This caffeine fuelled quest reviews the multitude of ways in which coffee shops are delivering great customer experience, and how these insights might inform new retail customer experiences. This forms part of our program of CX insights leading up to the Retail Design Expo 2016, to find out more visit www.greenroomdesign.com/blog/cx-important-retail/

1. © Green Room 2016 | Coffee Shop Customer Experience.
Investigating Coffee Shop
Customer Experiences_
January 2016

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Introduction
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Introduction.
This caffeine fuelled quest reviews the multitude of ways in which coffee
shops are delivering great customer experience, and how these insights
might inform new retail customer experiences.
The report is broken down into five customer experience trends:
1. The Coffee Specialists
2. Coffee Collaborations
3. Provenance
4. Thematic Coffee Shops
5. Somewhere to Work

3. © Green Room 2016 | Coffee Shop Customer Experience.
The Coffee Specialists.
Presenting coffee as an art form is not a new approach to wooing
customers, but it does seem to stand the test of time. Consumers
are encouraged to buy into the artisan nature of coffee creation and
curation and barristers provide a much sought after voice of authority,
coffee’s equivalent to a sommelier.

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The popularity of this coffee
shop often results in a queue
out of the door and along the
pavement. Why are customers
willing to wait?
Perhaps because of two main
reasons, both to do with CX.
Firstly because of the diversity
and quality of their coffee beans.
You can even ask for tasting
notes to accompany your
beverage.
And secondly due to the
excellent service from highly
knowledgeable staff who add
a great deal of finesse to the
experience.
1.0 The Coffee Specialists
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Monmouth.The Borough, Covent Garden & Bermondsey.

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1.0 The Coffee Specialists
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Association Coffee.Creechurch Lane, Aldgate.
Association prides itself on fastidious attention to detail in all things coffee.
They believe that the finer details translate to a better coffee experience
and speak as experts when advising on bean selection and home
brewing equipment.
The interior scheme speaks well of these values and has a feel more akin
to a premium restaurant than a traditional cafe.

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1.0 The Coffee Specialists
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Grind.Shoreditch, Soho, Holborn, London Bridge.
Espresso bar by day, cocktail
bar by night, edgy and irreverent
at all times.
But they know their coffee
and their specialism is in also
knowing and servicing their local
customers and providing for their
local community.

7. © Green Room 2016 | Coffee Shop Customer Experience.
Coffee Collaborations.
Coffee culture has for a long time been an intrinsic part
of many Londoner’s lives. Here are some of the more
interesting examples of coffee migrating into other sectors
and enhancing other consumer experiences.

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2.0 Coffee Collaborations
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Kit and Ace.Redchurch St. Shoreditch
This super clean, fashion retailer has decided to dedicate a large and
prominent area within their boutique to an in-house coffee bar. This
combination of café and retail is an intrinsic part of their desired customer
experience, creating a sociable place to relax within their branded space.

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This well respected brand has extended to
include a café as part of its offering, giving
customers the opportunity to experience
the culture of the brand through a physical
manifestation.
The brand values are reflected in the high
level of service, and the brand is supported
through the radio they play and the products
they offer within the space.
2.0 Coffee Collaborations
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Monocle Café.Chiltern Street, Marylebone

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A fantastic example
of how coffee
can be used as a
tool for bringing a
community together.
The cycle club acts
as a strong meeting
destination for
people with a shared
passion.
Also a great
example of how a
brand can manifest
at every touch-
point throughout an
environment.
2.0 Coffee Collaborations
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Rapha Cycle Club.Brewer St. Soho

11. © Green Room 2016 | Coffee Shop Customer Experience.
Provenance.
The desired consumer experience displayed within this section is one of
participation and involvement.
Coffee drinkers are encouraged to understand the origin of their beans, the details
of the process to transform the elements into the perfect drink, and the science of
the methodology.
This approach requires honesty and transparency from the coffee creators, traits
valued by many curious customers.

