CoCo Reflections from Garrett McGowan:
This Week’s CoCo: Create Remarkable Care
When I visited Ireland last year, I became intrigued by a brewery in Galway. I was drawn to their branding, I enjoyed their beer, and I favored their sponsored pubs. After some deliberation, I convinced my travel group to shift our schedule and to drive significantly out of our way to visit the brewery.
When we arrived, it immediately became clear that it was not a brewery/taproom but a commercial brewing operation and distribution facility. Worse yet, it was partially under construction. It was one of the few times in my life where I went full “vacation mode” with zero due diligence and it was proving to be an utter failure.
As we were shuffling back to our car, a man came out and asked if we needed any help. After we explained the situation, he introduced himself as one of the head brewers and invited us in to take a ‘quick look.’ That quick look turned into an hour-long personalized tour. He poured us drinks straight from the tanks, gave us free glassware, and passionately shared his brewing knowledge. When we asked him if we could pay him for his time, he politely declined and said that our spontaneous tour would be the highlight of his work week.
Remarkable care is the act of going ‘beyond the transaction’ in a way that is authentically inspired. Corporate policies and “my pleasure” campaigns can help shape a brand, but true remarkable care can only be created at the individual level. This is because, at its core, remarkable care is finding a sincere human interaction where one is not expected nor required. The result can be exponential: in one hour’s time, I became a lifetime fan of a company.
Next Week’s CoCo: Take Care of Your Co-Workers
I landed my first job the summer before my sophomore year of high school. At the time, the job market was tight, and opportunities were relatively scarce. My new place of work was located on the outskirts of a semi-rural Idaho town and can be best described as a mini-Walmart gas station with vague aesthetic notes of cowboy culture and the Old West.
(As I wrote out that last paragraph, I had a breakthrough in understanding why, to this day, I loathe any form of modern country music. I didn’t realize these reflections would be therapeutic.)
My official title was “Box Boy,” and the job proved to be a masterclass in what it means to ‘take care of your co-workers.’ To be clear, all lessons were gained by observing the ways in which the company was entirely deficient in this commitment. We had a disruptive regular that was known to turn violent when his beer was out of stock – the company policy was for us to hide in the cooler when this happened and somehow his beer was always out of stock. We were expected to intervene when shoplifters were identified – in a town where everyone was armed (see cowboy note above). There were tall tales about the mysterious owner that possibly had cameras rigged in the facility and could, at any moment, be watching your every move. I eventually left that company, and it wasn’t until this year (2023) when I was reminiscing with an old friend and coworker that I discovered that the company thought I did a good job in the role and voiced that they would have hired me back if I was available. I had no idea; it was never communicated!
‘Take Care of Your Co-workers’ is a commitment that can only be accomplished when approached holistically: fostering a safe work environment, regularly providing feedback, and recognizing and empowering others to use their unique gifts in their roles. A company functions at its best when its employees share a sense of supportive camaraderie and collective belonging. When this care for each other is deficient, the results can be toxic and unpredictable, with results ranging from the good, the bad and the ugly (see cowboy note above).
CoCo Heroes:
- Create Remarkable Care: This Core Commitment Hero comes from the Glendale team – Natty Duchesneau! Natty is a valued member of the Glendale cafe and is always willing to go above and beyond when it comes to creating remarkable care for our customers and her co-workers. She’ll make sure to give out stickers to all the little ones that come into the cafe, ask people how their days are going, and so much more. She consistently works so that each interaction is engaging and unique for every customer. Not only that, but the care she shows for her coworkers while at work is evident everyday and we all appreciate her so much! Thanks so much Natty!
- Take Care of Your Co-Workers: This Core Commitment Hero comes from the Shorewood team – Naomi Pelland! She frequently picks up hero shifts and is willing to come early or stay late if there are schedule gaps. On the floor, she is quick to jump in on urgent tasks without being asked and regularly asks coworkers how she can help them out. She even brought her coworkers some Easter candy to share a few weeks ago! Big shoutout to Naomi for always taking care of her coworkers!
Going-Ons:
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Join the Whitefish Bay Opening Team: We are so excited for the opportunity to Create Remarkable Care in a new Whitefish Bay Cafe & Kitchen, with a target opening date this summer! We are in the early stages of building a team of Baristas, Line Cooks, and Cafe & Kitchen Team Leaders. If you are interested in joining the Whitefish Bay opening team, either as a permanent transfer or a temporary transfer, reach out to teams@stonecreekcoffee.com!
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Cafe Coach Trainee – Retail Cafes: Cafe Coach Trainees study and learn how to become a Cafe Coach over 13 weeks, with a combination of paid training, cafe shifts, and leadership classes. They earn a base pay rate of $14/hour + tips, and work closely with a Lead and/or Master Coach throughout their training before being placed as a Cafe Coach. If you want to learn how to run a cafe, lead a team and you’re interested in building career-oriented skills, click here to apply!
Wins & Shout-outs:
If you’d like to recognize or celebrate a teammate, we would love to hear about it! By clicking here, you can fill out a form to nominate a hero and choose how you would like them to be celebrated.
Birthdays:
- 4/25 – Eva Hagen
- 4/27 – Jenai Ellner
- 4/27 – Garrett McGowan
- 4/29 – Monica Brown
- 4/29 – Austin Grandlich
- 4/30 – Aaron Johnson
- 4/30 – Bryan Kraft
- 4/30 – Michelle Lunak
- 5/1 – Julia Frank
- 5/1 Joelle Kenyon
- 5/1 – Ellie Roder
- 5/3 – Killian Steiner
- 5/4 Morgan Cardinali
- 5/5 – Stacey Ziebart
- 5/10 – Melissa Perez
- 5/14 – Dan Olsen
- 5/19 – Jay Sumler
- 5/24 – Celeste Bayer
Anniversaries:
- Bree Bertz – 6 years!
- Patrick Colbourn – 5 years!
- Michal Franson – 1 year!
- Angeline Garvey – 4 years!
- Kyra Hankins – 5 years!
- Maelyn Kaczmarek – 1 year!
- Joey Mandarino – 1 year!
- Val Newhouse – 9 years!
- Maya Shub – 2 years!
Welcomes:
- Emily Capp – Harwood
- Lain Lott – Delafield
Job Openings:
view all current openingsEmployee Discount Codes:
Please don’t share these with non-employees
- 20% Employee-Only Website Coupon Code
- April: Apr2023sccemp
- May: May2023sccemp
- 40% Employee-Only Mobile App Coupon Code
- April: Apr2023sccemp
- May: May2023sccemp
Catch up on all of our newsletters, company updates, recipes, and more in our Employee Blog here.
Ways to Speak Up:
Do you want to speak up about ideas, thoughts, and more? Send an email to Teams & People (teams@stonecreekcoffee.com) or use the button below to send a note anonymously.