I want to thank everyone who took part in our very first Customer Survey! I won't lie, I toyed with the idea for a while before I decided to put it out there. Social media can be an unpleasant place at times, and I was basically luring the negative energy my way - eek!
On the most part, you were so constructive with your feedback, which is exactly what I was hoping for. I didn't do it for waves of praise - we aren't perfect by any means - we just wanted some honest information from the perspective of our customers. Afterall, we wouldn't be here without you and we want to continue to grow and be here for many more years to come.
What I was super pleased with, was that many of the main suggestions that were appearing multiple times were things that were already on the list for early 2025! So we're already full swing into implementing a lot of changes which we hope you will love.
It's important for us to remember that we will never be able to please everyone, and we need be realistic with what we are able to offer, as well as what we're willing to. Small businesses are always reflections of their owners, and I truly believe that we shouldn't ever sway too far from that and our values.
I won't bore you with every detail, but here's the main points we got from our survey, and a little about what we're doing about them!
1. HOW DO YOU RATE THE SERVICE YOU RECEIVE FROM OUR TEAM?
Amazing 69% Good 22% Average 4% Not Very Good 0%
Awful 0% No answer 5%
2. HOW WOULD YOU RATE OUR MENU OFFERING?
Amazing 30.4% Good 55.4% Average 7.1% Not Very Good 0%
Awful 0% No answer 7.1%
What I found really interesting about these results, were that a lot of reasons given for this were lack of things that we actually do offer. It highlighted that we need to make things much clearer, which we'll implement ASAP.
We have been working on a new look menu, with extra lighter options, improved highlighting of vegetarian and vegan options and making it easier for you to customise your meal so you're only being served (and paying for!) the best bits that you actually want!
Think build your own options, smaller cake portions (don't worry, we'll still do some big'uns!) and more choice of our famous scones!
3. HOW WOULD YOU RATE THE VALUE FOR MONEY?
Amazing 21% Good 57% Average 11% Not Very Good 5%
Awful 0% No answer 6%
It's never fun talking about money, so I'm not going to dive too deep here, but I'd certainly like to see these results a little better next time we do a survey!
We work really hard to make sure we work with as many smaller businesses as possible. It is important to us and not something I'm willing to shift on. This does sometimes come with higher prices, but in turn a better quality product that also serves our local community.
We do find some people aren't happy with the prices when they come in, then come to the till with their tail between their legs at the end because "it was worth it" (hehehe!) but I can, of course, relate to how expensive life is these days, and that value for money is important.
So, with that said, our aforementioned plan has heavily taken price points into consideration. One of the plus sides of working with smaller businesses is we can adapt with more ease. I've been working with our suppliers to adapt the menus so we can still offer good quality, but with price points that I hope(!) will make you happier.
4. WHAT IS THE MOST IMPORTANT THING TO YOU WHEN YOU GO OUT TO CAFES OR SIMILAR?
Product Quality 71% Service 20% Price 9%
5. DO YOU ACTIVELY SEEK OUT PLACES WHO WORK WITH OTHER LOCAL BUSINESSES AND SUPPLIERS?
Absolutely! 69% No, I'm not really bothered 31%
6. WHAT'S YOUR FAVOURITE THING ABOUT THE BEEHIVE CAFE?
I can't type every single answer here, but the general consensus was that our best bits are the lovely staff and homely atmosphere, our delicious coffee and breakfasts, that we use local suppliers and that we introduced our retail range.
This made me absolutely beam - they hit on all of the things that are most important to me after 20 odd years in the industry. I'm so chuffed that it all shines through!
7. WHAT DO YOU THINK WE COULD IMPROVE ON?
Again, typing every response would be madness, but the things that came up the most were:
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More space (with almost everyone also acknowledging that it's impossible without us moving - thank you!) - I totally get this! We are small and it's disappointing if we have to turn you away, or you feel awkward waiting for your takeaway etc.
It's something we have continuously worked on since we moved in two years ago, and have come a long way with. Unfortunately it is tough to improve without moving somewhere bigger, but I can say that this is not something we are looking into currently.
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We don't allow dogs - this one breaks my heart because I LOVE dogs. However, due to our size it's not something we are looking to change at this time. It's a catch 22 with losing custom in regards to dogs, because we'd also likely lose some if we started allowing them, therefore we don't factor this into our decision making here. A safe environment is the most important. But we love seeing your lovely doggies in the spring and summer months where we have a few tables outside!
- Our cakes are too big/we want more traditional sponge cakes - we hear you, and we're on the case. This one has been trickier to solve, because when we have done more traditional, smaller cakes in the past we would always sell out of our big indulgent bakes, and end up with a lot of wastage on the old classics. I work with two lovely local bakers and have made a plan with both of them. It'll take some trial and error, but we think we've pretty much cracked it! Watch this space for our master plan, and for an afternoon tea/coffee and cake deal coming soon!
This only really scratches the surface of everything we have planned over the coming weeks and months. I'm so excited to share it with you all!
We'd love to continue to hear your constructive feedback over the coming weeks.
See you soon!
Beth & Team Beehive
1 comment
Haven’t been in yet but will,soon