Scott and I have been busy at it! We are working on perfecting our barista skills and offering good customer service at the coffee truck!
There has been an occasion or two (ok every occasion) where one of us fires the other for not pouring a drink right or having a line that’s too long, or god forbid… making a dirty chai instead of a chai tea latte.
BTW for those who don’t know what a dirty chai is… it’s simply espresso shots in a chai tea latte. I giggle every time I hear the name. It sounds so dirty to me… and yet again, I am acting like a 10 year old. Regardless of who fires who… we are in it together and getting better at it everyday.
We’ve been asked quite a bit how the business is going, especially because we are almost a year into coffee catering and providing drinks at large events and festivals. I typically answer “busy” and Scott answers “it’s alot more work than I thought.”
Both are true. I feel like I am going fishing each time I email event planners… I throw the line and wait ever so patiently to see if I get an event booking… checking my email 50 times a night to see if I get a bite or two. Also, marketing and book keeping take up space in my brain. If I can get Scott to put his receipts all in one place we will be golden! I’m getting more organized in taking memorable photos and posting them on social media, keeping up with this blog, adding pictures to our website, and so on… but I still haven’t jumped on twitter. That’s for next week.
Scott on the other hand spends his time improving the truck, shopping for supplies, and prepping it for events. Sounds easy, right? NOT!!! He is getting better at knowing what stock he needs when he goes to Cash and Carry for coffee supplies, as it is pretty consistent each month. At first, Scott or I would buy the bare minimum (we wanted to stay within a budget)… and then we noticed we had to visit Cash and Carry nearly every day we did an event… LAME… so we started buying in bulk… and OH MY GOD… it decreased the number of times we had to go shopping. A-mazing!
In addition to shopping, Scott has added some refinements to to coffee truck. He spent this spring break making a countertop out of wood and installing it in the truck so we have more work space. He also put airbags under the truck so it drives smoother. He washes it regularly and makes sure it is impeccable before the next event. Scott primarily serves the drinks while I BS with the customers on the outside of the truck.
Overall, its been a great year, Portland. We look forward to the warmer months and summer festivities.