Greg Owens 19:31
I don’t even think of like how they’re going to reopen because they must be gearing up to reopen I know Disney World like Disney World, Florida, Florida. Just open
up the pictures from Miami and it’s like, Whoa, this is bigger than it was last year. Yes. Right. And and what are like so your Job is maintaining or being watching out for what’s going on in the facilities of all the stores that are open right now. And then how much involvement Are you in the new stores? You just mentioned, you had two new stores open or three, the Sacramento also there’s a third, a second one in Sacramento, that open. Correct.
Alyssa Cooper 20:17
And so right now we only have Sacramento and Davis, San Ramon, when San Ramon will be opening on next week on Monday is our grand opening. So there is so you know, again, there was a lot of different responsibilities have sort of shifted right due to all this, but I am a part of the NSO or more store opening project to a certain degree. So a lot of it is just trying to riff off what others are doing in the moment, and then whatever we can do on the back end, and a lot of that is just making sure you know, our trash is set up on my end. Plexi’s. I’ve been tasked with Plexi’s right. This has been the talk of the town, it’s just been Plexi,
Greg Owens 21:00
like plexiglass she I’m sure Alyssa knows more about plexiglass than she’s ever wanted to.
Alyssa Cooper 21:09
I mean, it’s been a whirlwind, to say the least, but I’m always down to learn more stuff. But yeah, I mean, making sure that the new stores have their Plexis supporting the the accounting team to make sure that they have, you know, the funds to open. Like there’s just so many different avenues that I think the what I again, I love about Philz is that when we see that there needs to be help involved, we just jump for it and ask and support in any way. So it may not be in the scope of your work or your role in that moment. I know, we just kind of put it off to the side, we used to have, you know, a big team for project management for new store openings. And now we’re down to Gosh, three and like of course, like the support with area leaders and things like that. So
Greg Owens 21:55
it’s got to be there’s got to be a whole lot of delays. I can only imagine because we’ve been we’ve been delayed on multiple projects, because we can’t have so many people inside the store painting comes last right? And so then a for then, like we’re getting pushed out and pushed out. I’m like, dude, these are definitely changing up the store opening times.
Alyssa Cooper 22:14
Right? Yeah, yeah. And that too. Yeah. And making sure you know, the construction team has enough time for them to do what they need to do. And then they come back. And right now we’re in the week of preparation. So we have the team coming in. And they all you know, everything looks so fancy and new. I love going to new server openings, right? Because I’m like, I see all the new equipment. I’m like, oh my god.
Greg Owens 22:35
Like, oh,
Alyssa Cooper 22:37
take it in before. And
so yeah, but yeah, I think that’s been it’s been hard. But we, but now we’re going to be opening up like four more locations after this, of just what that looks like. So it’s been tricky. But I gotta say, it’s been amazing. I feel like all of us as a whole, we’ve gotten a lot tighter. Whereas before pre COVID. There are so many people involved. And now we are being tasked with things that may not be obvious, but we get to talk to more people and connect. And yeah, we’ll probably get to learn a lot more about the how each function works and where and what’s needed. Yeah, it’s more back into that like full blown startup mode and a lot of ways, right, we had to go back to our roots, which we do back to roots on with all the home office partners where they get to go to a store and they do a barista shift. We call it back to roots. But that’s really what we’ve had to do is just kind of get down to what we what we were and how we were successful back then. And
Greg Owens 23:39
yeah, it’s a it’s an amazing business, great products, and then
Katrina Stephenson 23:43
all your regulars too. Like him.
Greg Owens 23:48
But then, and it really says a lot to fill and building this sort of culture that he’s built in there and the work ethic and everything behind it. It’s It’s It’s a great story, right. And it’s so great that it you know, started here in Sausalito and, you know, is blossoming throughout the country now that’s wonderful.
