The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf Wins 2006 Spirit Award For Quick-Service Category
Annual award, presented by the National Restaurant Association Educational Foundation and Nation's Restaurant News, recognizes The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf® commitment
to the development and recognition of its workforce
LOS ANGELES, CA (September 14, 2006) - The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf® announced today that it is the recipient of the 2006 SPIRIT Award for the quick service category. Presented by the National Restaurant Association Educational Foundation (NRAEF) and Nation's Restaurant News and sponsored by The Coca-Cola Company, the Spirit Awards honored The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf® for its innovative human resource practices and policies that enhance guest satisfaction by improving employee satisfaction. The award is designed to recognize companies that truly understand that their workforce is the key to their success.
"We are honored to be a recipient of this year's SPIRIT Awards in the quick service category," said Mike Serchia, director of human resources of The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf®. "We recognize that high turnover rates continue to be one of the biggest concerns in the quick service industry. Therefore, it is crucial to our success to employ team members who are properly trained, recognized for their accomplishments, and inspired by our core values F.R.O.T.H.-that stands for Friendly, Respect, Ownership, Teamwork and Honesty-ensuring that our patrons receive a total quality experience. Our team members are not only the heart and soul of our company, but are our spirit. We dedicate this SPIRIT Award to each and every one of them."
Guided by the company's core values, The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf® has designed exceptional recruitment, training and recognition programs that greatly contribute to team member satisfaction. Starting with recruitment, the chain of specialty coffee and tea stores holds in-store job fairs during normal business hours so applicants have the experience of the friendly store environment. As team members advance, The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf® contributes to the professional development of its team members through the Benny Buddy program where general managers bid on senior management team members to become their mentor. Not only is the 'Benny Buddy' program a benefit to general managers, it also breaks down the barriers between various corporate and managerial levels and reduces general manager turnover. To properly recognize the hard work of its team members, The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf® rewards 15 employees each year with a once-in-a-lifetime trip to the coffee farms of Costa Rica, where the company gets a portion of its coffee beans. The trip is the most coveted of the employee appreciation programs. Team members participate in a harvest, visit the processing mill and host an appreciation dinner for the farmers and growers.
About the SPIRIT Awards
The SPIRIT Awards are open to any commercial, on-site, independent, corporate and franchise foodservice and restaurant company in any service format, regardless of size. An impartial panel of distinguished industry leaders and educators judge applicants and determine award winners. Applications are reviewed for innovation and creativity, professional program presentation (and in-unit communication) and measured program effectiveness. Winners will be honored at the Multi-Unit Foodservice Operators Conference (October 15-18, 2006 in Dallas, TX), at the annual SPIRIT Awards and FMP Recognition Breakfast (May 22, 2006 in Chicago, IL) and in The Spirit of the Industry 2006, a booklet highlighting the winners and their exemplary practices.
To obtain materials and information on the SPIRIT Awards, visit the NRAEF's Foodservice Workforce Solutions Web Site at www.foodserviceworkforcesolutions.com.
About The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf®
Founded in 1963, The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf is the oldest and largest privately held chain of specialty coffee and tea stores in the United States. With a reputation for excellence, the company is a leader in product innovations, having developed the original Ice Blended®. The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf serves more than 100 million coffee and tea beverages annually worldwide. Providing the highest quality coffees and teas for more than forty years, The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf currently has more than 400 stores in California, Arizona, Nevada, Hawaii, Singapore, Malaysia, Korea, Brunei, Indonesia, UAE, Israel, Australia, China, Kuwait, Egypt, Qatar, and the Philippines and continues to expand both domestically and internationally. 243 of the stores are company owned; 190 are domestic. For more information, visit www.coffeebean.com.
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