CoCo REFLECTIONS FROM CHRIS CHAPMAN
This Week’s CoCo: Take Risks
Taking risks is one core commitment I have to actively work at. I think that’s because there’s always the chance that my risk doesn’t work out (read, I failed). Maybe you’re like me and the fear of failure usually speaks louder than the potential benefits. The status quo feels safe, even if it really isn’t that good to begin with. The fear of failure is real, but I’ve come to realize that most things don’t get better without intentional effort, without taking risks. Maybe you’ve been eyeing that Master Barista certification, but you’re worried you don’t know enough or you’re not as knowledgeable as you should be. Maybe you’re working in cafe but actually think a role in production would suit you better. No matter what it is, it’s important to acknowledge that failure is an option. And it’s important to acknowledge that failure is okay. Plans don’t work out. Maybe we need to improve and learn more before we’re ready for that opportunity. That’s not an indictment on you as a person. It’s just part of the journey. And we don’t get better as a whole without everyone contributing. The rest of your team misses out when you shrink back from risk. We miss out on potential improvements and we miss out on getting to support you in your personal goals. So I encourage you to think through what you’d love to see happen in your role here and take the risk!
Next Week’s CoCo: Be Urgent to the Customer
We’ve probably all had an experience as a customer where no one was being urgent to us. You wait in line for a while before anyone notices you. You wait for a long time for something pretty simple. You got something other than what you ordered. Those are never fun experiences. Sometimes I think this commitment gets boiled down to moving faster or being more efficient to get through the line as quickly as possible. And there’s genuine reasons to increase efficiency or move a little quicker during a rush, but I don’t think that’s the only way to get better here. Something I’ve been trying to do is learn our products more and more so that I can answer customers’ questions more thoroughly and accurately. I try to know the basic ingredients of our pastries (especially trying to remember which ones are vegan or gluten friendly). I try to know how to describe the coffees we’re serving as COD or as V60’s so I can give a solid description of them and I don’t have to ask or fumble around looking for the info somewhere. That does help my efficiency, but I think it also communicates that I care about these things to the customer. So take some time to learn about what different coffee processes there are or learn some ingredients in our pastries (looking at you, super scone). It may be really simple, but those little things help our customers have a great experience as you show your care and knowledge for our products!
CORE COMMITMENT HEROES
Be urgent to the Customer: This Core Commitment Hero comes from Production – Alex. Alex is super adaptable and is capable of doing pretty much everything in production. We can always rely on him to go out and run deliveries, or grab a pick up. Whenever we haven’t told him what to do, he is always doing something productive or urgent. Alex is a true Hero of Production!!
Take Risks: This Core Commitment Hero comes from the Bakery – Dan! When Dan is asked to do something different, any time someone asks him for help, even if he has never done it before, he is willing to try. He has exemplified this willingness to pick up new things from the beginning when he took on learning to laminate doughs so early on, to now when he occasionally helps out our Design team with cleaning off menu boards. Dan characterizes this Core Commitments in many other ways, and his attitude and willingness reminds us that taking on new challenges can be exciting and is usually worth the risk.
EVENTS & ACTIVITIES
9/23 Professional Development Class – The Business of Coffee: We are excited to share with you that we will be hosting The Business of Coffee Professional Development Class on Monday, September 23rd from 2-5pm! This class is run by Drew, the Director of Development, at the Factory. This class is available to both part time and full time team members to use Professional Development Time. If you are interested in attending, please RSVP here. We hope to see you there!
Please note, this schedule has already been published.
JOB OPENINGS
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.
UPCOMING MERCH & DESIGNS
Highly Caffeinated Can Glass
Launching 9/12
Get your bones shakin’ and your cold brew flowin’. Our Highly Caffeinated Can Glass is here to remind you that you can sleep when you’re dead. Until then, caffeinate up and fuel your adventure.
Half Human Half Coffee Zip-Up Hoodie
Launching 9/12
With how much coffee we consume, at this point we’d consider ourselves half coffee. Our coffee consumption habits led to the design of our Half Human Half Coffee Zip-Up Hoodie. Rep SCC with this sustainable 100% recycled fabric fleece hoodie.
GOINGS-ON & UPCOMING PROMOTIONS
- 9/11 – 9/17 20% Off Light Roasts: All light roasts (including Reserves) will be on sale in our cafes and online. Stay tuned for more details!
- 9/13 Drink Price Increase & Menu Vinyl Revamp: We are updating the layout of the drink menu boards plus having a drink price increase. Cafes will see a Sweet Foam Cold Brew & Seasonal Cold Brew (WFB/FCT only) price increase with the 8/29 Fall Seasonal Menu Board. The rest of the updates to menu boards will happen before 9/13, with the prices being officially updated on that date.
- 9/29 National Coffee Day: To celebrate National Coffee Day, we’ll be having 20% off Cream City and Harvest in our cafes and online, one day only! This will be available both in cafe and on our mobile app (promo is auto-applied and no coupon needed). In Square, ring up coffee as usual, the discount will be auto-applied.