Mike(left), the conductor at the PC Junction poses with Adam.
This past weekend, my friend and I, Shawn, presented to a group of Wisconsin teachers in beautiful Door County. Some of you may have visited Door County in the summer months with its splendid blossoms, but the freshly falling snow this past weekend provided a sparkling beauty that is missed during the warmer months, for obvious reasons. During this recent visit, we stumbled upon another treasure that we’d missed during our earlier visits.
Our speaking engagement ended near lunch time on Saturday and we had worked up an appetite. The locals directed us to a place called PC Junction. It was described as a “hole in the wall” with great food.
As we approached PC Junction “hole in the wall” came to mind, but what we found inside was all heart.
We seated ourselves and soon, Mike the day’s conductor, took our order. The interior was decorated from floor to ceiling with railroad memorabilia. Our table was near a room that was loaded with toys, puzzles, video games, and school desks to keep the kids busy while moms and dads enjoyed the local fare. This kid friendly feature is well appreciated by myself, a father of three, but this is not what makes the PC Junction stand out.
While sitting at our table, Mike the conductor could be heard giving a holler from behind a half wall while operating an “O” gauge model train weighted down with drinks and baskets of food being delivered to patrons around the kid friendly tracks on top of the bar. His voice filled the room and ended with well known conductor speak, “A-l-l-l-l aboard!”
Mike and the owners of the PC Junction have found one thing they do well and have exploited it! The food was truly good, but the atmosphere created by the staff of PC Junction would have made bad food taste great. Their joy in serving was contagious!
Every teacher and administrator has talents or strengths that make them unique within their sphere of influence. Public schools have entered a new world of competition with private schools and open enrollment in Wisconsin. Door County plays host to a plethora of eateries, but the PC Junction stands out because they have discovered the one thing they do well, customer service. Schools must find the things they do well and begin to flaunt them like the PC Junction and shout it loudly.
Click the link below for a closer look into the operations of the PC Junction:
Adam,
This is really what it’s all about – customer service in education. This is what needs to happen when people walk in the front door of the school, this is what needs to happen when encountering moms and dads in the local grocery store, this is what needs to happen in the classroom – excellent customer service.
Your point about finding talent and flaunting it, about finding that one thing and doing it well, is well taken. Customer service in schools, however, needs to happen regardless of whether or not you are good at it. We want people talking about what a great experience they had when they enter our schools, just like you cannot say enough about the restaurant. If we don’t have this in school, then we need to find a way to replace these people with people who have this passion. Because this is what it is about. It is about the passion displayed by people. Great ideas.
Thanks for posting that. The next time Brenda and I are in Door County, we’ll be looking for PC Junction.
With regards to your comments about finding your talent and flaunting it, I’d like to add to that the wisdom shared nearly 2000 years ago…
Mark 12:30-31 …”Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength. The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these.”
To love others as ourselves requires us to embrace who we truly are as well as who we truly aren’t. I am much more loving towards others when I accept myself as I am.
As it’s been said before, God loves us perfectly exactly how we are, yet enough to not let us stay that way. He doesn’t replace us… but instead leads the way by reminding us of who we are, created in His Image.
Therefore, I think it’s important for schools to assess and reassess their strengths and weaknesses… as a staff and as individuals. Sometimes it takes a good look in the mirror before we will commit to making the changes that are necessary to become all that we could be.
Casting an all-encompassing vision is important… but it requires knowing in advance how your people see themselves so you can help them see more.
Peace and grace