WHAT’S BEANGOING ON
October 2011
YOUR GUIDE TO THE GOINGS-ONWITHIN THE DÔME FAMILY
Welcome to the October 2011 edition of WBGO!
In this issue we hear about some exciting
guest experiences, charity events, and cast
team-building in our cafés. We continue our
introductions of people in the Café Support
Centre, and we visit two newly-opened cafés.
We also hear from Nigel Oakey, our Managing
Director at Dôme.
If you have stories, photos, great feedback or
anything that you think should be in this magazine,
please email me!
-Mallery
It’s hard to believe that once again we now have the summer season 2011 on fast-approach. For me it is a favourite time of the year for the Dôme café business. It’s a time when our al fresco areas are thronging and there’s life in the cafés all day from dawn until well after dusk. For me personally this year will also be the 10th year that I’ve seen the business enter the summer season. Time has flown by. Summer 2011 is however very different to summer 2001. Whilst the front-end of the café still has that unmistakable warm European-feel fitout, there’s not much in the back end that has not undergone almost complete change from those early days. From menuing through to equipment and operational systems we really are a very different business which has made a significant positive impact to the growth of the brand and our per-store-average revenues. There are however some fundamentals in hospitality that will never ever change. All the systems, branding and marketing in the world by any company can never replace the feeling that a guest has when they are being served “in the moment” in a Dôme café by an individual team member. How a guest feels in that moment of contact with a Dôme frontline team member is the single biggest driver of whether they will return themselves or recommend your café to someone else. Furthermore how a team member themselves feels about the place they work is directly correlated to how they feel about their manager. The inference is that those cafés which are full of great team members who feel great about the place they work are those cafés who give the best service-moments to guests....and which in return tend to have the most loyal returning and referring guests. When guests love you to bits I like to call them “Raving Fans” which as you’ll read in this episode is exactly how a couple of guests feel about Dôme Victoria Park – so much so that a proposal for marriage was made and accepted in the cafe dining room! Being at the core of success in hospitality, this theme of team and guest engagement is one that I look forward to seeing us increasingly bring to the fore as we build the Dôme business for its next stage of success. Have a great Spring / Summer and I look forward to seeing you soon! Nigel Oakey
Nigel’s Note
The Dôme TimesEstablished 1990 Monday, October 17, 2011 $1.30
Ashleigh and the team at Victoria Park have a couple of lovebirds in their café. Frequent guests Scott and Meg met at the site four years ago, in its pre-Dôme existence as a café called Farell’s. This past May, Scott surprised both Meg and the Dôme team by proposing to Meg in the café dining room! Meg thankfully said yes, and shortly after, the engaged couple sent this thank-you note and photo to the café:
“Thanks so much Ashleigh!
Thank you so much for all of your help. Your staff were just fantastic and really made me feel like a million bucks. I owe you all a great debt of gratitude and your faces and your cafe will forever be etched in my memory as part of ‘our story.’ Thanks again!
I look forward to popping in to see all you guys again to have a cuppa and re-live the night.
All the best, Scott and Megs”
Ellenbrook family funLee-Anne from Ellenbrook shares with us about their engagement with the local community. “Our customers love the atmosphere - family-friendly, with free face painting. We organise this event to take place the third Sunday of each month and have also included live music. We have been lucky to have attracted Courtney Murphy with his baby grand piano! His brother Chris and family are regulars at the café. When summer hits we will be looking for local talent and we have been in talks with the local high school which has a newly formed band. When their list is large enough to perform hopefully we will get them in.”
A pair of local princesses model their painted faces
Cafe manager Nikki celebrates in theme
at Dôme Victoria ParkLOVE is in the air
This past May saw three of our cafés supporting their local communities as Dôme Bunbury, Geraldton and Mandurah each hosted a breakfast and awards ceremony for the volunteers of the Foodbank WA program, commemorating National Volunteer Week.
Foodbank WA is a not-for-profit, charitable organisation that serves as a link between the food industry and over 600 community welfare agencies. The program takes food that would otherwise be wasted and gives it to those in need. Through the School Breakfast Program, more than 37,000 healthy breakfasts a week are also given to children who would otherwise eat little to no breakfast. The organisation is run entirely by volunteers.
To recognize and thank these volunteers, the three Dôme stores provided free breakfast and a venue for the awards ceremony. The feedback from the events has been extremely positive with the volunteers reportedly “overwhelmed” by the generosity.
Last year the organisation gave 2.3 million kg of food to welfare agencies and in their 17 years they have salvaged 25 million kg of food.
Those of us who have written a few items on the wastage sheet in our cafés will understand how important this program is and Dôme is proud to be associated with the cause.
