I’ve discovered a new little cafe that I now call my ‘office’… Twice a week, I come here, sit in a cozy chair in the corner, and focus on my business. As much as I enjoy coming here… there is something that always bothers me about it.

There is absolutely no efficiency for how this place is run.

You walk in the door… and maybe there is someone at the register. Once they are free to help you – they take your order. I usually order a bagel with cream cheese (their french toast bagels are to DIE FOR!)… While I am pulling out my wallet to pay, the cashier steps away to get my bagel ready. They cut it and toast it… and a few minutes later set it in front of me. All the while, a line is building up behind me.

My latte order goes to the ‘drink bar’; however, there usually isn’t someone there to take it. So, after I have paid, the cashier will go to the drink bar and make my drink… again, while a huge line is building behind me. Another employee might come up to a register to help the next customer – but, they do the same thing… get the bagel, prepare the drink… all before helping the next customer. If you order a sandwich or salad – it is dealt with differently. They give you a pager and send you to find a table.

I’ve worked in the restaurant business and there is a huge part of me that wants to talk with the manager here and suggest another way of running the front counter.

Not only should the cashier NOT be dealing with the food for sanitary reasons (they are handling money too!)… but, it would be so much more time efficient if there was one person taking the bagel/bread orders (and drink orders for that matter), and preparing them while the cashier deals with the customer. The process would be so much smoother… and take a lot less time and make their customers happier (instead of complaining about the long line).

Okay – so what does this have to do with your business?

I’m sitting here watching all of this… and I realized that this cafe is a successful franchise. All of their stores handle customers the same way – and apparently, they think it is working just fine. So… the question came to mind…

How important is efficiency?

If you are happy with the results of your business… but, you could run things more efficiently, would you? Does it really change the bottom line?

I have my own opinions about this – but, I’m curious what yours are first. What do you think?