Rollie’s Post

Is it too early? I bet you think it's too early!! Don't worry, we don't have the Christmas decorations up just yet at Upperlands Coffee Company; but we are putting the word out if you want any commercial orders for Christmas now is the time to think about placing an order. Coffee makes a popular employee or customer gift for the festive season, either as a standalone gift or a fab addition to a Christmas hamper, especially when it is the freshest, local, hand-roasted coffee. Please get in touch to discuss options

"Underconsumption core exists because even the most exuberant of haulfluencers are starting to feel the constrictions of what is basically a national money shortage. When Broccoli is £1.20 a head in Lidl (one pound twenty pence!! for broccoli!!), there are many other things that have to get cut from our monthly budgets. Nights out become more infrequent. Takeaways become frozen pizzas. Beer turns into slabs of whatever tinnies are on offer at Tesco. We do what we can to keep ourselves afloat when the weekly shop increases by more than 20% over a year." https://lnkd.in/eXwZDt8K

"We ran out of out of coffee" Terrifying words if you're a daily drinker. 😳 Here are 3 ways to help make sure this doesn't happen to you. 1. Subscription Membership. Join the Coffee Council and save. You get to pick your roast and grind plus it saves you 15%. You choose the frequency, from every 2 weeks up to once a quarter. You decide. - pickup is available for local members - 2. 2lb Tuesday. In-store only. Save 20% off any 2lb bag of coffee. Every Tuesday. 3. 5lb Fridays. Maybe you can't make it in on Tuesdays...or 2lbs is 3lbs too little ;) Get 15% off on 5lb bags on Fridays in-store only. Enjoy Council Oak Coffee at home or in your office. If these don't fit your situation reach out to see how we can help :)

Five Bullet Friday - Ask for a Sandwich Hello Team, Today, instead of our usual list of points, I want to share a story that’s been on my mind, especially as many of us are focused on growing our ACO line of business. It’s a lesson I've learned time and again in life. Let me explain with what I like to call the "Ask for a Sandwich" story. I live close to the San Francisco Airport, near a bustling intersection with a 24/7 donut shop and a 24/7 Mexican restaurant on adjacent corners. Needless to say, there’s a lot of foot traffic. One morning, as I was heading to my car to leave for work, a middle-aged woman approached me. She appeared to be transient but wasn’t under the influence of drugs or alcohol. However, she was non-verbal, not responding directly to my questions but instead pointing toward the Mexican restaurant. Thinking she was hungry, I followed her and continued to ask if she wanted a breakfast burrito or a breakfast sandwich since they serve those there. She didn’t respond but walked past the Mexican restaurant and headed into the donut shop across the street. She pointed to a few items, picked them up, nodded her thanks, and went on her way. That moment left a lasting impression on me. I thought about how brave she was to approach a total stranger, unable to verbally communicate or perhaps not speaking the same language. All she had to do was "ask for a sandwich." In this case, she got donuts instead, but the essence of the lesson remains: sometimes all we have to do is ask. Now, what does this have to do with our ACO? Recently, several providers in our region have joined our ACO simply because we asked them: "Would you like to join?" That got me thinking, what else in life can we achieve if we just ask? What do you want to accomplish that could be on the other side of asking? Of course, asking doesn’t always guarantee we get what we want immediately. This isn’t a genie-in-a-bottle scenario. But it’s a reminder that if there are things we want in life, we need to ask and work hard for them. Listening to the responses provides valuable feedback that can bring us closer to our goals. So, what’s the message here? Ask for a sandwich. BEST DAY EVER, Ben #teamwork #healthcare #technology #IPO

If this is you then I have a challenge for you this week and we are going to build on these as the weeks go on! It’s easier said than done I know BUT take 10 minutes at the weekend to scribble down, BEFORE you do the food shopping, what you are going to cook each night that week. Curate you shopping list based upon the plan. That’s all. Sounds simple I know. Start small and build upon it. That’s how we do things here. Even if you don’t act on the list, that’s ALL I want you to do this week. Let me know how you get on – or do you already do this one? Do you find it an effective way to plan the week for your family? ✌🏼🌻🖤