Dôme supports local charities
Newspaper articles from the Bunbury Mail and Geraldton Guardian
by Hayley Read, Dôme Scarborough
Marathon MadnessDôme members continue to represent in local sporting events, with turnouts at three athletic competitions this past year. We were graced with photos of our four teams of Nissan BRW Corporate Triathlon participants in the last issue. Since then, Dômies have run in the HBF Run for a Reason in May and the City to Surf Marathon in August.
HBF’s Run for a Reason consists of a 14k or a 4.5k run or walk and encourages participants to choose a cause to run for.
The City to Surf Marathon has a myriad of distances to choose from. This past August, our own Paul Graham received a generous gift as a Secret Santa present - an entrance in the competition! Other Dôme representatives included Eddy Gaskill, Catherine Blizard, and Emma McEvoy (the Secret Santa giver).
Would you like to be part of a Dôme team in one of next year’s events? Let’s see how many people we can get from our network! The dates for next year’s races are as follows:
Nissan BRW Corporate Triathlon: Sunday 11 March 2012. Consists of a 400m swim, 10k bike, and 4k run.
HBF Run for a Reason: Sunday 27 May 2012. Choice of 14k or 4.5 k run or walk.
City to Surf Marathon: Sunday 26 August 2012. Variety of options.
Established 1990 Monday, October 17, 2011 $1.30
An incentive program surrounding product knowledge keeps the staff at Dôme Fremantle vying for the top prize. “At the moment I am running a ‘goal of the week’ program, which is setting two goals for the cast to achieve,” café manager Lexie says. “This week’s goals are to always have something in your hand and to remove all old labels from cambros. We award cast members for outstanding performance or improvement in those areas
Team-building Tangles: Chelsea dares the team members at Dôme Hillarys to un-knot themselves using cooperation, communication, and of course, humour...
dome survivor“Welcome to the Dining Room Attendant Week challenge. Your challenge is to collect in all the flags (table numbers) and do return checks to gain as many second orders in for your tribe (managers vs staff). You will work as a tribe to outwit and outplay the other tribe. The tribe with the most second orders will gain the jackpot cards. All second orders must be put through the till with a printed receipt with your name and put in the box by the till. Good luck. The tribe has spoken.”
Dôme Master Chef: One of Lexie’s many staff competitions at Dôme Fremantle
by letting them choose a lucky dip prize (movie tickets, vouchers, scratchies) and awarding on the spot prizes (free drink or cake) for participation.” Another of Lexie’s creative competitions is a series of Dôme Survivor challenges, one of which is explained below. Lexie says sometimes the staff initially think the competitions are a little corny, but they get really into them and it’s great to see different staff members step up to the challenge.
At Dôme Hillarys, a recent staff meeting included team-building games as a way of practising good communication. Café manager Chelsea presented the team with a rope with one knot in it for each member of the team. Each person had to grip the rope with one hand, then they had to work together to untie the knots without removing their hands from the rope.
Challenges abound at Dôme Fremantle and Hillarys
Reality TV show “Survivor” takes a Dôme spin
Established 1990 Monday, October 17, 2011 $1.30
Congratulations to
AMY & LEXIEfor achieving their nationally recognised
Certificates III and IV in Retail!
If you are interested in undertaking a FREE course, ask your manager!
TRAINEESHIPS
Lexie HopkinsonFREMANTLE
Cert IV in Retail
Amy DriscollNEDLANDS
Cert III in Retail
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2.
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Cairo MaletSCARBOROUGH
Mitchell Hattie CANNING VALE
Lucinda WilliamsSCARBOROUGH
MASTER BARISTAS!Congratulations to our newest
Eric SongcuanEASTEND
Ashleigh Ridgeway VICTORIA PARK
Erin MaynardNORTHBRIDGE (previously MIDLAND)
Erin TaffeeMIDLAND
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Cairo MaletSCARBOROUGHGabrielle Leavesley
SUBIACO
Damien SmithCAFE SUPPORT CENTRE
(previously SCARBOROUGH)
More MASTER
BARISTAS!
Francesca Villa & Amy Dent SCARBOROUGH
Iranthi FernandoSUBIACO
Karla O’BrienVICTORIA PARK
MunMun JahanWESTEND
Sarah PorterSUBIACO
Scott LandersCOTTESLOE
...And a few more!
David and his characters at Dôme Baldivis
Lexie and a bunch of Dôme Fremantle characters
It seems a few of our cafés have had the same idea when it comes to cast celebrations...
Rockin’ it at Dôme Rockingham
BUNBURY FORUMnew café
new café
NORTHBRIDGEChloe, Erin, and
some of the team
new café
CAFÉ SUPPORT CENTREIntroducing
Your What is your idea of perfect happiness?
What is your greatest fear?Which historical figure do you most identify with?Which living person do you most admire?What is the trait you most deplore in others?What is your greatest extravagance?On what occasion do you lie?If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be?What do you consider your greatest achievement?If you died and came back as a person or thing, what do you think it would be?What is your most treasured possession?What is your motto?
