Friday, August 7, 2009

Introducing the Director of Dogma

If you have followed BIGGBY Bob on this blog for a while now, you will remember the many barista interviews where Bob asked the barista "What is the BIGGBY Way?" The baristas would usually quote either our Mission Statement or our Operating Philosophy and Bob would wave it off saying, "not that corporate dogma stuff."

I, on the other hand, put a little imaginary sticker up on the metaphorical gold star board. I LOVE that our staff members can rattle this stuff off reflexively because it's the backbone of our training program.

I've been with the company now for nine years, having somewhat stumbled into the part-time position as a barista after being unable to get hired as a server or bartender at area restaurants. I remember, very distinctly, that first day of training at the store--the trainer, Melissa, invited us (there was one other trainee) to get a drink, and then we adjourned to the patio and turned to page 1 of the training manual. And we read PERC, an acronym for our operating philosophy.

And my perspective on the retail world changed forever. PERC gives our baristas structure for the "how" and "why" of "what" we do. It outlines a set of rules that, if followed, will absolutely deliver the best retail experience in the world for our customers. I read those four lines about respecting the customers' time, making them feel special, giving them a perfectly made drink every time they visit, and making sure that they always leave the store in a better mood and it resonated with me.

BIGGBY is different. However you articulate it, and there are many different ways(read the posts between 7/27 and 8/5 for examples), a lot of it is grounded in those four little letters and what they mean to BIGGBY baristas. It gives us permission to spend our time behind the counter making people happy, oh, and making coffee--that too.

So nine years later I'm the guy responsible for pushing the "dogma" within BIGGBY community as Director of Training, and I could not be happier in, or more proud of, that job.

I'm looking forward to the next week or so of guest blogging--it's a great opportunity for me to share a slightly different perspective than Bob does on that same amazing BIGGBY World. Thanks. -JD

5 comments:

BIGGBY BOB said...

From 30,000 feet....a most awesome post!

David said...

If I may be so bold, I'd say there's some merit to considering the operating philosophy as not just a retail philosophy, but a philosophy of general human interaction. Imagine if we all approached interactions with each other with the goal of bettering each other's moods, rather than taking what we need out of the social interaction and moving on. If it's genuine, there's some real power there.

I'm feeling a bit John Lennonish this eve. Thanks for the inspiration, JD.

Anonymous said...

It is the way and what sets us apart from the rest!

mj said...

Well said, Jeremy! Long live the BIGGBY WAY...(and LL John Lennon too)...

Anonymous said...

Even something as simple as smiling at a stranger makes them optimistic...so pay the happiness forward, BIGGBY style...