what if…

saw this on a friends blog…gotta say i love starbucks and will do my part over the holidays…

customer service…

there are places you go and you can’t get anyone to help you and you wonder what in the world they do to stay in business, t hen there are places that you go to and you get the royal treatment. well not royal, but they know your name, know you like to order certain things and they even look out for your interests. you know the p[lace where you feel good about going to and glad you spent your lunch there.

now starbucks is one of those places that if you go often enough, then they will remember your drink and your name. I feel kinda weird when the guy behind the counter calls out my name and my drink. But there is a chic fila in our town where this lady passes out mints, and purell hand cleaner. she always brings over this huge pepper grinder knowing i like pepper on my fries and strips. she has a great smile and takes care of everyone. one time they place was so jammed there was nowhere to sit, i had the fam there and she grabbed one of my sons by the hand and ran him to the last table open to hold us a spot. i like this place! it’s chic-fila and it’s the service you truly don’t expect in fast food.

this brings me back to the church. customer service is all about the customer and when thousands of customers come through in a single day it can get kinda hectic. it’s really cool to look out for people that struggle getting in. there is this one lady that comes in every week and she use to never drive someone always brought her and she was real frail. well one sunday she came in driving and opened her window to say this it was the first time in years she had driven. working with a perking crew is not on the hit list for volunteers, but just helping customers out have the best possible experience is what the church should be all about. some don’t come in with a smile, but the what does a smile and a wave cost you anyway? hospitality is a gift, some people just don’t have it. so when you drive onto the church parking lot with all the cares of the world weighing you down, look for the guy smiling back at ya…his name is mike and he is always full of cheer!

God knows how to take care of you!

today i went to starbucks to grab a carmel macchiato for a road trip to orlando for a meeting. i walked in and saw some people from church…a couple of our youth leaders and their kids. it is so good to go places where you just run into people you know. i grabbed my coffee and asked the barista what was the big unveiling at noon today…it seems they were introducing a new brand of coffee so he offered a sample and i gladly accepted. preparing my sample with some cream and sugar i ran into another youth leader. he found out i frequented this place and came to buy me a gift for my birthday. God sure knows how to take care of you. i came to starbucks later than i planned but i had to have a cup for the ride…i was late at the moment but chose to get a sample of the new blend…in preparing it the blessing came. timing is everything…well its Gods timing that counts. he knew it all and truly knows how to take care of his kids. i love me some starbucks…but only indulge once a week just to save some funds…thanks larry you are a true blessing! Thank you God for putting people like this in my life!
God knows how to take care of you!

my monday…

took the boys into class this morning…barely made it on time. i came home read my devotion act 21 and then finished editing a video for our outreach dept.-this is fun stuff. i went to my brother in-laws garage and took him to lunch-he’s a great mechanic and he turns 37 today! happy birthday bear! he also got me a great deal on a car-but now mercedes has taken out family members on a sweet deal-well that stinks!
i then went shopping for some vans and ended up buying a pair of jeans, belt and a polo shirt. the moment of the day was stopping by este lauder and buying a refill for a brow pencil. no i did not know what i was buying and yes i said it’s not for me and the girl responded can you tell…whatever. real men will go to makeup counters and buy stuff for women! well at least that’s my argument! stopped in at best buy for a gift, then hit up target for a birthday card and it’s a winner! on the way out hit up starbucks for a green tea frap-i just wish they never nixed the blackberry drizzle.

today was a good day…gonna go spend the evening at my bros house celebrating with fam. what was your day like? spend it at work…

drama…

today i spent the day working with a group of students on a human video piece for fine arts. we are working on a piece about martyrs…it’s truly morbid starting out with a victim being burned at the stake. anne askew was tortured until her arms and legs were pulled out of her sockets and she passes out. when she wakes up she preaches to her tormentors for 2 hours. the day of her execution she was carried in a chair to the stake where she was burned alive. she prayed for her tormentors in the midst of the flames.
we worked on building lots of scenes and following a song by leeland…tears of the saints. great day of work with students- i dropped by the local skate park to put up some signs for an outreach we are doing next weekend then met my family at the ormond steakhouse. great day topped off with a venti upside down caramel machiato…ahhhh i love starbucks!

friday night date night

I have not been home in the evening for 2 weeks, so we got a sitter for the boys and headed off to eat sushi! yes Takeya has the best sushi! I love it! if you hate sushi…then you don’t know what your missing! we ate sushi and a salad then went and got tix to a movie. going to a movie can be great experience or a bummer. let me explain…when you are on a date with your wife, talkin to a bunch of people kinda breaks the flow. we got tix and noticed all these middle school kids out front, but before we went in we dropped by starbucks for some coffee at the movie! the big movie this weekend was american gangsta people were waiting in lines to see it. I even saw a few church peeps there in the line. my wife saw a couple we aint seen for weeks in church (well its probably more than a month)! well if you are wondering if this is where we went then dont. I can’t stand rated r movies that are filled with cursing, sex and violence. think about it…american gangster- nuff said about what kinda language they would use! I am sorry if you went to see it, we went to see dan in real life. now the theatre was filled with old folks in their 60’s and then a few students…weird! it was an amazing flick- especially since i am a big fan of steve carell and the show the office. its clean and you will laugh a lot. so drop the guns and drugs and go for dan in real life! you wont be disappointed! date night was a success…we had sushi…starbucks and a movie!

the strarbucks experience…

one of the principles that makes starbucks great is that the employees remember specifics about the people that frequent the store. its more than a cup of coffee…people have names and specific orders. take my local strbucks…I have been there probably 15 times and i order a venti 1 raw sugar caramel machiato. tonight after the mens service at calvary i stopped in for my usual and the minute i walked in the door the barista said I need a venti 1 raw sugar caramel machiato…for al. now I felt special and more than just another consumer. that feeling when I left starbucks was a good one! I had a good experience…therefore i will be happy to return for more. calvary is all about the experience…its more than people…its lives with needs and desires. calvary delivers an experience each and every week! thats why people come back for more. what will you have today? how about…one big jesus full of grace and mercy that can handle anything! From the parking lot to the pew…calvary serves up Jesus! nothing else will satisfy! I love this place…