December 20, 2011: Story idea from Sarah Flores, OTE receptionist and rest area Free Coffee Program coordinator

Not only do Oregon Travel Experience employees help administer the Free Coffee Program at our nine rest areas, our front-line office staff field calls (and complaints) from the traveling public.

A recent call  from a motorist traveling I-5 near Wilsonville went directly to OTE receptionist Sarah Flores’ line. The gentleman complained that he had stopped by the Baldock rest area to take a safety break and found the free coffee window closed.

Sarah said, “I apologized right away and was about to tell him the reason why we were closed when he  stopped me and said, ‘Was it because you had no volunteers?’ I told him ‘Exactly! We just happened to not have anyone this weekend.'”

“He knew to stop there for coffee as a routine,” Sarah continued. “We ended up having a really good conversation about what the program is all about. I then got an email from him wanting more information on how his group could become coffee servers. ”

Sarah was ecstatic that a complaint had not only turned into a win-win situation for the motorist and the Free Coffee Program, but also other drivers traveling the I-5 corridor.

For more insider info on the Free Coffee Program, check out OTE’s program page and a great issue of our E-news, spotlighting Boardman volunteers and what your donations fund.

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