalised to the extent where I have seen customers, either through rudimentary sign language or by jotting down on their notepads, ask them whether they have seen a particular movie or what they do in their free time to even how their day was." The bond clearly goes beyond just novelty.

This has enthused the franchisee into opening up a KFC outlet in Kolkata recently where 40 people with impaired hearing and speech work. Six to seven more stores are lined up.

As for Joshi, he seems to have gotten his reward. "It is heartening to see the respect that they get. The feeling to watch the satisfaction in both the customer and the team is beyond description." What might have started as trying harder to bridge a gap has made customers warm up to not just coffee but also those serving it.