CoCo Reflections from Aaron Johnson:
- This Week’s CoCo: Be Urgent to the Customer
- This core commitment is something that I use a lot everyday at Stone Creek Coffee. Being urgent to the customer is a reminder that urgency is necessary when in customer service. Being urgent to the customer can look like many different things. In the kitchen it means to get started on an order as soon as it comes in on the system. Then making sure we finish off the order by boxing it up when it is ready rather than leaving it to sit for a couple minutes. This shows the customer that we are urgent and view their order as important and priority. Even when orders are taking longer to exit the kitchen, the urgency shows people our effort and is something likely to be noticed over the longer wait time. If we were to do the opposite and just ignore the order until we were done chatting or completing different tasks, the customer would have a much different experience. They would feel as if we don’t care about their order as well as it would take a lot longer for them to be able to get their order and go. Making them a lot less likely to return.
- Next Week’s CoCo: Never Stop Learning
- NSL is a great commitment. It can be used in work and in everyday life. Most recently in my life NSL has been taking on a big meaning. Being in the kitchen, we are tasked with a lot of things that may be our first time or even just tasks that are difficult. We have a lot of opportunities to make mistakes. This is a hard thing to come to terms with but one of the best strategies when making mistakes is knowing and reminding ourselves to never stop learning. That yes, if we made a mistake once, it’s okay and we can learn from it and that’ll help us do better the next time. This is a helpful strategy for me because I’m typically hard on myself, but by reminding myself that I am still learning and things take practice, helps me out a lot. By using your whole life to learn and not stopping the learning process, we can guarantee the best version of ourselves. Always growing and learning new skills and tips to get through this life by being our best. Thank you all for reading and learning a bit about me in these past 13 weeks. Please stop in to Downer Kitchen and try the food! Or Just say hey! We’ll be happy to see you.
CoCo Heroes:
- Be Urgent to the Customer: Our “Be Urgent to the Customer” Core Commitment Hero comes from the Office – our Customer Care Team! This team is urgent to all of our customers, which is no easy task. Thanks for providing prompt and remarkable care to our online, retail, and wholesale customers!
- Never Stop Learning: Our “Never Stop Learning” Core Commitment Hero is Aaron Johnson! He’s shared his take on our Core Commitments this round and it’s been a pleasure reading his thoughtful experiences and reflection on these CoCos. Thanks for helping us Never Stop Learning about ourselves and each other, Aaron!
Coffee Talk: Boneshaker
- What’s in this coffee/Where is it from?
Boneshaker is 100% light roasted Colombian coffee. - How long have we been working with this partner/how long has this been the coffee in this coffee?/What coffee was in here previously?
We’ve sourced this lot from Cofinet, with whom we’ve been working since 2020. Our relationship started with a few bags for our reserve line, and we’ve recently bought a whole container (275 bags) of coffee from them! Though our partners have changed over the years, Boneshaker has been a Colombian coffee since 2018. - How long does this coffee roast for? OR How does this roast affect the flavor experience?
We light roast this coffee to highlight the citrus flavors. This coffee roasts for roughly 10 minutes, first crack being at 8 minutes. It starts at 436 degrees and ends at 408 degrees.
- Why does it have this name?
We initially launched Boneshaker as a Seasonal ‘Spro, circa 2015, so it sat right next to Green Bike. “Boneshaker” was a nickname for an ancient wooden-wheeled bike that we included in the original design. While the product didn’t stick, customers and baristas really resonated with the name and imagery. We kept it when we redid our line in 2017/2018 around roast levels.
Going-Ons:
- New Retail Craft Focus from Latte Art to Espresso: As a Retail group, we have succeeded in CRUSHING our latte art goals effectively improving our level of #RemarkableCare. Education wants to say thank you to all of the Baristas and Coaches who have worked so hard to #NeverStopLearning about their art.
- Moving into these warmer months, we will be adjusting our focus from latte art to espresso. As we transition into a new focus, we ask that baristas continue to give the same level of care and energy to their art, continuing to #CleantheCorners that still remain, but now we want to #ThinkHard about our espresso too.
- This shift in focus will come with some more informational resources, educational encouragement, and teamwork. The expectation is for all of us to be in parameters for all three espressos 100% of the time and to have Sweet, Clean, and Juicy espresso at least 90% of the time. Stay tuned for more plans from Education for how to pull remarkable shots of espresso and how we can have fun doing this work together.
- Paperless W2 Update: As we continue to learn about opportunities to be environmentally conscious, we are asking that you help us go paperless for our upcoming round of W2s in 2023. Please opt in to receive your W2 digitally as soon as possible, as we are hoping to have all team members paperless. This will also allow you as a team member to have your tax information at the ready with plenty of time to spare. These can be accessed via Paycor in advance of tax season each year. Please take a moment to update your W2 preferences in Paycor in advance of August 1st. If you would like to continue to receive a paper copy for any reason, please reach out to Teams to arrange for one to be printed. Thank you!
- To update your W2 preferences to be digital follow these steps:
- Log into Paycor on a desktop
- Click “W2” under the homepage welcome
- Click “Paperless Options”
- Select “Paperless On”
- To update your W2 preferences to be digital follow these steps:
- SCC Transportation Grant: Hey Coffee Geeks! In striving to be equitable, inclusive, and environmentally conscious, SCC offers a transportation grant opportunity to a handful of team members each quarter. This grant is awarded based on need. Team members who receive this grant will receive a monthly reimbursement towards a bus pass, bike, etc. If your primary method of transportation to work is something other than a personal vehicle and you are interested in participating, please email teams@stonecreekcoffee.com to request an application. All current and previous recipients should reach out to Teams to request a new application to reapply for the upcoming quarter. We will be accepting applications through the end of the day on Monday, July 11, 2022. Q3 grant recipients will be selected by the end of the day on Monday, July 18th. Please see the 2022 Employee Handbook for additional details.
