Duration
2023 - 2025
Role
Service Designer & Cafe Supervisor
Category
Service Design
Context
Top Pot Doughnuts & Coffee is a beloved Seattle-area chain that is known for "hand-forged" doughnuts and nostalgic, cozy cafes. I worked as a barista supervisor at the Issaquah location—the busiest location outside of the Seattle metropolitan area, and one of only two with a drive-thru—from 2023-2025. My role grew as I not only managed our team but became the point person at this store for the company's new mobile app launch. I wanted to audit our processes and simplify the transition for baristas and customers as we introduced this new way for customers to order.
Problem
Where are the most important customer touchpoints and how can we make them better? What do baristas need at this location to more effectively manage drive-thru, in-person, delivery pick ups, and now in-app mobile orders?
Research
I created a service blueprint based on the typical customer experience of ordering a dozen doughnuts and an espresso drink at the counter and then through the drive-thru.
Both drive-thru and counter service employees drew from the same doughnut supply, and because of the store layout they could not see the supply while standing at the window. Here's how they kept track of what was left:
1) Communicating over headset with the barista closest to the display case and trays when they were not directly interacting with a customer.
2) Physical notepads and pens for writing down orders.
3) A support barista that listened and built the order while the window barista engaged the customer; they would use non-verbal signals to communicate if the desired item was sold out.
Mobile orders were going to add another touch point and another place where supply needed to be tracked. I didn't include DoorDash and UberEats in my service map because the majority of our ordering came from drive-thru or counter orders. Those apps have built-in menu adjustment tools but we had no set digital inventory management, which we'd be getting with the app launch.
Drive-thru was busier in the afternoon and on the weekends, while most people came into the store on weekday mornings.
The company worked with Spoonity to impliment the "Sprinkles Rewards" loyalty program as a feature of mobile ordering. Points redemption and e-gift cards added more complications to how we handled our ordering processes. With our pre-app approach mapped out, I needed to understand how our regulars felt about their experience ordering and how the new app could address their concerns
No matter how customers ordered the baristas were the key piece at every step. I needed then to address their concerns and struggles when it came to creating orders and tracking inventory before we rolled out the new systems.
Suggestions
Limited in how many digital solutions we could implement, we needed solid analog tools. To address customer confusion about dietary needs/allergies new signage in back-of-house kept all employees in the loop about ingredients customers needed to know about, in addition to the nutritional charts we had up on the counter.
We installed a dry-erase sign with every doughnut offered near the drive-thru window. This wasn't used much at first (another thing to keep updated) but it proved really useful for mid-shift and closers coming in on a day where the morning was incredibly busy. This list was incredibly useful with the manual menu updates on the app.
We attempted to communicate with regulars on the doughnut holes varieties we consistently offered but our outdoor written signage unfortunately didn't change. The promotional materials for holes in the store and outside did show a variety of flavors, and we had some success with offering a predetermined mix of five, ten, and twenty-five holes.