I think at the end of the day Jo Public is becoming more discerning. Even in little 'off the map' country towns, locals will tell you; "Go to so-and-so's for coffee, they make a good cup there." Most of my customers, I would think, come back because they know that the coffee is good, and more importantly, it's consistently good. They don't necessarily need to know what coffee I'm using, what my grind settings are like, or my extraction times. To me, at least, it comes down to cafe owners working closely with the roasters, to ensure that standards are maintained, to fine-tune product where possible, and to oversee the quality control in their establishment. As I've said before, I throw away more of my coffees than any other member of my staff, not because their coffee is necessarily better, but because I am particularly stringent about quality control. And I would like to think that, if the occasional one slips through underneath the radar, I know most of my customers well enough that they would tell me so. Word of mouth is easily the best publicity for any business, and setting your standards a notch or two above the other guy, and then maintaining them, ensures repeat trade and longevity, in an admittedly fickle industry. ACG
