The Other 6 Days

My Pleasure! | The Other 6 Days | Episode 30

• Southwest Church • Season 2 • Episode 30

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In this episode, your host pastor CJ McFadden interviews local Chick-Fil-A franchise owner, David Peck to talk about all things Chick-fil-A... his background, experience, journey, the culture, hospitality, community engagement and gospel furtherance. The goal of other 6 days podcast is focused on taking what happens on Sunday's at church & discussing practical ways those things should show up in our lives the rest of the week. David's insights offer a great way to see how Christ's call on our lives is being lived out in other settings outside the walls of the local church & in our community. As always, this will be a fun & engaging podcast as we learn more from one of the leading local fast food establishments in the Coachella Valley! 

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Speaker 1:

Our vision is to love and serve well, and our team plays out our vision and culture every single day, and so how we treat our team and how we care for our team extends to then how they care for our guests, and that matters at a really high level.

Speaker 2:

Hey everyone, welcome back to another episode of the other six days podcast, where we chat about life outside of Sundays and what it means to live from our gatherings, and not just for them. I'm your host, cj McFadden, and today it's my pleasure to introduce our very special guest, local Palm Desert Chick-fil-A franchise owner, david Peck. Dr David Peck is an accomplished business owner, husband, father sports fan, outdoor adventurer and faithful follower of Jesus. Father sports fan, outdoor adventurer and faithful follower of Jesus, he has graciously agreed to join us today to talk about all things Chick-fil-A the culture, the hospitality, community engagement and gospel furtherance, as well as, hopefully, we're here to glean some insights from him and his journey, his knowledge and his experiences. Regardless, I know today is going to be a great time and good conversation as we get a chance to learn more from one of the leading local fast food establishments in the Coachella Valley. Welcome, david.

Speaker 1:

Hey, thank you, cj, it's great to be here and just what an honor. Love Southwest and love Ricky and just love what you all do for the Coachella Valley and you know it really matters. I was talking to Christian, a friend of mine, earlier and we're talking about meaning and purpose and he's going on a little beach vacation and so I gave him some books to read and I gave him Viktor Frankl's Man's Search for Meaning, and I think in this season we often confuse meaning with wants and likes.

Speaker 2:

Yeah.

Speaker 1:

Verse, deep seated, what is the meaning of life? And so, again, when I think about Southwest and bringing it all back to the gospel and to Jesus, I love what you all do.

Speaker 2:

So thank you, oh, absolutely Thank you. That's great. Well, as you guys know, we like to kick it off here on our podcast with something always a little more fun and lighthearted, especially so with our guests. We do something called rapid fire, and so we'll start off with some questions, just a great way to get to know you and what you're all about. And then, as you guys can see, we've kind of been enjoying some Chick-fil-A here. If you're actually watching, if you're listening, there is Chick-fil-A on the table, of course, and so that that was to be expected, I think. So we're enjoying some delicious sweet tea, lemonades, cookies, all kinds of stuff. So, anyway, thank you for that. We appreciate it. Our pleasure, our pleasure. All right, let's jump right in. So first, I think I saw PhD next to your name when I looked on LinkedIn. So do you prefer that I refer to you as Dr, david Peck or Doc? Is there you?

Speaker 2:

know, whatever you prefer David is fine. So first question I think most people would probably ask what's the most popular meal ordered at Chick-fil-A, so the most popular meal ordered at our restaurant in Coachella Valley is a Spicy Deluxe sandwich.

Speaker 1:

15,000 to 16,000 Spicy Deluxe sandwiches ordered a month. Oh, wow, yeah, crazy. Most popular product is the very craveable waffle fries, and that's exponentially bigger than anything else.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, that makes sense, so kind of partnered together. I'm a spicy deluxe and waffle fries guy, so I'm getting both yeah.

Speaker 1:

My wife loves the. She loves doing the spicy deluxe about once a week. It's a little spicy for her and, to be fair, I love spice and it can be a little hot. But she loves how the lettuce and the tomato and even the pepper jack cut the spice just a teeny bit. So it makes it a nice, refreshing and yet hot sandwich. Yeah, that's good.

Speaker 2:

Well, so what about? Let's talk a little bit about you. What are your favorite hobbies outside of work?

