‘Above and beyond’ customer service sets Margaret River Roasting Co apart from WA’s crowded coffee scene

Margaret River Roasting Co’s James Tischhauser is hoping to carve out a permanent spot in WA’s crowded coffee scene by going back to basics with customer engagement. Mr Tischhauser wants the business he co-founded with friends Isaac Kara and Craig Woods to be known for its “amazing staff” that “really give above and beyond the work they need to be doing”. “There’s some amazing coffee out there and there’s so much competition . . . it’s very hard to say, ‘We have the best coffee out there’,” Mr Tischhauser said. “What we do want to be is the best people out there because coffee comes and goes, but you either get a really bad experience with a staff member and that will change how you feel about going to that place again. “Or, (our staff) could be the deciding factor that makes people go, ‘You know what, I’ll go out of my way because I know they know my name, they know my order’.” Margaret River Roasting employs 12 staff, with two based in Perth and the rest at its warehouse in Vasse. At the time of Margaret River Roasting’s inception in 2016, the trio had seen a rise in demand in light-to-medium roast coffee in the South West but no local roasters producing it. “We noticed a lot of cafes down here were just supplying coffee from Perth or even the east coast,” Mr Tischhauser said. “And so we just thought what a great opportunity to have more of a local approach.” Margaret River Roasting has strategically chosen Vasse as the base for the warehouse due to its proximity to Dunsborough, Busselton and Margaret River. It has a coffee roastery cafe next to the warehouse to give customers a “bean to cup” experience. “The name Margaret River represents escape, for a lot of people it’s the week or two weeks that they have down south,” Mr Tischhauser said. “For us we had to make sure we do justice to the name and I think people have really enjoyed our coffee.” The business now supplies to about 150 clients in WA, ranging from cafes, restaurants and hotels. It also has clients in the east coast as well as Japan and Indonesia. Looking ahead, Mr Tischhauser is hoping to build on the success of recent product launches, including Queensland-grown coffee Yira Yarkiny and a canned cold brew. “We’d love to create a better venue that people can come in and be whisked away,” he said. “As you see with breweries and wineries down here you can come and have an experience, you can walk-through, get tours and get an understanding of the products.” Last July, Margaret River Roasting opened a new drive-through coffee shop called Coffee Heads in Vasse with celebrated WA chef Brendan Pratt.