Every coffee shop owner must face the reality that one day, they’ll need to ask for help. Maybe the store’s espresso machine will break. Perhaps they’ll have to hire for a brand-new position. A curious barista might ask how to do latte art they’ve never made before.
Opening and managing a coffee shop is challenging, and often involves many different people contributing their expertise to keep things running smoothly. However, knowing how to find the right people can be difficult. How do you know a roaster understands the vision for your cafe? Does your realtor know why foot traffic is an important metric for success? Can a designer translate what’s in your brain and create a logo that represents your brand?
In this series, which we’re calling “How To Find,” we’ll talk to experts across different industries to help you find support and fill roles within your business. We’ll discuss the best questions to ask and common mistakes to avoid and weigh in on the essentials you need to ensure your shop thrives.
First, we’re tackling how to hire an espresso technician: someone to help fix equipment when it inevitably fails (something in your shop will break at least once). Knowing who to call and when could be the difference between your cafe running smoothly and having to shut down for hours (or even days!) as you wait for someone to take care of your equipment.
Not a DIY Job
To know how to hire a technician, you have to understand what a technician does. “Service techs support customers by assuring the equipment … is making the best possible product and remains reliable and consistent throughout its service life,” says Jill Fountain, co-owner of Macchinisti, a company that provides equipment repair and sales services in Austin, Texas. “We also support our customers by keeping accurate and helpful records of work done, continuing to learn new technologies and techniques, and co-training other techs.”
Matt Campbell worked as a barista, coffee roaster, and shop owner before opening Invoke Coffee Equipment in Youngstown, Ohio. He and his team of technicians fix, refurbish, and care for espresso machines and coffee brewers across the area. Campbell says his goal as a technician is to help people understand the difference between the available equipment and what is best for their business. “I love the tech side of it, I love the troubleshooting side of it,” he says of being a technician. “I love the nerdy side of it, and I love the cutting-edge brewing tools available to us.”
Basically, technicians help you keep track of and maintain everything to do with your equipment—your espresso machines, coffee brewers, grinders and more. They also provide critical insight into the equipment options available and help pair you with the right tools for your space. And sometimes, they can also keep businesses out of peril.
For example, both Fountain and Campbell report walking into dangerous situations, like cafe owners fiddling with their equipment and exposing wires that could electrocute them. “If you’re unfamiliar with the electrical diagrams and how things should be working, you can injure yourself or someone else,” says Campbell.
Looking for a technician can be overwhelming—so how do you find the right fit for your business? “You want to have someone with a really broad understanding of what’s available and what those tools are used for,” Campbell says. “I think a lot of cafes are in business because they want to have that third space. They want to have a place where people can gather. They want to be part of the community. Equipment will be just as important to you as the community, and you want to have someone that supports you and your equipment as well as you serve your community.”
Campbell points out that shops still in the planning phase often have an easier time finding a technician because owners can take the time to research the best person to work with. “I think it is most important to find out who your local service tech is and meet them,” he says. “They’re probably going to have equipment preferences as well. If you bought a machine online, a tech in your area might not support it. One of the most important things to really search for is who services what kind of equipment in your area, and get to know that tech.”
Shop Local
Campbell believes shop owners should start local when searching for a technician. Usually, technicians have a good sense of the area because they’re likely always on the move, visiting cafes and repairing equipment. “[Technicians] can help evaluate what your coffee program looks like,” he says.
For example, a technician can help make equipment recommendations based on anticipated foot traffic and staffing patterns. “If you’re on a college campus and you’re going to have constant change throughout your staffing throughout the year, [your cafe] might be best suited for a super-automatic machine,” he says. “If you’re more of a specialty-coffee-specific store that’s going to be very focused on a niche, you might want a machine that gives you a little bit more […] control.”
But maybe you jumped ahead and already bought equipment. Campbell still recommends going local—beyond the obvious reasons (a local technician will respond to equipment malfunctions quicker), he says having someone familiar with things like local water conditions and electric needs can be critical to the health of your equipment.
“Water filtration is enormously challenging and changes from one area to another. When it comes to the filter on your machine, there’s not really one size fits all,” Campbell says. “Someone local […] is your best bet.”
As you search for someone local, Campbell recommends looking at Service Layer, a grassroots organization built to bring technicians together. The technicians at Service Layer have specific qualifications for membership, which means they work with manufacturers and cafes to ensure that equipment is well cared for and properly supported.
Making the Big Purchase
Campbell says a good tech can also help you make buying decisions, especially considering how expensive espresso machines—arguably the star of any cafe—can be.
“Let’s look at a $20,000 machine, which is a big number for a lot of people,” he says. A good technician will walk you through the life cycle of a machine and what kind of repairs to expect. “How many preventative maintenance visits will that machine require? Are they common parts on a technician’s truck or things that will have to be specially ordered from the manufacturer? All these things come into play.”
Some espresso machines are more common than others, which can determine how easy it is to get spare parts like steam wands and espresso screens—when those break (or get lost), they can stop your machinery from working. Campbell points out that a good tech will know what common points of failure machines have, how long it can take to get replacement parts, or even if they keep a stock of those parts on hand.
Keeping a Schedule
Preventative maintenance—having a technician do scheduled work and check in on your equipment—can seem like an unnecessary thing to budget for. However, Campbell says having those check-ups on the recommended maintenance schedule can save money in the long run. “Looking for a tech when your equipment is already broken and you’re running through the phonebook, trying to make those calls, it’s probably already too late,” he says.
Most techs charge extra for emergency calls, he says. “However, if you have a preventative maintenance schedule, you may never even get to that point.”
More than anything, Campbell says investing in maintenance, like descaling your boiler (removing mineral build-up) or checking the health of the gaskets on your group head, is investing in your business. “Your whole vehicle is making coffee that you’re selling,” he says, “and none of it matters if you can’t keep your business open.”