- Need Support for a Remarkable Care Opportunity?: Hey team! Just wanted to get you in the know. If you ever connect with a customer or learn of an opportunity to show Remarkable Care to a Stone Creek fan that is outside of your cafe’s scope, work with your Coach to reach out to the Customer Care team! We would love to help! Each week the Customer Care team looks for opportunities to go above and beyond with our customer base and you are the ones crushing it every day face to face, so share the love! For example, a few weeks ago, Happy at Glendale cafe reached out with a regular customer that shared that they just received a pretty serious medical diagnosis. He wanted to know if there was something extra we could put together for them as they start this journey. We were more than happy to make up a care package to show our support. Thank you, Happy and the Glendale team, for the opportunity to create #RemarkableCare!
- To share #RemarkableCare opportunities: Please email the Customer Care team ideas at customers@stonecreekcoffee.com with the details (blurb & customer contact info). Please cc your coach so they are in the loop!
- Important Sick Time and COVID-19 Policy Reminder: Alrighty y’all! Here is a friendly reminder that all employees, regardless of tenure, are granted sick time which refreshes on January 1st. This benefit is meant as an encouragement to not come to work when you are feeling sick. While we always enjoy seeing your smiling faces at work, your health is most important!Again, to care for each other and ourselves, Teams & People wants to remind everyone that when you begin to feel sick you should NOT come to work even if you cannot give six hours notice. Six hours of notice is a kindness that is meant to encourage mindfulness, but it is not always possible. Upon experiencing symptoms, please reach out to your team leader as soon as you can so they may begin to look for coverage for your shift.In addition, in the event that your symptoms may be congruent with COVID-19, you become aware of exposure, or test positive while being asymptomatic, please reach out to Teams & People as soon as you can. Teams & People and team leaders work around the clock to manage COVID-19 concerns and shift coverage and are readily available to support you and your team in the event you are unwell, exposed, or have tested positive. Thanks everyone and take care!
- Company Brewers Game: Please join us for a Brewers Game, August 5th at 7:10pm against the Cincinnati Reds. Stone Creek Coffee will be paying for all employee tickets, however, guests are also welcome for a $22 fee to cover the cost of the ticket and food. Stone Creek Coffee will also be procuring a section of the parking lot for us to all meet at prior to the game. We also will be supplying food, but please plan to bring your own beverages. Additional information will be sent to your email in advance of the game. Please RSVP by July 1st here.
- July 28 EDM Latte Art Throwdown: GET HYPED! The next Thursday Night Throwdown (TNT) will be an EDM theme. Invites and posters will be coming soon to cafes. Start talking this up and thinking about your schedules. Let’s Partay!!
- Cafe 1883 Syrup Pumps Reminder: Hey folks! A recent question came up about 1883 syrup. The question was “How much 1883 syrup goes into a latte?” The answer is found in the Barista Drink Recipe Guide which is in the Barista Training Manual, and the syrup amounts are as follows…
- 8oz – 1 pump
- 12oz – 2 pumps
- 16oz – 3 pumps
- 20oz – 4 pumps
- Please be sure your whole team is using these syrup amounts. Whether you’re a Coach or a Barista, please talk to your coworkers about this and make sure we’re all using the same amounts.
Wins & Shout-outs:
Email the Employee Celebration Committee (celebrations@stonecreekcoffee.com) if you’d like to recognize or celebrate a teammate. Or if you want to make a public shout-out, email Val (vnewhouse@stonecreekcoffee.com) to include in the next Employee Newsletter!
Birthdays:
- 6/25 – Rachel Shea
- 6/26 – Litzel Saavedra
- 7/2 – Jayne Kilander
- 7/3 – Matthew Wilkins
- 7/6 – Hailey Barsch
- 7/6 – William Thiemann
- 7/7 Olivia O’Neill
- 7/10 – Elena Caceres
- 7/14 – Maya Oezer
- 7/15 – Selina Domenech
- 7/15 – Katelin Rockwell
- 7/16 – Dylan Adams
- 7/21 – Meghan Gross
- 7/22 – Justin Zambrano
- 7/24 – Arcadia Schmid
- 7/29 – Olivia Aponte
- 7/30 – Amy Balestrieri
Anniversaries:
- Kai Flores Komatsu – 1 year!
- Patricia Kovochich – 5 years!
- Brian Koznarek – 1 year!
- Bryan Kraft – 15 years!
- Andy Kubash – 1 year!
- Eli Miller – 1 year!
- Justin Miller – 3 years!
- Kara Moon – 5 years!
- Maya Oezer – 4 years!
- Molly Persin – 1 year!
- Marie Redding – 1 year!
- Domenic Serena – 1 year!
- Holly Sporek – 1 year!
- Mitch Stewart – 2 years!
- Margot Stonyte – 1 year!
- Karen Strange – 6 years!
- Margaret Tews – 3 years!
Welcomes:
- Sonja Christensen (Glendale)
- Jay Sumler – Bakery
- Quinn Hammerlund – DWN Kitchen, Welcome Back!
- Mara Rugen – Wauwatosa
- Johnny Zei – Tech
- Sonja Christensen – Glendale
- Jennifer Hogan – Oconomowoc
- Hannah Van Voorhis – Oconomowoc
Employee Discount Codes:
Please don’t share these with non-employees
- 20% Employee-Only Website Coupon Code
- June: Jun22sccemp
- July: Jul22sccemp
- 40% Employee-Only Mobile App Coupon Code
- June: Jun22sccemp
- July: Jul22sccemp
Catch up on all of our newsletters, company updates, recipes, and more in our Employee Blog here. NOTE: This URL has been updated and will occasionally be updated from time to time!
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.