Alyssa Cooper 24:08
Yes, yeah, it’s definitely been amazing Phil and Jacob have done an amazing job of just making sure that they have the right people in place to really continue to keep having this amazing culture. I really came to this company for a culture and I felt so welcomed and belonged and again, you guys, I’m sure already know how facilities it’s it’s a whirlwind. It’s a thrill every single day, you don’t know what kind of car you’re going to get rather someone’s driving through your patio or whatnot. It’s just really different and they make it that much easier for you to kind of just be in and do your thing.
Greg Owens 24:43
So yeah, and then what what is the when it comes to the design of the stores of the day? Have you had much influence in that or who’s who’s the they they they hire designer or is it Phil or is it Jacob or I’m curious because it is a It’s a unique design. And it feels it feels really good, right? Like it just it’s not a great, it’s a great environment. No, it
Katrina Stephenson 25:05
actually reminds me of Friends, you know, kind of the Central Perk back in the day when they would do the coffee shop and all the all the couches.
Greg Owens 25:15
You’re right. There was couches and everything in that little Manhattan coffee shop. That’s great.
Alyssa Cooper 25:21
Yeah, Central Perk. I love Friends. Yeah, I mean, I again, I feel like the store design is really such a collaborative partnership. You know, we have our we have our CFO who oversees store development and construction, all of those great things. And it you know, he I think everyone has an amazing vision. And I feel like that’s very how do we bring a community together? Should it be an open space, the colours have to feel like this. And that I mean, every store is so uniquely built differently. And Jacob is a part of those kinds of conversations, much of other c 10. c team members, and we do have a construction team consulting team that works with us. And you know, when I get in there, every once in a while, I try my best not to make too many like recommendations. But as long as something like you know, we can get a plumber in there to replace the water heater, if we need to down the road, it’s being able to understand like, what those measurements would be, and the placement and all of that, because it takes two texts, that might be something that we may not want to do kind of thing. So a lot of that and just really partying with the construction team. And just making sure like, how do we how do we really get close and align with those. But again, it’s been really collaborative, often. Yeah,
Greg Owens 26:40
yeah. And so looking ahead here, like what what do you see as opportunities and challenges coming up in your in your position with things opening up? And that kind of thing? what’s what’s next?
Alyssa Cooper 26:52
You know, I think the biggest thing and what we’ve kind of been seeing now is just, you know, really, how do we be proactive again, and making sure repairs and maintenance is in a really good spot trajectory, growth wise, like, you know, preventive maintenance, what that looks like. And again, making sure all of our machines are operating to the best ability, how do we get the teams more involved with clean ice machines and things like that. So there’s just been so much work on the back end of how we can be able to support our retail team in that way. And I think that has been, I wouldn’t say the biggest challenge, but kind of reminds us like, Okay, we got to we got to go back and clean this stuff before we can reopen.
Greg Owens 27:41
Right, right, right. Lots of elbow grease, I’m sure. out there. Yes. And one of the things I’d like to touch on in this podcast is it’s a two part question. One is like, how did you get to this place of being facilities manager for Philz? And then how would you suggest others that are looking at because there’s so many people that don’t understand that there’s these unbelievably sound like you’re super passionate and love your job? And there’s so many people out there that don’t even know these kinds of jobs exist? Right. And and they don’t even it doesn’t it’s not on their radar in so many ways. So we’re like trying to get that out there. So a little bit about your path. And then some suggestions for somebody that wants to to jump into this and find out more.
Alyssa Cooper 28:23
Yeah, absolutely. So actually, it my path was a little wonky, to say the least. So when I was younger, my I saw my mom she used to work for the Vallejo police department and different things. She actually started up a salon of Sheriff’s Department and then moved to Vallejo police department and as a police clerk. So I’ve kind of grew up in law enforcement, you know, here and there. And when I go to visit my mom at work, you know, I’ve got to see dispatching I went dispatching got I had really we had close family friends that were police officers, my mom used to do I checks and we would stop buying, say hi, you know, so we’ve gotten that. Probably, I wanted to become a 911 dispatcher, and write right off from what I’m doing now.
