Handling the Rush Without Panic

Doors are the gate to the world of a coffeeshop.

Throughout the whole day, many different people will walk into this world.

Sometimes a line can form before the opening, which means there is going to be a lot of rush during the first hours of the day.

It can be stressful if you are not prepared—especially if things are missing or not prepared: no filter coffee, no lemonade, no water refilled, no nothing.

Frustration can rise really quickly, and if you care about how others feel, you might go into panic.

I’ve been there. It is honestly scary if you try to survive.

If it looks like this just one day, because of some mistakes, it is not so difficult.

But if you show up every day in a chaotic environment, your mind becomes chaotic and there is a scary circle of it.

I think that might be the reason why people burn out eventually, and I have some solutions to that.

I will share with you simple things that made me keep going, even in the darkness of long Icelandic winters.

Mindset of a team

Mindset of a Team

Imagine you are on a fishing boat, going to the ocean almost each day.
No matter what you do, until you decide otherwise, you will be a fisherman.

There are different weather conditions that sometimes make it impossible to go fishing, and it is much harder work—dangerous even.
Coffeeshop work is much calmer and safer.
But keep that image in your head: you are a fisherman and you are on a boat.
There is no way out of the boat, and you will come back when you will come back.
If your captain is good, then you don’t have to worry about it that much; you can trust him to keep you safe.

Captains are captains because they have fished enough to see it all, and the responsibility is heavy.
Lives depend on that, and in comparison to coffeeshops, I believe something also depends here: mental states are extremely important.
If your day is going to start in a big rush, it is good to just take it as normal: today it is going to be windy; I need to be more careful, rather than treat it as a disaster.
Panic spreads like a scent; if someone is panicking in a team, others will pick it up.
Imagine someone on a ship starting to scream with fear in their voice, running around the deck and asking everyone, oh my god, what are we gonna do?

A captain should be able to avoid taking on a scary journey someone who is not ready, but if it happens, he should be able to spread calm over someone who would go through a lot of emotions.
If you have a good captain, then you don’t have to be afraid of anything.
It might be hard to row, but if you are asked to do something in a specific way, in a specific order, there is probably a reason behind it.
Even if you don’t understand it or have a different opinion, the mindset of a team suggests following the chain of command.
He is responsible for taking the crew home safely, and he was given the responsibility for a reason.

Don’t take it personally either.
If you are instructed to do something with a decisive voice or a command, there is a lot going on, and you will learn across events many things you had no idea existed.
Your job is not to serve all twenty people from the line at the same time.
Your job is to follow the instructions of the person in charge.

And not to make you think that it is like the military—after a few shifts, you will most likely get everything in order: what to do and when.
Then it will be clear.
In good teams, you don’t even have to say a word to each other.
You can just work like it is a natural flow of dance, and how well you dance depends on how much you want to dance.

Basics of Calming Down

I know it may sound funny, but sometimes to calm down it is enough to take in some air into your lungs, hold it there for a few seconds and release, hold empty lungs, and repeat if necessary.

Tension slowly goes away.

If you look at an extremely busy situation, it is just a lot to do, and you don’t have to make everything in the same minute.

People will see how busy it is and will understand.

Your manager should not only be able to calm down the team but also prevent any kind of tension.

He should know how to make everything the best way possible, so you just hold your center and follow your duties.

Breathe before you move.

If your workplace is chaos, it seems more scary than it is.

Remember to organize yourself.

Repeatable moves are faster to repeat, but first focus on doing things correctly—and that means slowly.

Keep stations clean—mess multiplies stress.

If you spill milk from the pitcher on the floor, someone walking past you almost slips.

More tension appears, and danger.

It has to be cleaned up in a proper way.

As well, your manager should know solutions, so don’t think about it now; just remember that a clean station is like a tuned instrument—it will sound better.

Prioritize: espresso first, milk second, talking last.

If it is slow and you are visited by someone who makes you smile, you can reverse that, change order.

But it is recommended to just follow this simple formula, and you will be able to make things that are your responsibility at the moment.

Small resets (wipe steam wand, clear counter) = big flow.

If you make yourself a habit to repeat it every time you finish, it will become so natural that you will not even notice that you are keeping your workplace clean automatically—like an instrument that does not go out of tune—and you can focus on practicing other things.

Communication with Team

Short words, not long sentences.

Use eye contact + hand signals.

Don’t blame, don’t shout—sync instead.

It is really hard to focus on multiple things, and interactions with guests should not be interrupted by unnecessary things during a big rush.

You are on slippery ground; you need to walk slowly, show where to go, and have each other’s back.

Guest Perception

Calm bar = calm guests.

I remember many situations when, because I was very fast, loud, and frustrated and wanted to go on a break, I was creating chaos myself.

There was no one to guide me, and no one to explain to me that I was the reason why it was so dramatic.

I was really good at it, but with time, I’ve learned from great people, and even though they didn’t guide me, they showed me.

Presence

Presence, orientation in the room, exchanging eye contact, controling the situation it is a secret indigireind of patience in people. They see that everything is under control, and there is no way to speed things up. Smile to people, people don’t smile if you let them down. That is why manager is a manager, he transfers the energy and is aware of surroundings. If you are in a good hands you don’t have to be afraid.

Recovery Moments

If you lose rhythm: pause, breathe, recalibrate.

Focus—be behind your eyes: What is the best thing I can do if I have 12 coffees to make, and more to come?

Start with the first.

Closing Reflection

Even if it is going to be a rough ride, in a good team you just become more experienced, and it becomes a great experience.

Each shift teaches control under fire.

Panic doesn’t make coffee faster—flow does.