Speaker 1:

Yeah, so I love playing golf, I love playing pickleball, I actually love hiking. I don't love running, but I love the outcome of running. There you go, and so I keep thinking that I'm going to get back into running and, as I did today, I walked my dog for about four miles. I love just outdoor stuff, yeah, and one of the things that I've loved about coming to the Coachella Valley is 10 months a year. Yeah, ish, yeah, right, give or take, it's gorgeous. Um, you know, I think, uh, in in living in the Coachella Valley. We came from Los Angeles, never had a pool. Well, we had a pool, but, you know, every summer we bought the you know, $25 blue pool.

Speaker 1:

Oh yeah, Put the water in it, dog goes in it, kids go in it. Yeah, best pool that you ever have is your neighbor's pool.

Speaker 2:

Exactly Because you don't have to clean it.

Speaker 1:

You don't have to clean it, pay for it. But coming to Coachella Valley, we live in Grandma and Grandpa's house and it came with a pool, nice and so then I'll do a little cold plunge and, uh, you know, chill the legs and maybe that's a little more incentive to run, but uh, but during the summer it's it's incredibly refreshing and super fun.

Speaker 2:

Oh, that sounds fantastic. I'm surprised that you said no heating the pool. Then, huh, you do the cold plunge thing, cold plunge thing.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, we got a little jacuzzi, but you know it's just. Yeah, it's not the same. I think it's 93 degrees right now.

Speaker 2:

So do you need to heat it? No, no, not right now, For sure. What's your? So? Where's your favorite place to vacation?

Speaker 1:

Oh, favorite vacation spot. I love Hawaii.

Speaker 2:

That's not bad. I like that one too.

Speaker 1:

Yeah. Second probably would be Cabo San Lucas, mexico. Okay, love Cabo Beach, guy Beach guy. Yeah, yeah, like a perfect day would be going to Huntington Beach with my wife bringing a couple books, maybe even packing some snacks and a lunch, getting there at about 9.30, 10 o'clock. Getting there at about 9.30, 10 o'clock we actually will stay through 6.30, and then we'll hit. And again, I'm a foodie, so even though I love Chick-fil-A, we'll hit In-N-Out Burger. Oh wow, just off the strip in Huntington, sit outside, grab a burger, get some fries and then miss the traffic. And when we're living back in LA, then we'd drive back up to Glendora-Zusa.

Speaker 2:

That's awesome. I was going to ask you that question down there. That's good. I was wondering what you ate outside of Chick-fil-A. Actually, let's jump in with. Well, you already said it In-N-Out. What else do you do?

Speaker 1:

I love sushi. I'm getting into to not California like illegal smoking, but I'm getting into smoking brisket, smoking pork, just gotten into that and so that's awesome.

Speaker 2:

I like the clarification, so that's so that's been super fun.

Speaker 1:

I love cooking. I love barbecues. Yeah, I love cooking. I love barbecues. Yeah, anything that doesn't require an exact recipe I'm really good at you have a little freedom to it.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, baking.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, not so much, not so much, no. No, baking is an exact science and if you don't follow it to a T?

Speaker 2:

It's disastrous, it is, it is. Oh, that's so good. I love it. What's the? Most anticipated place that you haven't visited yet Tahiti Bora Bora Okay. Another beach, but yeah, it's an exotic place like that. Yeah, love to go there. What?

Speaker 1:

island for you, for Hawaii, where are you? I mean different places for different reasons. I love Maui for some of the hikes, just I guess it would be northeast, northwest of the airport, yeah, just some beautiful hikes, yeah, that's really nice. Kapalua for the golf, golf, of course, phenomenal. Yep. If you go down to the west end, there's some just amazing beaches down there. Poipu is just incredible, okay, incredible from a Kauai standpoint. Again, the hikes on the north side, just north of Princeville, they're incredible. And then Honolulu, waikiki, great food, culture there, and I mean Waikiki Beach. That's just such a chill, great beach. The Moana Surf Rider is an old school classic hotel and probably one of the most romantic places to go for like a sunset, you know. Grab a Mai Tai and listen to them play the ukulele and just watch the people surf.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, that's fantastic and have that view right there. We were just there a few weeks ago and we were at the Royal Hawaiian.

Speaker 1:

Oh yeah, so right next door Yep.

Speaker 2:

Really enjoyed it, that was a good time, that's awesome. So we talked about your favorite place. That's non-Chick-fil-A. What's the greatest? This is a deep question.