Greg Owens 29:12
It’s a stressful job to
Alyssa Cooper 29:14
Oh, wow. And that I so I put myself through the police academy at Napa Valley. And I graduated from being certified as a 911 dispatcher. And so moving from that there was a huge hiring freeze during the time as soon as I graduated. This is back in 2009. I was 19 years old. And I was like, Well, I’m going to continue to keep applying. I applied all the way down to LA San Diego. I just wanted like that was where my head was at. And at that time, I was actually a security dispatcher at the Concord mall.
Greg Owens 29:47
Oh, yeah,
Alyssa Cooper 29:49
I was just trying to get like whatever, you know, experience I could get and during that time, I worked really closely with the property management team and they had an opening I was like I want to be like I want to be able to help someone or people or departments or what I knew that that’s what I wanted to do and at that time a facilities coordinator role was open and i got really close with the facilities director we were able to partner on so many different projects and he took a chance on me and during that time it was actually in in the interviews with Davis PD so um hit look but what should I do I don’t know what to do and so I was like whoever is going to give me that option first i’m going to take it that was supposed to be my path that’s what was meant to happen and they offered me the job as a facilities coordinator now mind you I didn’t even know what he seen it and i was 23 at the time i had no idea i didn’t even know what a blueprint was i mean it was it was great but he took me under my wing under his wing and i mean he even got me on the roof of heels on i got to see an HVC inside i mean it was i understand what HVC is at that time I mean there was just so much and i end up falling in love with being able to partner and make those human connections because i feel like you get really close with people are have deeper connections when you go through something tough it really shows how much you are as a person and how much you’re willing to show up and our job is not easy I always say that you know you have to make retail happy you have your c team is asking us to do something cost saving this and that and then you also have to be a huge advocate for your vendors that’s how you continue to get them to show up
Greg Owens 31:38
oh yeah
Alyssa Cooper 31:39
and you have to be a support system for so many people and yet you’re like okay but what about me and so and it’s it’s a huge it’s huge it’s huge to like tried an athlete but ever since then so I moved from there and then i became the repair and maintenance analyst for Gymboree and at that time we were doing well we there was 1300 stores and there was three of us we had one manager and then he ended up off boarding and it was just the two of us me and my co worker going through the motions of what that looks like and i learned a lot in that role and how to really organize and prioritize yeah i mean that was that was one of the great roles that i had and then kind of moving through I was a store manager at one time because i think a lot of times in my role you have to really realize what the retail team experiences and you can’t just have it from one point of view so i think in my role when i got to phil’s i felt like i was in a good spot i was able to come from a place where i used to be in property management where i had to be a facilities coordinator for that and then i came from a store perspective and then now i’m coming from a facilities management perspective because i’ve had that prior so it was that’s kind of how it led me all the way up to here and even now there’s ebb and flow right in any role but it’s the moments where you get to have a really true conversation with anybody that makes it so much worthwhile and i remember why i love doing what i do so it’s it’s hard don’t get me wrong you’re always on call i’m always on call so but i yeah i love that i love that part of my job and it makes all the difficult situations that you have to problem solve and ask for help and things like that and be vulnerable sometimes that much easier to kind of deal with and then to answer your next part of the question i think for anyone who wants to get into this role it is very rewarding but to be quite frank and i hope that we can be because i want everyone to understand that it’s never just a black and white picture i always live in the grey i have to there’s no way that it can be so definitive because there is always that there’s a will there’s a way and i believe in facilities that’s exactly what this is and any advice would be organize gotta stay organized there’s going to be so many different projects that come in and out and and prioritize i mean i don’t know how many times in my past that a car had ran through a restaurant or store or one of our patios and you know then we have another emergency come through and all of their water towers go down and we essentially can’t serve coffee and at that point what do you do to prioritize how do you handle that situation and a lot of those things will come in time but I feel like being organized and prioritizing and have empathy for every single person that you work with doesn’t matter retail team c team vendor management and bb goes such a long way and I think that is so huge for our role because I feel like a lot of people are Forget that we’re humans at the end of the day, everyone, not just as facility, folks, but everybody. So I think that’s been a huge thing.
