Coffee, Technology & Service Innovation

So this week I am working in the Melbourne CBD near a little coffee shop called Cup of Truth.

It’s a tiny little joint in the alcove of an underground pedestrian walkway connecting to Flinders Street Station.

In this town, the harder it is to find the better it is. This is no exception. But this post isn’t about coffee – though the coffee is excellent. It’s about a tiny service detail at the heart.

You see, instead of taking your money they place a large coffee mug at the front. You pay by putting cash in the cup and taking the change you need.

This serves a great purpose for the customer: it makes them feel trusted and like the paying is more personal and casual. (I did wonder if this is why they’re called “cup of truth”).

But it also serves a great purpose for the business: it means they don’t have to do this task, reducing the labour. The baristas can focus on taking orders and pumping out coffees fast, without the need to employ a third person to take the money.

I love tiny things like this. It shows that service innovation is fundamentally about making things better for the customer whilst simultaneously improving the outcome for the business.

You’ll notice the previous sentence didn’t use the word ‘technology’.