Who We are

I have over twenty years of retail management experience, having started working at the  Greenville Braves stadium parking cars at sixteen years old. I then worked at a movie theater  throughout college. After I graduated from Appalachian State University, I went to work at The  Open Book, an independent bookstore.   

I moved into management for GameStop in the summer of 2005, where I spent five years  honing my customer service skills at a variety of GameStop locations, moving from lower  management to Assistant Manager.  

Once I found out my wife was expecting, I decided to make a life change and pursue my  passion for teaching. I went back to school and graduated with a master’s in education. I then  spent five years teaching middle school.   

Teaching in today’s climate took a toll on me, as my focus was on teaching at-risk and  struggling students, and I decided to take a different course and spent the next five years in  various positions as a Quality Inspector. After a while, I missed working with the public, which is  where my real passion is, so I moved back into customer service and management at  Starbucks, where I currently serve as a shift lead.  

I’ve learned a lot about coffee with Starbucks, and truly love serving coffee to customers. While I  adore Starbucks, I see many opportunities to improve upon how they do things. They are pulling  their customers and employees in two different directions. On one hand, they want to serve  customers as quickly as possible, on the other hand they want to offer almost limitless  combinations of ingredients. This strategy is great for pulling in those that may not like coffee,  with Starbucks concentrating on frozen and fruity drinks these days in order to attract more  varieties of customers.  

This menu creep is partly natural. As a company gets bigger, it begins to run into walls where it  must try to grow beyond its core customer to capture more market share. Starbucks is trying to  fight the likes of McDonalds and Dunkin’ Donuts, its closest competitors.  

Most coffee shops growing these days are focused on a boutique café experience, where  customers come in and sit and stay for hours at a time. Even Starbucks is moving away from  this strategy, because it is designed for a slower, more individualized experience. What  Starbucks can’t do because of their size is to adapt quickly.  

I have partnered with La Colombe coffee because they can compete with Starbucks in many ways. First, they are already producing coffee in large scale, offering their coffee in coffee shops  and grocery stores all over the northeast. Second, they will give us some of the equipment we  need to operate in exchange for us using their coffee. Third, they are a quality brand with a  large variety of products beyond brewed coffee and espresso. 

I grew up in the neighborhoods this store will serve. I know these people and what they want.  They want to get their coffee and go as pleasantly and quickly as possible, with the best  possible quality for their money. They have high expectations, and Big A’s is designed to cater to those expectations.  

By keeping things simple, we can be more effective and concentrate on having the highest  quality in each item, rather than offering many items trying to serve every audience.  

The wonderful thing about using automated espresso machines is that it allows for staffing to be  chosen based on customer service capabilities, drive, and communication abilities, rather than  needing experienced baristas. Big A’s will not abandon the role of the barista, however. Instead,  baristas will be asked to take on more responsibility serving each customer individually as  quickly as possible. They will pour the drink for the customer, as well as assemble the  sandwiches, or warm the pastries and sides.  

I plan on hiring a mix of seasoned baristas, as well as those with management experience in  retail or other businesses with very customer-facing roles.