The aroma of freshly brewed coffee is wafting through the air ahead of the 2023 Café Show China, which is set to take place in Beijing on Friday. The three-day event, attracting 260 exhibitors and 48,000 visitors from China and abroad, is a celebration of the nation’s burgeoning coffee culture.
With a 10-year long history, the show has become one of the most important events of its kind. This year’s event will feature key players and innovators in the Chinese coffee market, including green coffee traders, roasters and other industry stakeholders. Government and business representatives from top coffee producing countries such as Colombia, Ethiopia and Jamaica will attend the event. There will also be a forum to share their insights about China’s growing taste for coffee.
Besides, there will be several contests held during the Café Show focusing on latte art, hand brewing and coffee cupping and tasting by baristas across the country. With China’s relationship with the beloved bean evolving at a fast pace during recent years, the standard of the industry has continued growing.
The World Barista Championship’s(WBC) China finals concluded recently, with the winner ready to represent China to compete in the World Barista Championship, the preeminent international coffee competition hosted by World Coffee Events (WCE).
The journey began in 2003 when the Shanghai Bohua International Exhibition Co., Ltd. (IM Sinoexpo), with authorization from World Coffee Events, introduced the championship to China.
“The story of coffee in China is a fascinating one,” Zhang Xueqiang, general manager of the IM Sinoexpo, told the Global Times.
Zhang noted the initial challenges were numerous, from gathering participants to training judges.
“As the organizer in China, we had to go door to door to these coffee shops to invite them to participate in the championship. We managed to talk 20 people into attending the championship. I even had to be a judge myself since we could only find less than five judges in 2003,” he recalled.
Two decades later, the event has seen hundreds of participants, with finalists across the country vying for the coveted title. These elite baristas will showcase their expertise, from crafting the perfect espresso to innovatively pairing coffee with diverse ingredients, Zhang said.
In addition to WBC, five other world championship events by WCE have attracted more than 3,000 participants in China this year. Some baristas even flew across the country just to secure a spot in the championship.
“The expansion of world competition in China, the growing passion of coffee professionals and enthusiasts toward such events is a testament to the industry’s remarkable transformation in China,” commented Zhang.
Looking ahead, Zhang believes that more and more talented baristas from China will take the stage.
It’s more than the contests. It is a toast to China’s rich, diverse and inclusive culture. As the baristas pour their passion into each cup, they’re not just serving coffee, they’re narrating China’s coffee tale, one brew at a time, Zhang said.
Café Show China kicks off in Beijing
General Principles to Build Strong And Effective Customer Services at Banking Industry
By Abreham Ketema
The banking sector has widely adopted both incentive-based rewards and non-incentive methodologies to draw in new clients. Despite using diverse methodologies, one crucial talent is still highly perceptive and would instill a core value in the thoughts of our clients. Excellent customer service depends on the ability to communicate clearly and effectively. We need to have empathetic listening skills when we are interacting with customers. Remember, communication is a two-sided coin.
Therefore, the strategic framework of banking industry should be organized around these concepts: collaboration and marketing, which are based on the customer’s interests.
The success of the banking industry comes from listening to a variety of educational voices and input. This reveals a depth and richness that accept the simplistic idea that communication has always been required to function in order to survive. Therefore, customers’ demands are valid aspirations.
Primarily, the ability to communicate effectively is a skill that must be mastered in any industry. The idea behind communication and interaction is to draw a line that will allow you to receive consumer messages accurately and reply to them appropriately. The impression formed during the interaction serves as an appropriate notice of the customer’s preference for routine business.
Excellent customer service is one of the key factors boosting our bank’s market value. The success of the banking sector is based on interactions between customers and bank employees. Many recent studies that were published in an international magazine claimed that the way bankers interacted with their clients directly correlated with the clients’ “increased value.” Therefore, it is crucial to talk about how important it is in the banking industry to create positive client interactions.
By minimizing misunderstandings, we can cultivate healthy customer relationships in a number of ways. Here are the typical actions to take in order to build a strong relationship with clients and provide excellent customer service.
Adhering to the Core Values and Principles The banker must comprehend the obligation that has been placed on them. It is a focus point that might be comprehended by starting with the community’s and cultural perspectives’ understanding of professionalism. However, developing a company’s brand in the commercial banking sector around the world starts with the dress code and particular uniform themes. The bankers must always exhibit a consistent moral character. It means having a set of strong core values and principles, such as integrity, reliability, respect, honesty, loyalty, and trustworthiness, as well as teamwork.
Know Your Customer/Background Data: The foundation of effective communication is knowing your customer. That needs to be the foundation of your communication strategy. By being aware of that, one would have more information about the guy and be better prepared to meet him. The customers occasionally don’t grasp what you’re saying. It should be emphasized that In order to effectively convey your message without undermining its professional worth, tonality, timing, facial expression, and body language must all be in perfect harmony. A successful banker must strike a balance between rational discourse and emotional expression. It is very likely that the customer would respond appropriately in this situation. The principle stressed is that while the banker describes the goods and services, the clients should adhere to the offered instructions.