Greg Owens 35:09
That’s great. That’s great. Yeah, I don’t think people like facilities management general is hard. But being in the retail food industry, fast paced industry is a different is a whole different animal in a way, right? Because it’s, it’s never ending people walking through the store. Quick, quick, little, you know, maybe the average person spends 10 to 15 minutes in the store, but it’s lots of them that want to have a good experience. And they want to know that, like, they don’t want to think about the facility when they’re standing there getting their coffee. And when they’re being served their coffee.
Katrina Stephenson 35:43
Coffee, they need their coffee, right?
Alyssa Cooper 35:48
Yes, yes. And you’re right. Yes, it is different when it comes from like a retail store, right, such as Gymboree to, you know, in my past lives, I’ve never really had to deal with like, Oh, my God, if the water heater completely shuts off, we can be closed down. Right. And that’s a huge violation against health code, you know, so there is again, it is a different beast of a wherever you’re coming from, and whatever facilities lands you at. But yeah, I,
Greg Owens 36:17
I love what you were saying about being in the grey, because there’s, there’s so much about it. That is I’ve built quite a few different restaurants, stores and things like that, like, you know, just been being asked as I’m a painting contractor, and a general contractor. And so sometimes we just get involved in things, right. And we’re sort of like a go to projects, you know, for certain types of facilities and things like that dealing with the health department is incredibly, because each one in each city has incredibly different eyes and how they look on a you know, it’s like, it’s crazy, because like, you’re like, that was perfectly fine in San Francisco. Why are you? Why do you care about all the screws showing in this location?
Alyssa Cooper 37:04
Exactly Yeah, it’s our struggle.
Greg Owens 37:07
Right. Yeah. And so yeah, and said, but you just have to say, you know what the hell they mean, they’re, they’re gods in that world. And they they can call it like you said, they can close you down. They can whatever they say you’re just like, Yes, ma’am. We’ll we’ll figure out a way to hide all those screws.
Alyssa Cooper 37:22
Right. I think I think the biggest thing to that, as well as that the retail team, you know, the store leaders and the team leads and our baristas that really are like our, you know, our playmakers. They are the ones who really, truly get us to the finish line. They’re amazing. They too, should also be involved in these conversations and letting them know like, hey, like, this is what we got going on. And I think that I learned a lot in my role here is that the more folks are in the know, the more they feel confident that we are doing the right things and the best intentions as much as possible. And I’m explaining what that why is. So
Greg Owens 38:07
yeah, yeah, no, no, I think Philz does a great job of explaining why on multiple levels, it’s so wonderful to hear the different levels that you guys explain the why behind the story, the stories, right, they help build the culture, it’s so great at some great takeaways for even for our company here. And so we’re about to wrap up. I had one question I had is like, because I had to look at the what you guys buy a lot of your furniture for from Anthropology. Is there a connection there? Because here’s why I’m asking is I’m sitting in those chairs over here and corner midair or have them open Davis. And I’m like, man, like I can sit in these chairs a long time without my back hurting or anything like I want to buy these. And I can’t find them like I tried, right? And but I turned them upside down. I was like took pictures of where they’re from, right and put the plug the model number in. Anything behind that? You guys.
Alyssa Cooper 39:04
You know, from my understanding, there is no connection. But again, our stores are so unique and eclectic. We try our best to emulate whatever community that we’re in. It’s, it’s sort of like giving back. But yes, I don’t know how many times we’ve gotten customers reaching out via feedback through our app or emailing us directly of like, hey, so we saw this really cute white table like Where did you get it from? Like, Oh, we got it from last stone. And we’ll let them know where this information like how we got it. So sometimes if we purchase things in it may be out of season. All right, probably out of season, but you know, we were very upfront again, from my understanding we’re very like, let’s get this like we like to throw things in and just kind of go with the flow was how the store was built. I love going to Mission and I don’t know if any of you have had a chance to go. I’m sure you have. But I love going into that store. It makes me feel so at home because it is just like a little collection of different things all around. So it’s
Katrina Stephenson 40:12
definitely will now.
