Hey, Who's the New Guy?

I had a chance to work "In your shoes' with Vanessa, our Barista in Starbucks. That is not easy work though Vanessa makes it look easy. What I loved about this role is the chance to interact with many associates, volunteers, physicians and visitors. It gives the Barista a chance to help shape the day of so many people which in turn helps our patients and each other. To put things in perspective, we probably see almost as many people in our Starbucks as our Emergency Department sees in 24 hours - that's a lot of people.

When Vanessa went on break, Evan, our back-up Barista and Food Service Associate came over with Laura, our new Associate. She did not know I was the CEO and asked Evan why I was not given a 15 minute break with Vanessa. I let her know that 'Vanessa would not allow such a break for me.' I did see Laura later and we enjoyed a laugh about her concern for my well being- thank you Laura.

I had a chance to meet Marty who was visiting a family member. Marty knew Vanessa and asked, 'hey, who's the new guy?' She introduced us and let him know she was training me today. He asked how I was doing and she motioned 'so-so' with her hand. Later in the day I went up to visit Marty (I changed back into my suit and took off my hat). I re-introduced myself as the guy who served him his coffee today...he did not recall. I asked if he met the new Barista, Scott, and he said yes. He was certainly surprised when I told him that was me. We spoke for awhile and mid conversation he asked again if it was really me who served him coffee.

And for those of you who were particular with the piece(s) of cake or scone you wanted (you know who you are), that cracked me up as well.

Thank you all for your patience today with the new Barista guy.

Vanessa - you are a wonderful trainer and truly represent the spirit of our mission.

PS - Some coffee tips from Vanessa...it's all about the caffe latte (coffee and steamed milk). From there, a 'Macch'iato can be remembered as 'marking' the cup with chocolate and caramel syrups. And the 'cap'puccino is all about 'capping' the coffee off with foam.

I look forward to hearing from you.