These are a few of my favourite things! Keeping on with the theme for the month, we’re talking all things small business! Felicia shared her favs earlier this month, and here are a few of Candace's! 👉️Oil Babies 👉️Steve's Tea Company 👉️Roylene's Sweet Treats 👉️Chuck Burger Check out all the details in our latest blog: https://bit.ly/48tNS2b #ShopSmall #ShopLocal #SmallBusinessMonth

👋 Are you comfortable with our tipping culture? Any business that operates on an iPad now asks you to select a tip. Then they'll conveniently suggest an amount: 18%, 20%, or 25%. In the U.S. we're often confronted with unexpected asks in non-traditional settings. In my mind, the following are customary: 1. Restaurants: 20% 2. Bars: $1-2 per drink or 20% of the tab 3. Taxi & Uber/Lyft: 10-20% 4. Hair, Nail Salons, Massage: 15-20% 5. Hotel Bellhops: $2-$5 per bag and Cleaning Staff: $2-$5 per night 6. Delivery Services (Instacart, DoorDash): 15-20% 7. Valet Services: $5-$10 8. Coffee Shop/Bakery: $1-$2 cash into the tip jar Places I don't expect to tip (please tell me if I'm wrong!!): 1. Fast Food and Self-Serve Restaurants 2. Grocery Stores 3. Retail Stores 4. Dry Cleaners 5. Medical Appointments 6. Professional Services (CPA, Attorney, Financial Planners!) ↳Where is the most unusual place you've been asked to tip? A client had the option to tip after a dental cleaning recently! So far that one takes the cake for me. __ Pictured: A celebrity bartending event for the American Diabetes Association, where I did NOT tip Laura Parker for whatever was in that cup. Her face says it all... #tipping #financialplanning #budgeting #tourdecure

🇨🇦I couldn’t help noticing this sign when I was buying my kids an icecream today in Ontario, Canada. 🍦“We are not responsible if you drop your ice cream” 🤯🤯🤯 The funny thing is, that the dropped ice cream story has long been the poster child example of exceptional customer service in the hospitality industry. 😭Here’s how it goes: parents buy child an ices cream, and the child drops it. Instantly turns hysterical causing a scene and added stress and embarrassment to the parents. The service provider sees the situation and immediately comes to the rescue with a new ice cream before the parent even reaches for their cash/card. ❤️🩹It’s called a proactive recovery ☕️It even happened to my wife recently at a coffee shop. My son had knocked the coffee out of her hands and the barista immediately offered another replacement coffee. 🪧When you think about the ice cream example, the sign is technically right - they are not responsible. But a child with control over their ice cream are not really “responsible” either. 📏A measure of good service in this instance is not in the definition of responsibility, but rather taking responsibility to solve the problem for the customers sake. 🤔I do wonder though whether this sign has been put up for the sake of it, or whether the kiosk had gone over budget with free ice creams for children who drop them? (I suspect it was the former). ⁉️What does everyone else think? Have you seen signs like this anywhere else? #serviceculture #serviceexcellence #customerservice #leadership #allin

Wouldn’t it have been great to read a sign that actually said “we hope you enjoy your scoops but if the worse happens we’ll … [do something nice and positive]. I actually don’t think there’s a need for any sign here. The response should come in the moment from a staff member and you’d hope that interaction would be helpful. You can imagine the very worst kind of meeting that originated this sign: “how can we deal with annoying customers who drop their icecreams - we’re currently being just too darn nice.” “Yes” everyone says, “let’s make that very clear to all of them!”. Instead it could have gone this way: “Let’s treat this as a chance to demonstrate great service and our creative challenge as a team is to come up with a positive response knowing that we may not be able to giveaway so many free scoops in the future. Go!” It comes back to the service ethos, ‘experience making’ and everyday empowered and positive actions in the moment. Most importantly embedding an ‘all-in service culture’ as Chris Smoje says in his book of the same name. Lessons for all service providers here.