Mt. Joy

I had the pleasure of being part of Fuse Intensive 2024 last week, and what an awesome event it was, This was an event about building community through events and JDC Events LLC gets kudos for practicing (and succeeding at) what they preach! I loved so many things about it that I feel compelled to do a few posts sharing each one. Todays’ focus is on the event itself and how it was organized. Here are 3 of the many things that I loved: 1. Excellent, high-quality speakers, perfectly ordered—I was really impressed by every speaker I heard (I will feature some of them in future posts). But I especially appreciated the order of the speakers and topics, which built over the course of the day so that we left with a comprehensive understanding of the big picture ideas. For example, Andrew Webster, who spoke before me, set me up perfectly for my talk on “HOW Mt. Joy BUILT A COMMUNITY AROUND FOOD, SHARED VALUES, AND SOCIAL IMPACT.” 2. Engaging mix of activities. Another way the event organizers kept us engaged was with a mix of workshops, presentations and networking opportunities. Everything was interactive rather than passive.  3. Literally moving around all day. Some one day conferences take place all in one room, which can get pretty boring.  But at Fuse, which was held in the beautiful woman-owned National Union Building, in Washington DC, they had us moving constantly from one room to another for the next presentation or event. That shook things up and kept all the participants engaged. Andrew Webster Jennifer D. Collins, CMP Shakira Johnson Dee Cariglino Kara Dao, CEM, DES Robert L. Jennings

Somehow, tipping culture keeps finding ways to get worse in this country. Last weekend, I found myself in a situation where I was required to tip at a self-checkout when nobody had actually helped me in the store. As I scanned for a 'skip' button (there was none), an attendant came over to 'help', which meant I had the pleasure of choosing how much to tip in front of an audience. Being asked (or required) to add a tip *before* any service has been rendered; being told how much to tip; not being told who gets the tip (or what % they keep); and being observed by an employee throughout the process is a standard experience in retail these days. At Mt. Joy, we've introduced *Conversational Tipping*. When you order with us, you engage in a conversation. We update you on your order through messages and offer activities like the SMS Jukebox and the Daily Leaderboard Game (see links in the comments). And after your visit, we talk about your experience. If (and only if) you tell us the service was great, we mention the option of adding a tip simply by messaging us the amount. If you choose to tip, the team on shift during your order splits the entire thing, and we celebrate your gesture with a fun sound in the store. Oh and if it's not too busy, the team often replies with a personal thank you message. We also pay our team members a competitive wage so that tips are a bonus, not a necessity. How does this approach to tipping resonate with you?

I used to watch Saved by the Bell every morning before school. One of the fixtures in that show was "The Max", a restaurant that served as the default meet up spot for the characters between classes. A default meet up spot. Where people *choose* to gather and interact in their spare time. How many other types of businesses can even aspire to become such a thing? In this increasingly digital world, I’ve been thinking a lot about how restaurants can become centers of gravity for communities. I am drawn to the idea that, for the people living in the neighborhood, a restaurant doesn’t have to be a discrete experience that starts and ends when they walk through the door. To that end, last week we launched a neighborhood leaderboard game at our Capitol Hill restaurant. The leaderboard itself - which looks like the HIGH SCORES screen you’d see on an old school arcade game - is displayed on a big ol’ display that’s visible from the sidewalk outside the store. To get on the leaderboard, all you need to do is try the daily puzzle (which we send out via text message). Oh, and whoever holds 1st place eats for free at that store. When we first debuted the leaderboard, it was only accessible to folks who placed orders. But within just a day, the staff at the store was reporting that passerbys were coming to ask about the leaderboard and how to play. That’s when we opened up the leaderboard to anyone with a phone to play. And just a week on, we have 150 active players. I don’t think any of us imagined it would grow as quickly as it has. But for me, the real success came yesterday. I was at the restaurant doing some tech maintenance, and, over the course of an hour, two separate groups of people came in. The first group headed straight to the leaderboard and scoffed (albeit jovially) at the fact that someone had overtaken their position. I introduced myself as the ‘nerd who gets to make those puzzles and they told me they really enjoyed the game. As they were waiting for their food, another couple came in, and one of them pointed to the leaderboard and said, “see, that’s me in 4th!” The first group heard this and then all 4 started talking together. It’s still early days, and I’m still trying to work out what this all means. For now, all I can tell you is that watching people come together in real life around a new feature takes the cake when it comes to software engineering success metrics. Shoutout to my partner on this project Carrie Shaw - if I had a collaborator leaderboard, you'd be at the top.