Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Rose Avera. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Rose , appreciate you joining us today. Taking care of customers isn’t just good business – it is often one of the main reasons folks went into business in the first place. So, we’d love to get a conversation going around how to best help clients feel appreciated – maybe you can share something you’ve done or seen someone do that’s been really effective at helping a customer feel valued?

Craig and I started to write “lid love” on top of every one of our drinks when we opened back in 2018. It’s a positive and uplifting message that makes people smile. Our employees have really taken this to a whole new level and the response from customers is amazing.

Some people write us that they haven’t been given a compliment in years and that we changed their whole day around. We forget how lonely the world can be, so this simple gesture is something we will always commit to!

Rose , love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

When we moved to Florida the first thing we noticed was the lack of customer service. What really sets us apart from your average coffee shop is the experience you get from our staff. They are happy to be there, and they are genuinely happy to serve you!

Cali is like Disneyland, you can’t help but smile while you are there and you’re always excited to go back.

We’re extremely proud of the culture we’ve created. Every day we are making real connections with our customers, nothing forced or scripted. We’re going back to the basics of human connection, not running away from it and replacing it with technology.

Any insights you can share with us about how you built up your social media presence?

Our social media presence reflects what we’re all about. Craig and I have run the account ourselves for 7 years, and we have found that our audience really appreciates the voice we have created. We never want to feel too corporate, we always want to feel connected to our roots and the customers who have been there with us since day 1.

We have elevated and improved our social media by hiring someone to help us create more professional looking material and we always try to keep our audience engaged and excited. But at the end of the day you still feel like you’re besties with the people running the account and we love that!

Our growth on social media is very much based on word of mouth. We repost stories from customers who organically took it upon themselves to share Cali.

We prefer this much more than paying someone or buying followers because it’s coming from the heart. When your friend posts about an awesome new spot in town, you’re way more likely to be interested than you are just seeing some ad that you know was scripted and paid for.

Can you open up about how you funded your business?

We were extremely fortunate to have family that helped us fund our first location. We tried going to banks and quickly learned you are required to have 2 years of experience or they basically won’t even talk to you.

Being as blessed as we were to have family from both sides that were willing and able to help us, really motivated us to succeed. You never want to let your loved ones down, and our family took a chance on us. We are forever grateful for them and everything we do is fueled by their love and support.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://calicoffee.com
• Instagram: roseeavera; calicoffee

Image Credits

@kalanifilms