Thursday, August 28, 2008

Kalamazoo-- YAHOO!

I visited our store in Kazoo located on Westnedge...I met Catlin (sp?), Mike, Megan, and Digby....got a coupla good suggestions on recycling and a healthier approach to beverages...I also learned that shoe designers only pay attention to people that wear size 6. I had lots of fun...there was lot's of energy....it is no surprise that they won the Todd Miles award! They were perfect in their approach towards every customer that came in...including myself! I had a fun interview even though I couldn;t stay long...I loved these guys!

6 comments:

Nigel T. Monkey said...

Oi! Hi Bob and Digby. Glad to see Digby is getting along well and making himself at home along the way. Sounds like your looking for some hippies in your travels. If you come to Ann Arbor you can catch some great breakfast at the Fleetwood Diner call Hippie Hash, a mound of heavenly hashbrowns with veggies and cheese on top (one of Gund's favorites actually). They are open 24 hours and after 2am it can get a bit strange there.

JD said...

Awesome! Great interviews, team.

Rick and Kim--why haven't you sent any of them my way yet for MIT or PERColator Training? I think they would be a blast to have in class (PERC is being held this Tuesday and Wednesday...)

Thanks - JD

And p.s. I'm a disc golfer (not a hippie though) and thought that the courses at Robert Morris Park in Kzoo and in Oshtemo are great! Check them out. And if you want to blend...bring a hackey sack along with you, just in case.

Twitchy McGee said...

I'm lobbying for the polls to be reopened on the Short, Tall, Grande vs. Small, Medium, Large thing--

Asking that question on the Biggby CEO's blog, where presumably the majority of visitors to the site are either staff or customers of Biggby would be like holding the presedential election for the entire country only in the state of California, or in the state of Texas...I think as a group we're too biased to see the bigger picture.

Short, Tall, and Grande feel nice and cozy to us because we're part of the fancy pants coffeeshop world already, but it's a mistake, because it's such a cliche, already-mocked-by-the-outside-world thing (check out: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c4GW-2YtHNA and also: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r2y_GwKzxck and also: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vFLs9RI8mSA&feature=related etc. etc. etc. for evidence).

If 70% of the population drinks coffee, 10% of which drinks specialty coffee, what percent of the population drinks specialty coffee? Seven percent!

So what percent of the population doesn't come to coffee shops?

NINETY THREE percent.

So, yeah, Short, Tall, and Grande took the poll with 58% of the vote--but that only represents the viewpoint of 7 percent of the population.

Shouldn't we be making at least some of our decisions with the goal of capturing a portion of that 93% by doing things that won't intimidate them or confirm their stereotype-based assumptions about the kind of experience they're going to have? Especially if we can do that without simultaneously excluding our regulars?

And don't we already do this all over the place? Caramel Marvels, Teddy Bears, Big Chills, etc. rather than macchiato this and frappuccino that? Let's be consistent across the (menu) board and kill off the Fritalian.

Yes, it will mean change (the cash registers especially will need lots of updates, for example), and it will take adjustment, but if it allows us to capture just a piece of the 93 percent pie, won't it be worth it?

-Twitchy

Anonymous said...

Kalamazoo-Westnedge is one of my favourite Biggby Coffee stops! They regular re-caffeinate me during my work day, and always with a smile (and a challenging trivia question)!

Anonymous said...

I agree with retaking the pole. Can't appeal to the masses by catering to only a select few!

Anonymous said...

Oh No, Hanging Chads! Every vote should Count! I agree, to appeal to the masses, you must not rely on the opinion of a select few!