Cleanliness

Good morning... What can I get for you?

I stopped by my local store yesterday morning for a treat and was greeted by this little sight. Now, I know that it gets busy and stuff... and stores have limited labor and all... but it WAS 7am... and there were partners having social conversations... It just reminds me of how anal retentive my partners thought I was about such things.

At the largest store I managed (26 partners), I would constantly be coaching and directing my shifts to keep the place clean and have their baristas make that happen. If the place is clean and organized... then the business will go smoother. I got quite a bit of ribbing about taking Polaroid photos of perfectly clean and organized areas and taping them to the area. I figured that a written list wasn't good enough. Look at the photo... make it look like that. Besides... a clean store gives our customers confidence that we're on our game with regards to health codes.

The second thing that crossed my mind as I saw this trash debacle at the door was the number of times I've heard partners ask at an Open Forum... "When are we going to do something about our cups... they're wasteful and we should be setting the example" They came out with the sleeve and some recycled fiber in the current cups, but I've seen a few other coffee joints bio degradable cups and silverware... I guess that costs too much... and with the 5th Quarter fast approaching, you have to pinch the pennies and the dollars will come.

So what did I do yesterday? Well, I asked them to change it... They said they'd get to it, and kept talking amongst themselves. I may send the picture to Debbie, the manager... in Polaroid format of course.

We'll see you Monday for your usual...

Pat Nerr...