Greg Owens 40:15
It’s a great, it’s a great location. That’s wonderful. And I order Philz Harmonic is that they all the time. I’d love to know. Is there a story behind that one?
Alyssa Cooper 40:27
You know,
Greg Owens 40:28
I never thought about it before. But
Alyssa Cooper 40:31
I have to say I’m sure there is I remember
Greg Owens 40:37
how I’ll ask my barista.
Katrina Stephenson 40:41
Nice.
Greg Owens 40:42
I’m pretty tight with them over there. They see me every day.
Katrina Stephenson 40:46
Watch this now or listen to it.
Alyssa Cooper 40:48
Yeah, yes, I know. I really told only a few people that I was doing this definitely. You know how to get it cleared by our chief people officer and such but yeah, but I every yeah feels amazing.
Greg Owens 41:04
What’s your Which is your favorite?
Alyssa Cooper 41:05
So the Filtered Soul cold brew? And I like that one. Oh my god. When we watch this, I literally went into a for I have two bottles of cold brew right now in my fridge. Why I think that I was going to go through that. I don’t know. But I’m almost done with one. So if you’re gonna right exactly, but before, if I wanted something hot though, I go for the Soul Train. And that’s filter soul and hazelnut. with cinnamon in the filter.
Katrina Stephenson 41:35
game changer.
Alyssa Cooper 41:37
Oh, my God, I like now I want one. And
Greg Owens 41:42
I’m gonna go now.
I’m going right after this to Embarcadero for sure. Yeah, so it’s funny because you said that, like, this pandemic has changed me a lot because I carry a thermos with me all the time. Because you know, I don’t know when my next coffee opportunity will come. So I’ll buy a coffee and pour it in there. Right? So I can have coffee later if the stores are closed, or I missed the timing or that kind of thing. Right. So yeah, it’s definitely I can see why you’d have like, you know, extra supplies in your refrigerator.
Alyssa Cooper 42:12
I mean, you know, when I was trying my best to get a bag whenever I can, because I do like hot coffee, too. I’ve been I’ve just been new I’ve switched to cold brew. I mean, it literally is a game was a huge game changer for me.
Katrina Stephenson 42:25
I’ll try that. I’m a hot drinker.
Alyssa Cooper 42:28
Okay.
Katrina Stephenson 42:29
Yeah. Okay.
Greg Owens 42:32
I’ll never look at these coffees the same way again. That’s great.
Alyssa Cooper 42:35
I mean, we have so many different like, secret menu items that like I didn’t even know myself. There’s some times when I go and do store visits, and they’re like, oh, have you tried the, the oatmeal cookie. And I was just like, I was blown away. And I mean, the, the, our braces are really like mixologist, like they, they can do so many. And you’re right. I can never make it as good as they do. I’ll do whatever I have a little hand frother Oh,
Katrina Stephenson 43:05
I got one.
Alyssa Cooper 43:06
I mean, I’m doing everything right, put a little cinnamon on the top,
Greg Owens 43:10
whatever, whatever. And you’re like the store. Why is this store still taste better? Right? I’m
Alyssa Cooper 43:15
like, Okay, I’m just gonna have to stop by and do a store visit.
Greg Owens 43:19
Right? Right. Right, right. It must be so nice not to have an espresso machine because those things break down all the time to time, all that I mean, even though you mean it because I’ve gotten so sophisticated, the ones that like Pete’s or Starbucks or something like that, then, you know, mind boggling that those things can operate all day long. And you guys don’t you’re doing it the old fashioned way and doing pour overs and
Alyssa Cooper 43:41
pour overs and all types to get it. Yes, it’s Yeah, we definitely but we to have our challenges with our grinders and water towers and how everything sort of, Oh, you know, having our RF filter you know, we’re a water based Coffee Company. So a lot of what we do we have to make sure we have an amazing quality of water.
