CoCo Reflections from Claire Gorman:
This Week’s CoCo: Be Urgent to the Customer
For the first few months that I worked at the food pantry, I did the dishes nearly the whole time we had our Saturday morning food distribution each week. While part of my job duties did include helping to manage the kitchen, it wasn’t necessary for me to take over dish duty every single week. It took me a while to realize this and be comfortable with delegating tasks to other volunteers, so that I could also spend time being present to those who came to shop at the food pantry. It was not always easy for me to come out of the kitchen and strike up conversations with people I didn’t know, which is a big reason why I “banished” myself to the dishes so much. It was definitely outside my comfort zone, but the more I stepped outside, the more I was able to connect with others, be present to them, and listen to their needs.
Similarly, working in the cafe, there are a lot of tasks to complete outside of caring for customers. It’s easy to get caught up in the checklist and not be as urgent as I can to customers, but as I learned at the food pantry, being urgent to the customer means being present. It is a simple hello that communicates to the customer that they are seen, and letting them know that you will be right over to help them. It’s starting to make a regular’s drink before they get to the register to order. It is setting aside the dishes in order to strike up a conversation, going beyond the usual interactions to listen and help meet customers’ needs. Being urgent to the customer not only enriches their experience in the cafe, but my own experience of working here, too!
Next Week’s CoCo: Never Stop Learning
When I was graduating high school, I was feeling a bit lost with what to study in college. I had a lot of interests, and it was overwhelming to pick one area of study that I felt would determine my future career. I was torn between certain interests staying hobbies or pursuing them as a career. I also felt the financial burden of paying for college and put a lot of pressure on myself to make the correct decisions, otherwise risk being in financial trouble.
It’s been nearly a decade since I started to figure out my career, and to be honest, I still feel pretty unsure of where I want to go and what I want to do in the future! But I’ve learned a lot about myself in the process of making decisions, taking the next step, trying something new, and failing a lot of times. One of the greatest lessons I’ve learned, especially in the past year as a Cafe Coach, is that I am capable of learning new things! It sounds silly, but sometimes I put myself in a box and feel stuck there- like I am this kind of person, so there’s no way I can grow in this certain area. But that is simply not true!
Throughout the past year, there have been many instances in my job where I had to learn a new skill, whether that was giving feedback to someone or figuring out the correct pars for certain items in the cafe. There were a lot of failures, especially in the beginning, but I’m so glad that I didn’t give up on myself and gave myself the chance to learn something new. Never Stop Learning is one of my favorite Core Commitments because it reminds me that I am capable of growing, I am not stuck, and that I am not defined by my failures- there’s always something new to learn!
CoCo Heroes:
- Be Urgent to the Customer: This Core Commitment Hero comes from the Cafe Coach group – Miguel, Will & WFB CAFE TEAM. This team is absolutely crushing it with new product lines and offerings, bringing remarkable urgency to our new (and returning) WFB customers and an irrepressible #NSL spirit to dialing in and caring for a magnificent new space. Huge shout out also to WFB Ops Specialists: Vanessa (Merchandising, Clean Space & Org) and Matthew (Beer & Wine) — thank you for your help setting the WFB Cafe team up for success from the jump!!
- Never Stop Learning: This Core Commitment Hero comes from the Cafe Coach group – Annaliese, Aaron, Kyra & our KITCHEN TEAM. Both WFB and DWN Kitchens are paradigms of #NSL, prioritizing positive vibes and being urgent to the customer while continuously learning and adapting to new products and new workflows. This team is awesome and so fun to be around — next time you see a Kitchen team member, give them a big ol’ high five for their heroics!!
- Be Urgent to the Customer & Never Stop Learning Bonus Whitefish Bay Opening Week shout outs: A very special note of appreciation for both these CoCos goes out to
— Production Team: The #Remarkable urgency, communication, and accommodation from the PRO team for our WFB Cafe & Kitchen opening provided both Cafe & Kitchen teams with the tools and supplies needed to execute this huge project while in the midst of holiday hustle and bustle across the business — thank you!!— Patrick C, Anna O, Hailey B and our WFB Heroes: Thank you SO much to each of our Bakers, Baristas, Line Cooks and your respective Team Leaders for lending your talents and support at our busy new space! #GoTeam!
Going-Ons:
Christmas: Cafes will be closed on Christmas, Monday, December 25th.
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Join the team by signing up through the link above.
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Click the link and press join team
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Create your page (Page title is your name)
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Wear a dress or tie each day for the 31 days of December.
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Talk about it, post pictures, and spread the word!
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:
- 12/20 – Michael Marchant
- 12/21 – Brianna Arnold
- 12/22 – Lexi Gebhard
- 12/25 – Noel Johnson
- 12/28 – Harmony Krafttakacs
- 12/29 – Brooke Sherman
- 12/31 – Kelly Harbach
Anniversaries:
- Chloe Drapes – 6 years!
- Wesley East – 1 year!
- Tori Kalman – 2 years!
- Izzie Kamil – 1 year!
- Analisa Lopez – 10 years!!
- Hailee Wallner – 1 year!
Welcomes:
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Krista Fuller – Downer
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Dylan Christensen – Tosa B
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Christopher Sturm – Fulfillment Specialist
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Trina Schreiber – Harwood
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Xander Spurlock – Harwood
Looking for volunteer opportunities? Click here to see our Volunteer Opportunity Index.
Employee Discount Codes:
Please don’t share these with non-employees
- 20% Employee-Only Website Coupon Code
- December: Dec2023sccemp
- 40% Employee-Only Mobile App Coupon Code
- December: Dec2023sccemp
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Ways to Speak Up:
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