CoCo Reflections from Silken Buska:
This Week’s CoCo: Clean the Corners
I love this core commitment because it’s one where I’ve seen a lot of growth in myself! I used to be a really messy bar barista. I remember my coach constantly telling me to wipe off the bar or brush the grounds away. Now, cleaning up milk spills as soon as they happen are second nature by using a dry towel that lives under the bar (protip! Or wear a dry towel on your apron to wipe your hands after you’ve cleaned the steam wand with the sopping towel!) Any garbage goes directly in the garbage can instead of going onto the counter. By taking the extra step in the moment, it creates less work down the line for you (and everyone around you) and keeps a space clean. It also dawned on me a few shifts ago when I was cleaning up a spilled latte that we get to create a clean, peaceful feeling for our customers in their day. We give them permission to not feel ashamed when there is a spill by hopping right to it with a positive attitude; we clean it up and remake a drink so they don’t feel bad for a spill. I’ve had coworkers show me kindness in the same way when syrup was spilled all over the floor… and I tried to mop it up many times and it was still sticky… but that’s a different story… So this CoCo is for us just as much as our custies; let’s help create a peaceful space by #cleaningthecorners.
Next Week’s CoCo: Create Remarkable Care
This is one of my favorite core commitments because creating remarkable care is something that really sets Stone Creek apart. We get to be a part of making someone’s day better and that is such an amazing gift! It can be so small, but we are someone’s first stop of the day. By going the extra mile, we get to start his or her day off on the right foot. Or if it’s been a rough start, help shine some light and make it a little better. Quick story to make us think about how we don’t always know how we’re impacting someone’s day. A few months ago, a young woman was waiting for her drink and I was chatting with her and she said “I just have to tell you, during exams last year, I came in and was telling you that I had this huge law exam and I was freaking out and you asked if I had studied and felt prepared and I told you yes and you told me that I was gonna do such a great job and how I’ve put the work in so I’ve got this. And that helped me get through my entire exam that day”. This comment warmed my heart because for me, this was just a typical old Saturday slingin drinks at the bar. But for her, my few words of encouragement helped her get through an exam. I’m sure we all have countless stories like this and it also serves as a reminder that we GET TO be the people that spark smiles for others! Or we could be that not so great customer service experience we all have had… Let’s not be those stories.. Let this be a reminder to always #createremarkablecare.
CoCo Heroes:
- Clean the Corners: This Core Commitment Hero comes from the Factory Cafe Team – Leslye Pabon! She always stays busy while on the floor, works hard, and cares for our space as if it were her own. She can be trusted to do a thorough job no matter what the task, and is very approachable about tasks that involve cleaning the corners. Through her excellence in cleaning the corners, when Leslye is on the floor she shows remarkable care to our customers from the moment they walk in and see the place!
- Create Remarkable Care: This Core Commitment Hero comes from the Delafield Cafe Team – Emily Schrock! It seems like every time I work with her she is asking customers about something from a week ago or following up with something they brought up the day before. She remembers a lot of random details, even about new customers or customers who don’t come in super regularly. Customers know Emily really cares for them and she works hard to build and maintain those relationships!
Going-Ons:
January Company Update: Did you miss the latest company update? Catch up here.
1/29 SCC Company Party: On Monday, January 29th from 6pm-10pm, we will be getting together at Story Hill Firehouse to celebrate Stone Creek Coffee’s 30th Anniversary and our work together! We would love for you to join us for a night of dinner, drinks, dancing, and games. All cafes will close at 5pm on January 29th to allow team members the opportunity to attend. RSVP here by the end of the day on Friday, January 19th to ensure we have enough food. We hope to see you there!
Employee Discount Reminder: Discounts, coupons and codes cannot be combined. When we have promotions (i.e. 15% or 20% off sales), these cannot be used in conjunction with 40% off employee discount.
Employee Satisfaction Survey – Coming Soon: Multiple times throughout the year we reach out and ask for your feedback regarding an array of subjects, and then we use your feedback to help us Never Stop Learning. On Monday, February 5th, Teams & People will send out our biannual Employee Satisfaction Survey. Through your anonymous responses to these surveys we are able to gauge the perspectives of our employees on how well we are doing as a company and employer. Both the detailed #SpeakUps and #HeroShoutOuts you provide in this survey and the aggregate score give us tremendous guidance and an objective picture of how well we engage with our team members.
As our Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging team continues to iterate to improve our learning in support of our DEI&B initiatives, you can expect to see a few additional questions at the end of this survey and others in the future. These are optional, but highly encouraged as they are imperative to our learning. Of course, we love hearing what you think is going well. Moreover, if there is something you want to see improved, please share it. As this survey is anonymous, we encourage you to share as detailed of feedback as possible to best guide any follow up commitments that are captured.
It’s important that we get a high volume of participation in these surveys in order to gain the most accurate data. We feel it is so important that for this upcoming survey, we will be celebrating high participation by giving $100 to each team with at least 90% team responses to be able to gather and have some fun together! Please note that while anonymous, in order for your response to count towards your team’s participation percentage, you will need to disclose your work location.
Once it launches, this survey will run for two weeks. Team Leaders, please take a moment in your upcoming administrative time to add reminders about this survey in team communication and team schedules.
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:
- 1/16 – Hannah Galloway
- 1/16 – Brian Koznarek
- 1/21 – Izzie Kamil
- 1/26 – Mitch Stewart
- 1/27 – Violet Locallo
- 1/28 – Maddy Meyer
Anniversaries:
- Austin Grandlich – 1 year!
- Noel Johnson – 1 year!
- Jocelyn Marin – 2 years!
- Andrew O’Neill – 1 year!
- Hope Riesterer – 1 year!
Welcomes:
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Adrien Schweitzer – DWN Barista
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Jamie Duklas – Demand Generation Manager
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Lauren Barry – Line Cook WFB
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Alan Peralta – Line Cook WFB
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Dylan Thomas – WFB Barista
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Mike Steil – Line Cook WFB
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Dean Wnuk – Line Cook WFB
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Alex Erickson – SHR
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Haley Sawyer – DWN Barista
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Justin Miller – GLN (Welcome Back)
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Jared Smith – SHR
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Tanner MacArthur – Line Cook DWN
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Jessimae Peters – Line Cook DWN
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Alyssa Borkowski – Line Cook DWN
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
- January: SCCEMPJAN24
- 40% Employee-Only Mobile App Coupon Code
- January: SCCEMPJAN24
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.