Delivering a constant message while remaining flexible: Being adaptable indicates that you are moving toward establishing a common ground with the client, a place where you create layers to identify the client’s interests. A variety of information can be exchanged through negotiation. Being eager to sell the bank’s goods and services and being aware of them for a change. As a banker, you are aware of what your clients want because you are providing them with a valuable service. But being adaptable does not mean being inconsistent and perplexing. Instead, it is necessary to exhibit clear, repeatable, and understood basic principles with a consistent message.
Motivation Motivating the customer to act in a self-centered manner in order to use the bank’s services and products in accordance with his or her interests is the purpose of communication. Maintaining our communication’s end goal requires adding motivation.
Accuracy: You must always provide customers with the correct financial information. Bankers must be equipped to fulfill their commitments with the required notifications. Each meeting should be conducted according to schedule, with appropriate preparation, oversight, and delivery.
Preference: It should be remembered that every required notification and every important piece of information must be put together and sent to the client via their preferred method of contact. It is anticipated that honoring his preference will improve how customers view the bank and increase its worth. Use should be made of all available communication channels, including SMS, phone calls, in-person meetings and monitoring, and mail notifications.
Storing Data: Every significant piece of information needs to be kept in the banking storage system. This guarantees the path to establishing confidence and enabling the ability to focus on the real information whenever the issue is highlighted.
Generally, it is important to apply the above basic concept to increase the productivity of customer service at the bank.
Abreham Ketema is interested in economics, Culture and his article has been published on Capital Newspaper, African Report, Awash Post, and other outlets
Getaneh Kebede joined premier league title aspiring Fasil Ketema
The one man army who saved Wolkite Ketema from horrific relegation Getaneh Kebede joined premier league title aspiring Fasil Ketema in a two year contract.
More than two dozen years in the premier league and still going strong Getaneh Kebede is considered one of the recent time great strikers of Ethiopian Football.
The 31 year old played for Debub Police and Dedebit before his move to South African where he played for South African top tier sides Bidvest and Pretoria University.
He returned home to lead Kidus Giorgis to a premier league followed by two challenging seasons with relegation struggler Wolkite Ketema.
The two time Ethiopian premier league top scorer of the season Getaneh played a major role in saving Wolkite from relegation banging 18 precious goals along with six assists.
115 goals in 165 premier league matches plus 16 goals in 27 outings for South African team’s, the legendary goal machine is hailed as national hero helping Ethiopia back to African Cup of Nations after 31 years absence.
Getaneh scored 33 goals in his 66 matches for the national team.
Though the amount of the transfer money is not yet official, insiders disclosed that the striker is to collect UpTo 5 million Birr for two years contract.
Despite being past his prime, Getaneh is still a player who could make a difference thus Fasil is sure to profit from this much talked about signing.
Getanehs move took many by sheer surprise for Fasil’s new boss Wubetu Abate was blamed for the strikers uncermonies retirement from the national team where he served more than a decade.
Kipruto and Chepngetich face strong Ethiopian Field in Chicago
Organizers of the Bank of America Chicago Marathon have announced the full elite field for the World Athletics Elite Platinum Label road race on 8 October.
A regular podium finisher in major marathons over the past two years, Benson Kipruto of Kenya will defend his title in the men’s race. Kipruto won last year in 2:04:24, the fourth fastest time ever in Chicago.
Ethiopia’s Seifu Tura winner in Chicago in 2021 and runner-up last year will return for the third consecutive year, looking for another podium finish. Belgium’s world and Olympic bronze medallist Bashir Abdi winner of this year’s Rotterdam Marathon is also in the line-up.
Ethiopia’s Dawit Wolde, Brazil’s Daniel Do Nascimento and Kenya’s John Korir are among the other notable entries.
As announced last month, defending champion Ruth Chepngetich will take on London Marathon champion Sifan Hassan and US record-holder Emily Sisson in the women’s race. But that trio is just the tip of the iceberg.
Joyciline Jepkosgei, winner of the 2021 London Marathon and 2019 New York City Marathon, will make her Chicago debut, as will Genzebe Dibaba of Ethiopia. Dibaba who has broken several world records on the track, indoors and out made her marathon debut in Amsterdam last year, clocking 2:18:05.
The US contingency also features Olympic bronze medallist Molly Seidel, 2018 Boston Marathon champion Des Linden, 2021 Chicago runner-up Emma Bates, and Aliphine Tuliamuk, winner of the 2020 US Olympic Trials.
Other notable competitors in the women’s field include Ethiopia’s Ababel Yesheneh and US duo Nell Rojas, Sara Vaughn.