Speaker 1:

What's the greatest influence in your life so far? Probably we'll have to take it back to my college years. I went to, I grew up in, boulder, colorado, okay, and I didn't become a Christ follower until my senior year in high school and God just kind of got a hold of me, rattled some things, went to the University of Colorado, failed out, absolutely bombed, and I was in aerospace engineering and I just couldn't do it, couldn't put the formulas together. So, growing up, skiing all of my life, uh, worked at a couple of restaurants and then, during the winter season, I moved up to Vail, colorado, oh yeah, buddy of mine and I rented a room from somebody. Uh, we didn't have any furniture so we used, uh, the 12 pack, like half size boxes for our clothes, had sleeping bags left on the floor. I hitchhiked to Vail and worked at Midvale half the year, okay, and then he rode his bike down to Beaver Creek. Beaver Creek, yeah.

Speaker 1:

So one Sunday God's just getting a hold of me and I'm like I got to go to church. So I literally get on the side of the road, I got a red park on and I'm hitchhiking and I don't know where I'm going. So I get up to this place called Mintern little Presbyterian church. I get there probably 15, 20 minutes late. Church has already started. Sit in the back row and I'm just chilling there and the pastor at the end of the church comes walking by me and then he guys kind of I guess it's the benediction or the greeting from the back of the church.

Speaker 1:

So they can greet everybody. Right, his name was Hal Holman, pastor Hal Holman, and he looks at me and he says hey, if you got a minute, I'd love to talk to you after church. So he does greeting greets everybody. I'm kind of stuck, because he's kind of got me stuck in and he, after everybody leaves, said hey, can I take you to lunch? I said sure, so we go to lunch. And he said so, I just need to apologize to you.

Speaker 1:

You're the first person that I've ever passed hitchhiking, that I remembered that was going to church and I'm sorry I didn't pick you up. So we started a friendship and come to find out he knew my youth pastor in high school in Boulder and they had connected and my youth pastor had let him know it's giving me chills, let him know that I was heading up that way and I was still lost and fast forward through my journey from Vail to Hilton Head to back to Azusa Pacific. He tracked me the whole way, at some point gave me some scholarship money and then, when my wife and I got married, he married us.

Speaker 1:

Oh, that's so, and so, when I think about the most influential time of my life, it probably would be then and it probably would have been him.

Speaker 2:

Wow, that's powerful, yeah, so pretty cool, super cool to watch, to listen to, yeah, to see him kind of journey with you through that whole thing and to be there. I love the hitchhiking story. That's very cool.

Speaker 1:

I mean I, I I joke with uh, I don't joke. I tell our team I never missed a shift. Yeah, I was never late, I always got picked up. In fact, I remember one uh evening. Uh, I was working halfway up Vail during the day and then I worked at a little restaurant during the evening, and it's probably 10 o'clock at night and it was just dumping snow and I was out on the side of the road and unfortunately there wasn't a way to walk. You could take the bus, but so I'm hitchhiking in this Saab Turbo pulls up and it's Vail police and guys like, hey, get in, I'll give you a ride. So he just gives me a ride's Vail Police and guy's like, hey, get in, I'll give you a ride. So he just gives me a ride down to my place. And I was, you know, a couple of miles down the road, off the highway, and that's just kind of ski culture up in Colorado.

Speaker 2:

I can see that, yeah, yeah, and we were actually just up in Vail a couple of weeks ago, so I love. Colorado, my parents have property up there. Really enjoy the Colorado area, gunnison area.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, yeah, I lived in Gunnison for a year. Oh wow, yeah, small world, huh Small world, small world.

Speaker 2:

So what's the thing that you enjoy the least in life? So I'd say, like that's not life giving or, you know, kind of robs your joy a little bit, maybe the thing that you're thinking of.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, I'm a of the I hate email club. Okay yeah, email, it sucks the joy out of everybody and if anybody thinks it's a primary form of communication, let's chat, because it's not. It's a great reminder piece of communication. And let me just check real quick because you know if we do this right. I think it says is that right, thirty seven, thirty five, thirty five thousand Unopened email.

Speaker 2:

Unopened email. Is that right? 37, 35,000. 35,000. Unopened emails. Unopened emails.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, and you know what?

Speaker 2:

I might have you beat, though. Oh, yeah, I love it and that and mine I. My job is digital stuff, so that's a let me double check here. Um, yeah, I don't have the one on there, but uh, actually I've hidden the app. So that's so. That's how bad it is, so, but anyway, well, and you asked early on, my PhD is in media psychology. Yeah, I know that speaks volumes. Right, there you go. It definitely does.