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Origin Coffee Roasters.Charlotte Road - Shoreditch.
3.0 Provenance
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This cafe is a new addition to the East London coffee scene.
With their roasting facilities based in Cornwall, they boast to
have the world’s first environmentally friendly roaster. They also
emphasize the importance of their choice in ethical farms.
This principled and environmentally conscious stance
is reflected in the interior design, and the honest, open
experience of the café.

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3.0 Provenance
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Allpress Roastery Café.Dalston Lane - Dalston.
The recently opened roastery and café in Dalston gives Allpress the space to showcase the full range of their
offering. The brand prides itself on the quality of their product and the cutting edge technology they use to achieve
a cleaner roast and smoother flavours.
In the former furniture factory this informed customer experience is underlined with the full roasting operation on
display to customers in the cafe through a glass curtain wall. There is also an entire floor given over to training and
tasting spaces.

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Workshop Coffee.Clerkenwell Road - Clerkenwell.
Workshop have chosen to focus their time on sourcing and roasting only the best coffee.
Their belief in conscientious and considered sourcing and preparation underpins everything
Workshop do, combined with a desire to always share these goods with their guests in a
humble and relaxed way.
The customer is presented with a warm, inviting, and grounded experience.
3.0 Provenance
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15. © Green Room 2016 | Coffee Shop Customer Experience.
Thematic Coffee Shops.
We’re seeing more and more interesting mash-ups in the retail world.
And we seem to have found the same happening in the coffee shop
market place.
Coffee drinkers are seeking out unique experiences that stand out as
different and inventive.

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Lady Dinah’s Cat Emporium.Bethnal Green Rd - Shoreditch.
Lady Dina’s Cat Emporium provides a calm, quiet and unhurried space in a busy city, where people
can be people and cats can be cats.
These cafés have become hugely popular in Taiwan and this was the first on UK soil.
4.0 Thematic Coffee Shops
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Draughts Board Game Café.Acton Mews - Hackney.
After a lot of effort and a successful Kick-starter campaign, they opened their
doors in a railway arch in the heart of Hackney. Draughts is London’s first
board game café, a haven for game lovers.
Much more than just coffee, the experience desired is inclusion, belonging
and understanding, you are among like-minded people with similar interests.
4.0 Thematic Coffee Shops
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18. © Green Room 2016 | Coffee Shop Customer Experience.
Somewhere to work.
Recognition of an increasingly mobile workforce, many of whom are freelancers
with no fixed abode, has led to the creation of spaces, fuelled by caffeine, providing
a sociable working environment.
People are encouraged to stay for long durations, there is no fear of free-loading or
outstaying your welcome, well, as long as you buy a coffee every now and again!

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Located in London’s most creative district. A hub
of galleries, theatre and design, the Ace Hotel
embraces the freelance workforce.
Working here is actively encouraged via the furniture
selection, free wi-fi and power sockets. They’ve
done a great job at providing all the necessary tools
within a pleasant, friendly environment to facilitate an
experience that makes people feel less inclined to
leave.
Ace Hotel.Shoreditch High St.
5.0 Somewhere to work
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A flexible brand owned space with multiple functions and a day to night flex. The
studio is made up of social and collaborative spaces that connect artists and
audiences through experiences in music, art and technology. They also have a
workshop facility which is free to use, they encourage meeting and group hangouts.
Sonos Studio.Club Row, Shoreditch.
5.0 Somewhere to work
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21. © Green Room 2016 | Coffee Shop Customer Experience.
We hope you’ve enjoyed this exploration into customer
experiences provided by coffee shops across London.
This is part of a series on the importance of great customer
experience in retail. To find out more please click this link.
www.greenroomdesign.com/blog/cx-important-retail/
If you would like more information, here’s how to contact us:
T +44 (0) 121 200 2828
info@greenroomdesign.com
greenroomdesign.com
6.0 Summary
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