Greg Owens 44:05
And that’s probably a big reason why my coffee comes out differently. So you guys are doing some say
Alyssa Cooper 44:13
need to put an RL system in my apartment like is this
Greg Owens 44:16
a thing? Or is this just going crazy and so they just go to the store and get some more coffee
Alyssa Cooper 44:22
right I’ll do that yeah,
Greg Owens 44:28
that’s great. This is I really enjoyed this this I was so looking forward to talking with you Alyssa because I am big fan of Philz coffee and it’s so great to get the inside scoop on what’s going on. It makes me appreciate the company so much more. I already had just so much I was you know, I started off gushing about this. So
Alyssa Cooper 44:48
this was an amazing opportunity. I really appreciate you both just being able and I love to talk I love to nerd out on facility stuff. I don’t know why I don’t know how it happened. It kind of just
Greg Owens 44:58
yeah It’s such a big, unbelievably I didn’t even I mean, I knew because I’ve been painting for 32 years and working in all kinds of companies, right. And so I knew it was a big industry. But because of this podcast, we’ve just learned so much more Katrina, we’ve gone all over the world, and talked to different people. And like, we’re just blown away at how many different things need to be considered when it comes to the building environment and doing things safely and all of that.
Alyssa Cooper 45:27
Yeah, yeah, I think, yeah, it’s definitely it’s a different ballgame. It’s not your normal nine to five job and definitely Far from it. But I gotta say, if it wasn’t for the partners that we have in retail, and the C team and our vendors, I feel like our vendors get so under appreciated on so many different levels, as facility managers, or directors or whoever have to navigate through this, we’re not doing it completely on our own. It’s our vendors. And in my role, I had to learn how to be a huge advocate in a support system for our vendors that we have on here. And that’s hard. That’s hard when you have to play both. You’re always on the fence.
Greg Owens 46:11
Right? Right. Yeah. And he and you have to? Yeah, I mean, I see it all the time. Like, because we get called, you know, it’s that relationship, right. So there’s certain clients that I know, when they call my phone directly that it’s like, you know, we need to, they’ve got an issue, we need to go there, but they’re going to be very grateful. Right? And that we could come in fast and take care of it, whatever it is.
Alyssa Cooper 46:34
Yes, yes, exactly. And it’s huge with communication with all the vendors that I work with. Now, I have a weekly call with them. And, and it’s not just about what they can do fulfils but what can we do for them? Right? It’s a huge, how are things working? What do you not? What do you not seeing that could be working a little bit better? And I think a lot of that has to go hand in hand with when you’re trying to deal with a partnership granted its client vendor at the end of the day, but how do you how can you shift your mindset and the narrative without would be negative? And how can you turn into a positive? And that’s, I think it’s been huge. It’s been really impactful when you move in kind of that
Greg Owens 47:16
direction. Yeah. Well, this has been a wonderful conversation. Alyssa, how would people find out more about you? Is it LinkedIn the best way because we can put it in the show notes?
Alyssa Cooper 47:26
Yes. Yeah. LinkedIn, please reach out any questions, comments, concerns, even feedback, I’m always open I love that’s the only way that we’re ever able to improve so and now that I know that you guys do painting I mean, I might actually reach out to you directly into
Greg Owens 47:44
see anytime I’m already in a multiple, multiple stores so I can I can be your eyes on the ground at any point. If you want me to look at any
Alyssa Cooper 47:54
great, it’s a win win situation. I
Greg Owens 47:56
love the Hey, I just need to feed my addiction. That’s all. All the coffee to trade? Yeah, I’d probably save money
Alyssa Cooper 48:08
to you directly for sure. Right. Right, right.
Greg Owens 48:11
Yeah. Awesome. So great to have you on the watching paint dry podcast. This has been such a fun conversation.
Alyssa Cooper 48:17
Yeah.
Katrina Stephenson 48:18
Thank you so much.
Outro 48:30
Thanks for listening to the Watching Paint Dry podcast. We’ll see you again next time and be sure to click subscribe to get future episodes.