Speaker 1:

Ignore it, I could see that robbing your joy, yeah that. And then the bane of all existence for a business owner is paperwork. Okay, oh my gosh. And especially if you're in the Republic of California, because there's like paperwork on top of paperwork and then there's paperwork for the paperwork yeah. Yeah, yeah, so I can OK those two things. I get them done. Yeah, I might cuss a little bit, yeah, I might drink a little tequila, yeah, but I still love Jesus and I get them done OK.

Speaker 2:

OK.

Speaker 1:

What's the hardest part of our job is people.

Speaker 1:

And you know, we'll see, on average, four to five 6,000 guests a day. We have a team of about 115 people and, again, we live in a broken world and we work with broken people and we see individuals that are hurting, and so what it challenges me to do is ensure that I am in God's word, that I am anchored, that I am memorizing scripture, that I am praying every single morning Absolutely, and if I don't do that, then I can't be my best for God, and that's not about me. That's about me ensuring that what I'm reflecting is coming out of his word.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, absolutely so yeah, best part is people and the hardest part is people. That's great, that's a his word. Yeah, absolutely, and so so, yeah, best part is people and the hardest part is people.

Speaker 2:

That's great. That's a good word. Yeah, what? Anything you wish you could go back and do over.

Speaker 1:

You know I'm sure there are a lot of things that I wish I could do over, but I'm a James 1, 2 through 4 fan. You know, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because the testing of your faith developed perseverance and become, and through perseverance you become whole and complete, lacking nothing, I think it's all part of my journey Wow, the good, the bad, the ugly, even sometimes the ugly Yep. So I would say there are probably some instances, maybe about a half a dozen, where I have not been honoring to my wife from what I said, they'd probably be things that I'd like to take back. Walk that back, yeah, a little bit yeah, yeah.

Speaker 1:

So my wife and I are really competitive. We married 33 years as of August 3rd. Oh, congratulations. Play a ton of games. We love playing card games early on. We have four kids now five, six, seven, because three of them are married. And you know, early on in your marriage you live on love and you play games and you have a lot of fun, and so that's just continued. So we, we are very competitive. So we had a family vacation where one summer again, everybody's, everybody's there playing games, and if you, if you, if you lost or said something inappropriate, you had to say something nice, oh, I like that. So my wife beat me at something and I was so mad at her and I just said something really dumb. And so the kids are like ah, you got a one-upper and I said you make great sandwiches, of which then my kids totally took me out, rightfully so, yeah, of course.

Speaker 2:

As they should.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, so I don't know that I take back anything, yeah, cause I think that's part of who I am.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, yeah, that's, that's really good, did you? Um, what's so? What would you say? A little off script, Uh, what is, uh, the key to success? Or one thing that you could point out? Uh, for 33 years of successful marriage.

Speaker 1:

So, uh, my wife, uh, his parents multiple marriages, divorces, my parents, multiple marriages, divorces. When we got married, we just burned the ship. We said till death, do us part. And so I think one of the things that emerged early on was this mantra, and it's win together, lose together, be together. And I think that that really matters, because, at the end of the day, we were having issues about financing.

Speaker 1:

I grew up pinching pennies, splitting nickels right, taking dimes and figuring out how to multiply them and divide them, and she didn't. And so our first purchase was a cash purchase of a washer and a dryer. We use baby food jars and it was just hard, yeah. So we got into some pretty significant conversations around debt and around spending. And well, if we've got checks, shouldn't we write we'd be able to just pay for it, and if I, it was really primarily about gift giving to just pay for it. And if I, it was really primarily about gift giving.

Speaker 1:

Gift giving was not big to me, but it was really important to her. And so how do you put a dollar amount on a gift for somebody? Well, you do if you have a budget. But my wife would argue no, you don't. So that was an early conversation and I think I had a kind of God insightful moment where God just kind of nudged me and said really, yeah, you're going to, you're going to, you're going to die on the sword for that. Yeah, and I think that's when the win together, lose together. That's great Together emerged.

Speaker 2:

I love that. Yeah, I could see your trust in God Like. Will he not provide for you in those moments? Absolutely, you know what I mean.

Speaker 1:

Absolutely, that's great, and we love traveling, we love food, we love adventure, and so, gosh, what a blessing to just be able to do life with your best friend, yeah, and to have fun, and I mean 33 years, oh my gosh, yeah, what happened? Where did it go?