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Seeing my kids enjoying life in whatever they are doingRejectionThe person who invented the wheel - so simple yet so many applications and enduringMy wifeLack of humilityGolfAbout trying to squeeze in the next game of golfMy noseMeeting my wife and raising my two fantastic kidsA professional golferMy lifeTEAM - Together Everyone Achieves More
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Paul GrahamWHAT DO I DO? Lead my team in the development of systems and tools that enable our support and café
teams to better serve our guests .
WHAT DO I DRINK? Long macc top-down
Sitting on a beach watching my husband and little boy fish together, watching the sun go downLosing my familyMy mum. She is the bestest mum in the world!SelfishnessPedicures!!!When I don’t want my child to have a bikkie just before dinner... “No bubbs - they are all gone”My nose!My sonA cat. I like to do my own thing. I like cuddles when I feel like it. I also like to sleep a lot.My grandmother’s wedding ringLife is not worth living without family
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Megan GeorgeWHAT DO I DO? Look after our café’s accounts
WHAT DO I DRINK? F lat white
A beautiful day with no work to be done and family and friends to share it withNot being likedMy mum, dad, and all my grandparentsArrogance and disloyaltyBig Italian dinnersTo stop a child learning the truth about SantaMy impatience and indecisivenessAn eagleThat’s a secretTo be sure of winning, invent your own game and never tell any other player the rules
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Sarah KingWHAT DO I DO? Look after our Midland Training Centre
WHAT DO I DRINK? Cappuccino
Reading a good book in a hammock in the sunshineBeing locked in a roomMaybe not identify with, but how amazing to be Thomas EdisonNelson Mandela - amazing story of strength and still smiling!Not having a sense of humourBuying myself a new car (as a present after a very trying year)I might lie if someone asked me for the truth, but they didn’t really want to hear itI would like to be able to split myself in two - one body in Perth and one body in the UKGetting through my “annus horribilus” (the only thing I have in common with the Queen)I would love to come back to this earth as a well-loved catIf I said my mother’s ashes - would that be too much???I cannot fix anything at 3 am!!
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Joanna WilcoxW H AT D O I D O ? Support new franchisees prior to cafe opening, then maintain an ongoing relationship until the
business is properly established.
WHAT DO I DRINK? Medium Macc (small version of a long macc!)
R AV I N G F A N S
“As a regular patron to Dôme premises (Midland, Mundaring,
Rottnest) I would like to recognise the exemplary service and effort
by staff member Nadia recently at the Mundaring Dôme. As a
recently diagnosed Coeliac sufferer, I asked for assistance at the
main counter, if any staff could advise me regarding a light supper/
dinner dish.
The front counter staff called Nadia to assist. Nadia very kindly talked
me through the menu privately, and got a separate document to
help me decode the ingredients. Her knowledge, patience and
humour were superb!! I was so grateful and we had a great chat
later, and I really appreciated her knowledge.
Sue, raving about Dôme Mundaring
A personalised thank-you card and poem written by a regular guest at Dôme Baldivis.
R AV I N G F A N S
“The friendliness of the staff and managers is what made me start calling in every day for coffee.”Stephanie, raving about Dôme Maylands
“My boyfriend and I come here every weekend for breakfast, and usually 1 weeknight here and there for dinner. I really trust their cleanliness (as I’m a clean freak) and the staff at both of the Domes in Vic Park & East Vic Park are unbelievably nice! We have never left without receiving a goodbye from one of them, and never entered without a “hey guys!” and a massive smile. Makes such a difference! I really recommend this place. Awesome food and menu, awesome staff, and really fast service - even on the busy days.”Raving about Dôme Vic Park and Dôme East Vic Park on UrbanSpoon.com
“I have been purchasing my early morning coffee at your store for
approximately the last 12 months. For the last few months a staff
member named Mun has been on duty most mornings and in charge
of making the coffee. I have to say that she makes the best coffee.
It is always hot and the right strength. She also has a very bright and
bubbly disposition, as with all the other staff. It is always a pleasure
to come into your store and be greeted by happy and friendly
staff, but mostly to get a really good coffee. We always hear about
the negative issues regarding retail/hospitality, so I thought I would
comment on a very positive aspect of your store, especially Mun.”
Peta, raving about Dôme Westend
Regular guests at Dôme Vic Park treat the staff to a basket of Easter chocolate in appreciation of the “amazing service” from Ashleigh and her team
“Dôme for me has been faultless
since the 1990s. Special mention
must go to Alain at your Scarborough
store. He has always been friendly
and helpful regardless of time of
day. He is a fantastic example of
good staff attitude and is a credit to
your company!”
Andrew, raving about Dôme
Scarborough
R AV I N G F A N S
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