Although Baristas are mainly responsible for making and serving beverages to customers, they may have other duties. These may include:

• Greeting customers in a friendly manner and taking food and drink orders on a Point of Sale system

• Preparing and serving beverages such as drip coffee, espresso-based drinks, tea and other specialty drinks

• Preparing and serving food items such as soups, sandwiches and pastries

• Answering customers’ questions about menu choices

• Promoting and recommending menu options to customers

• Taking payment from customers

• Tracking and ordering inventory for cafe and beverage supplies, such as coffee beans, milk, napkins and cups

• Maintaining espresso machines, grinders, coffee machines and other equipment by cleaning, troubleshooting and scheduling repairs

• Keeping the work environment and cafe seating area clean, sanitary and organized

• Responding to and resolving customer concerns or complaints

• Evaluating and modifying processes to improve efficiency and quality of service

• Attracting new customers and refining the menu

Baristas need a variety of skills to memorize drink recipes, learn how to operate equipment and provide efficient customer service. A successful Barista should possess the following skills:

• Excellent listening and communication skills to effectively interact with coworkers and customers

• Basic coffee knowledge, such as how to prepare common coffee beverages, although advanced knowledge, such as roasting and grinding processes, coffee bean sourcing and flavor differences, can be helpful

• Exceptional customer service and interpersonal skills to interact in a positive manner and prevent or resolve conflicts

• Strong teamwork abilities to work efficiently in a fast-paced and high-volume environment with other Baristas

• Attention to detail to manage specific customer requests as well as a high-volume beverage assembly line with minimal errors

• Time management and organizational skills to work efficiently and effectively in a high-volume workplace