Speaker 2:

Where did it go?

Speaker 1:

Right Four kids and like it's been an amazing journey.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, I'm about halfway. I'm at 16. Or give or take. And we're and I'm going man, where did it go? Same kind of thing already, but enjoying life and we have fun together. That's our, our thing. Like you said, competitive whatever we do, I love your, your kind of mantra that you have. Yeah, Thank you, let's great. I'm going to have to remember that one. What would you say? Your greatest accomplishment or achievement in your life so far is?

Speaker 1:

First would be my ongoing faith relationship with Jesus, meaning I feel like I've, in the last couple, three years, really hit a place in my relationship with the Lord where I'm growing and I'm really trusting him and I'm really working hard to be faithful, to understand what God's word says and how it applies to my life.

Speaker 1:

33 years of marriage Super proud of that and then I have four amazing kids and a great relationship with all of them. We have a peck pack text with everybody and the spouses, and so there's always pictures flying and we try to get everybody together at least once a year, and our youngest just got married in May and so that was super fun my first daughter to get married. I have two daughters, two boys, and so just being able to have deep conversations with our kids and see them emerge as adults you know, the goal with kids is not to raise great kids, it's to raise great adults, and that means that they eventually go away. It doesn't mean that they aren't friends, and I think that's where my wife and I have moved toward is gosh. We love being with our kids and they're really cool people and we don't always agree with them, but that's okay. So I think those are the things that I'm most proud of.

Speaker 2:

Oh, that's great. I love that. Me and Ezra had a similar conversation my son a while back and I said, when he had turned basically 18, I said, hey, I've taught you everything that I can as your father. And as a dad I said now I'm your biggest supporter and encourager and friend. I want to journey this journey with you, so I'll be there for you through everything I said. But our relationship will look different. So we had one of those sweet conversations where we got to talk about and it's a kind of a grieving a little bit in the transition of that relationship. But realizing, man, I feel like I've done everything that God's called me to and I poured into your life in every way that I can and now we get to move into this kind of new future together and it's been really sweet.

Speaker 1:

You know it's a transition, but it I had the pleasure of working with him for a season and a lot of fun working with him. He would always call me Mr Peck and hello, Mr Peck, and he always just had a contagious positive voice and then smile.

Speaker 2:

And so it was great having him at restaurant. His military background was funny because I was like, oh, this is going to partner really good with Chick-fil-A. And then he starts saying my pleasure everywhere, which that actually leads me into our last question on the kind of rapid fire. Do you say my pleasure in every conversation outside of work? I do.

Speaker 1:

It just has permeated my life. Yeah, my pleasure. And if my wife is in the other room and she asks me a question, right, or if she says something, my response will be heard, which is a verbal verification that I heard what she said. Yeah, and that's actually also from restaurant, that's a language of hospitality and it's it's that conversation that's very direct, that says I heard what you said and so heard, and my pleasure, permeate every aspect of my life.

Speaker 1:

So, I'll be, I'll be in, I'll be in Home Depot, and somebody will say something to me and I'll say heard, and then I'll think they have no idea. Yeah, what are you talking about?

Speaker 2:

Yeah, that's funny, that's good. Hey, now I know I love that Well, um, so you've told us a little bit about your background, some of the stuff through. You know growing up in Colorado and you know, um, some of that journey. But tell us a little bit. You know maybe some early years education, but really kind of how you landed where you are now.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, so. So if we go back to that time, with Hal Holman and Pastor, I went from Vail to South Carolina and my grandparents lived there and so I was. I was really trying to figure out life and ended up living there for a season, worked in restaurant again, and that was all part of kind of this journey. Head to October, november of that year, and I'm trying to get back to school. At this point I've realized I've worked construction, I've worked as a DJ, I've worked in restaurants, I've done dishes, I've done waiting, I've cooked, and I realized that a lot of these people love their jobs but they have degrees or they have certifications and so it's their choice for what they do. And it was just kind of one of those light bulb moments to say I need to get back to college to get my degree because it gives me choice.

Speaker 1:

And so October, november is coming and I'm working as a DJ at night, I'm doing construction as a yard dog during the day for building this house and my grandma says 84 year old grandma. She says what are you reading? And I said nothing. I hate reading. I read in circles. She's like okay, let me give you a book.

