In this edition of What’s In Your Cup, we caught up with IT Operations Manager Patrick Reid. Over the past 18 ½ years, Patrick has been a valuable member of The Cup and has made a lasting impact by empowering people through technology.
We began by asking the now infamous question, “Patrick, what’s in your cup?”
“2 shots of H.C. Valentine Organic Espresso with steamed macadamia milk,” Patrick stated with a grin. “If I’m drinking an Espresso, I would rather have this one over anything else. There’s something about the aroma that I like,” Patrick continued, “I’m definitely not a Q-Grader coffee taster, but I can tell the difference in the body of coffees for sure, and I really like this one.”
As Patrick sat back and began sipping on his coffee, we asked him to tell us about his role at The Cup.
“If I went through day-to-day, everything that I’m responsible for, we would be here for a while,” Patrick said with a laugh, “But to make it simple, anything that has a wire, plugs-in, or has a battery, I have some form of responsibility for.”
Patrick is responsible for the wide range of Royal Cup’s technical needs. From regional warehouses to the office printer, Patrick has you covered.
“My customers are my fellow Cuppers and I enjoy our interactions immensely,” Patrick stated. “Everybody is very patient and extremely thankful for the services we give them.”
Patrick said that the most rewarding part of his job doesn’t involve overseeing all of our technology, it’s helping his fellow Cuppers benefit from technology.
“Empowering people with technology is a part I enjoy,” Patrick said. “It’s where the rubber meets the road when somebody is using the technology I gave them and they say, ‘we just beat the competition with this’ or ‘this just made my life easier’. Every time I can take a little step like that, I enjoy it, it’s awesome,” Patrick said with a grin.
In addition to overseeing all the technical aspects of Royal Cup’s operations, Patrick leads a team within the IT Department and contributes his success to his team.
“I’ve been lucky to be a part of an extremely talented team who all have certain attributes that contributed to their success,” Patrick said with a smile. “Working with mission critical manufacturing and business applications builds resolve with every project or issue. The high stakes of such endeavors require planning, testing, troubleshooting skills, and the courage to make quick decisions.”
Patrick expressed the importance of putting his team first each and every day.
“Empowering my team with the skills, tools and support they need is my number one priority,” Patrick said. “If that’s a piece of software, education, or stopping to help them with an issue, that’s what I am going to do.”
Patrick’s daily interactions supporting and empowering his fellow Cuppers are vastly different from where he came from. Before coming to Royal Cup, Patrick spent the majority of his time with machines.
“It was a significant shift for me from a day-to-day standpoint because for almost 10 years prior to this job, I just worked with machines,” Patrick explained. “I would talk to people and talk to support on the phone occasionally, but most of my interaction was just with machines.”
“It been the most rewarding part of the job for me,” Patrick said with a smile. “Helping somebody or giving somebody tools that can give them an edge or make them more effective and for them to see reproducible effects, those are the things that are empowering and rewarding to me.”
It’s no surprise Patrick ended up in a position where he helps people, because before knowing what profession he wanted to do, he knew that he wanted to help people.
“I was a geek in the early 90’s when it was not cool to be one, but being able to help people was very important and empowering for me,” Patrick shared.
Patrick’s first job was with a political telemarketing firm during the 1992 presidential election. It was there that he was first introduced to programming and unknowingly began his 32-year-long career in IT.
“I got lucky because I was able to connect my troubleshooting skills into something that pays for a living and helps people,” Patrick said. “It created a reward system I didn’t expect.”
Patrick’s dedication to the people around him is evident, so next we asked him what his favorite thing about his colleagues are.
“Being able to trust your team members is the most important thing and my favorite aspect of working with other Cuppers,” Patrick shared. “Being able to count on others creates an enormous freedom to accomplish major goals.”
Additionally, Patrick shared his admiration for how his fellow Cuppers embody Royal Cup’s standards in everything they do.
“Do everything the best you can every single day. Try to improve every single day. Where you can push things further is when you learn how to do something, and then you can learn how to do it well and start helping others do what they do better,” Patrick explained. “That type of mentality, that type of culture, that’s what impresses me the most about the people here.”
Next, we asked Patrick what professional advice he has received that he still uses.
“I had someone tell me, ‘Be an expert in what you know how to do but learn as much as you can about the business from as many people as you can,’ Patrick said. “Learning about other pieces of the business is very important. I had someone tell me that if I use my approach to troubleshooting and understanding problems to learn how the business works in different areas than I'll be able to add value in those areas.”
Patrick took this piece of advice to heart and shares it with others too. As our conversation with Patrick began to wrap up, we asked him what he thinks separates Royal Cup from the competition.
“Versatility,” Patrick stated. “We can private label a custom blend, lease and repair equipment, and deliver a full-service beverage program to your business. Being able to offer all of those things gives us an expertise across the board that specialized competitors can’t,” Patrick explained.
We ended our chat with Patrick by asking him about some of his hobbies outside of The Cup.
“I have two active boys and two dogs, so we are always on the go. I enjoy cooking, working in the yard, and gaming with my boys. It’s no surprise that I am a geek outside of work too,” Patrick said with a laugh.
As we concluded our chat with Patrick, his admiration for his fellow Cuppers and dedication to helping them was evident. We can confidently say that he adds value to every area that makes up The Cup. We hoped you enjoyed getting to know Patrick. Stay tuned for the next edition of What’s In Your Cup.
