Park Place Coffee meets visitors from Eugene and Washington DC

Today was a day off for me, the owner of Park Place Coffee.  So, what do you DO on your days off, Dina?  Meet with others AT Park Place of course - on issues related to the community.

This morning I had the opportunity to  meet with our county commissioner, Diane McKeel, and a group of students from University of Oregon to discuss a project the students have taken on - an asset inventory of the Rockwood community.  So far, Rockwood has seen some great work from the U of O students involved in a "Sustainable Cities" initiative.  We are hoping these students can add to the great work accomplished.

This afternoon I was honored to be involved in a special meeting with Congressman Earl Blumenauer as he met with City officials and a few of us neighborhood folks on Rockwood issues.  More on the impressive information on Rockwood in a later blog....

Earl and his staff then arrived at Park Place Coffee for a quick drink before heading to Centennial Middle School.  Quite a special day in Park Place visiting with he and his staff about issues related to Rockwood, the coffeeshop and the surrounding area.  As a busy congressman, Earl could have declined the visit, or questioned the time in his schedule.  He could have grabbed an obligatory cup of coffee and headed out the door.  But having the group visit Park Place and Earl's genuine interest in the surrounding community gave me a new faith in knowing that our friend in Washington will remember Rockwood and know our passion for this community as he makes decisions that affects us.

It was a great day of special guests here at Park Place.

Undercover Boss

Due to technical difficulties on my home internet this week, I have been parking myself in the corner of my cafe, kinda incognito, as I use the wi-fi.  I have gained new perspectives as I sit back and listen to the conversations going on at the counter and the groups speaking around me.

A group of 4 women, in for the first time, talk amongst themselves about how much they love their crepes and how long it has been since they have had one.  One lady shares her recipe and explains that our hungarian crepes are like hers, because she adds cinnamon to her recipe.  Cinnamon in a crepe? The other ladies try it and decide it DOES work. They also look at my hours and decide they can stop in for breakfast more often!

The group of nursing students are parked on the couch, as they are every week, and they quiz each other on medical conditions. Some conditions involve profuse bleeding, some on how to cope with death.  At first these conversations make me a little uneasy while others eat, but I realize you can't or shouldn't control all conversations in a cafe.  It is part of what brings it to life.

The students discuss not meeting at the cafe on Fridays because the "church ladies" take over the shop so they'll have to find another spot.  I intercede, (cuz they know me anyway) and explain the church ladies have changed their schedule and please plan on keeping us in mind for Fridays.  Customer base rescued! 

A gentleman comes in and tells my barister (my new name for my male barista son) that its his first time in, he loves the coffee and the place.  He'll be back. Whew! My son's customer service was excellent as the gentleman continued talking for another 5 minutes.  Yes, he will be back because he felt at home.

Another regular came in, and though I was sitting in the back I could hear him loudly and his inappropriate choice of slang words that are part of his daily conversation.  When I am at the counter I don't realize that the customers in the back corner are hearing such things.  Note to self.

I have heard many talk about the new show, Undercover Boss.  I watched the first episode about the big corporation of Waste Management.  Although I can't be entirely incognito in a small little personal coffee shop, I can tell you that the hour of sitting back in the corner and watching the operations will help me implement valuable changes.  I learned why I was no longer seeing the normal Friday crowd, and understood the remedy.  That hour affirmed my belief in the quality of the food, the customer service and the friendly atmosphere at Park Place Coffee.