Speaker 1:

So she gives me not knowing anything about the book and in fact it wasn't until four or five years ago that I actually did a little research on it she gave me Louis L'Amour's Last of the Breed, which at that point was six months old. This is in the 80s, yeah. And then she gave me a ruler and she put it on the page and she said now I want you to just move this ruler down the page and I want you to follow the line. I don't want you to read every single line or every single word, but I want you to follow it and get the content and then speed it up as you get faster. So she gave me a medium that was engaging and then she gave me a method that retaught me how to read.

Speaker 1:

Three weeks later, finished that book, and another book emerged. It was the Born Identity by Robert Ludlow. Oh, wow, okay. And so my didn't know it super hip 84-year-old grandmother taught me how to move forward with my dyslexia, and when I got back into college I had a new way in which I understood how to read. So that became a significant part for me being successful in education and then kind of graduating and getting to the place where I was able to pursue a career in higher education, and so that was a pretty big deal for kind of changing the trajectory of my life.

Speaker 2:

Wow, sounds like it. That's really cool. I love the born identity from your 84-year-old grandma. I love that, isn't that funny, that's so cool. Yeah Well, of course I got to ask we kind of talked about it a little bit before, but do you know how the phrase my pleasure? How did that come about?

Speaker 1:

So yeah, it's interesting, Truett Cathy was actually in the Atlanta area, Buckhorn, and he had gone in to stay at a Ritz Carlton and he engaged with the bellhop door people and opened the door and said my pleasure. And it just struck him. And so then he went into the area, the center kind of area, and there was a gentleman. He was waiting to get a cup of coffee and got him his cup of coffee and Truett said thank you. And he said well, my pleasure, sir, it's great to have you here.

Speaker 1:

So next morning Truett comes down and he looks at him and he says Mr Cathy, welcome, it's good to have you here again. That's a coffee with two cream, no sugar, correct? Wow? And he said that's crazy, how did you remember that? And he's like I remember everybody's order. So he caught that again and said that's crazy, how did you remember that? And he's like I remember everybody's order. So he caught that again and said my pleasure.

Speaker 1:

And so Truett felt like that was a signature moment that he needed to bring back to Chick-fil-A. What's crazy about that story is that Truett brought it back to Jimmy Collins and brought it back to the leadership team and they began talking to owners of owner operators about it, but it didn't actually take for about six or seven years before it inculcated into the Chick-fil-A culture. Yeah, and so it took a lot of time, and one of the things that I think Truett is famous for is being relentless and being kind, and so he was relentlessly kind in helping everyone realize that my pleasure was going to be a part of Chick-fil-A. Yeah, Period.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, yeah, it took a little bit of time, but yeah, you could see that moment was so poignant. It really codified that and bringing it back and putting it into Chick-fil-A culture, that's very cool. Yeah, yeah, yeah, I know it's power. It's like a such a sticky phrase when you guys use it and it's just makes you feel so good. Everyone's like my pleasure. You're like oh, oh, thank you, you know, yeah, so you hear it. Oh, actually, we we know that you guys are, you guys are known for your great work. Culture at Chick-fil-A. We just wrapped up a book here at the with our staff, called unreasonable hospitality, by Will Guadara.

Speaker 1:

Will Guadara. Yes, Will Guadara yes.

Speaker 2:

And it was a really we had such a great like staff meeting a moment talking about the book, yeah, but any big thoughts or insights that you could share on the value of hospitality, leadership, healthy culture, things like that, you know like yeah.

Speaker 1:

So when I think about culture, it starts with the leadership and it starts with a vision, and our vision is to love and serve well, and our team plays out our vision and culture every single day. And so how we treat our team and how we care for our team extends to then how they care for our guests, and that matters at a really high level. So I think the first piece is clarity of vision, clarity of what we're trying to accomplish. I think the second piece is everybody wants to be empowered to do their best, and so when I think about hospitality and hospitality is the ultimate in serving somebody else you could actually argue that Jesus set the table and provided the way for hospitality by ultimately caring for other people. We know that. It's built into our DNA that if we actually care for somebody else, there's something that chemically happens that challenges us to feel better. So we work really hard to empower our team to be unreasonable in their hospitality and care for our guests Not much different than what I think Will Gadara did so well with his book Unreasonable Hospitality and with the restaurant that really he took to the number one restaurant in the world.

Speaker 1:

We had a fun experience about nine months ago at our annual convention and he spoke. Will Godera spoke oh, very cool, and he talked about now traveling the world. He lives in upstate New York and when he gets off the plane he has a Chick-fil-A. That's about 20 minutes from his house and he will go there and he will get I think it's a biscuit and a cup of coffee, and they just know. And he said it is my introduction back into what I'm getting ready to do with the most important people in my life and it resets my mind and my head and my heart. And so I think that hospitality isn't just important in regard to how we care for other people, but I think there's a reciprocal piece that, in doing it well, it actually creates incredible fulfillment for us.

Speaker 1:

And so when I think about the culture, it's a culture of empowerment. I want to empower you to take care of people, both your teammates, team members, but also our guests, and in doing so, then, even though it's going to be a hard shift, will you feel a little more accomplished, and so it's a critical piece for us.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, it sounds like it and I love that about it being something that's reciprocated, that it'll actually, you know can feed your own soul, right, but also to just the impact and how that bleeds out into with other people. I don't know that there's a quicker way to do that than to show hospitality. It's pretty profound. So I hear your name mentioned around town often, all the time before we've actually had a chance to meet. So, college of the Desert, fca, huddles, parachurch ministries and organizations like nonprofits, as well as the church world your name showing up all over the place. So tell us why you're passionate about community engagement, investment or support for local nonprofits and even partnerships with local churches.

Speaker 1:

Yeah. So three things that are super important to me are education. I think it makes a difference in people's lives, and not just the celebration of education from the standpoint of like getting straight A's, but showing up and showing up right Showing up and going to school and then showing up and realizing that if you apply yourself and you work hard, you have folks there that will help you learn and grow. And that was my experience, both from a positive and a negative, but then from a positive standpoint, right Once I figured out how I best could learn, sky's the limit, and then it moves towards really grit, right. It's all about persistence and never giving up. So education is really important for me.

Speaker 1:

When I was at Azusa Pacific, I played soccer, loved playing soccer growing up and so when I came back I became part of the discipleship group for then coach Phil Wolf and then Dave Blomquist, who's the head coach now, and up until when my son played soccer, I hosted a discipleship group every year of a group of five, six, seven, eight guys and we just talked life and we talked Jesus and we showed up. We had cookies and we had brownies at our house and sometimes they made it, because college kids sometimes flake and sometimes they didn't, but I was always there and I did that for like 16 years, wow, until my son became a member of the team and at that point the head coach and I made a decision that I was going to be my son's biggest fan and I was going to be Coach Blomquist's biggest fan. And so I stepped away and just was again a cheerleader on the side. I didn't do D groups and it was Jonah's team, and so that was a great season for me, and so that was a great season for me.

Speaker 1:

So, having said that, when I came to the desert, I got connected with CJ, with Coach Pato and with a group of guys, and we started this thing called Chicken and Chapel that's what he hired With the guys, and so during season, we'll bring chicken biscuits and we'll just talk life and talk story for 15, 20 minutes and feed them biscuits, and it's fantastic. And so I love that we get the opportunity to do those things like that. We partner with a youth football league just up the street from Southwest and, yeah, we're able to discount our food so that then they're able to sell it to help their nonprofit and make a little money to give scholarships.

Speaker 1:

That's important, so just being a part of the community in the best way we can, it matters. My wife and I moved here from Glendora Azusa, but we got engaged here. Grandma and grandpa lived here and this is now our home, and so being part of building it is important to us and so it's been super fun so far.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, it sounds like it. And giving back to it, I know you are in substantial ways when I heard some of your name pop up. Actually it's funny. So Pato is part of my discipleship group, oh, that's awesome. So Pato is part of my discipleship group, oh, that's awesome. So he was telling me. And so your name comes up in it and so we call ourselves the Armory. Ok, and we kind of are a branch off of when I was with Ricky, I was in his discipleship group called the 12.

Speaker 2:

And then I started my own, yeah, and we are kind of like golf sports oriented, with the FCA guys and Pato's part of it, and so he's always talking about you.

Speaker 1:

Well, tell him to text me. He and I need to grab coffee before season starts, so I'd love to connect with him Absolutely.

Speaker 2:

Well, so could you share, I want you to share, what is the furtherance of the gospel look like to you within your context, at Chick-fil-A specifically, is there? What does that look like? That's a great question.

Speaker 1:

So it's interesting because, being so public, it can get dicey in regard to. Yeah, it just can get dicey. Right, a lot of people will come in and say Chick-fil-A represents this or Chick-fil-A doesn't represent this. And and what I will tell you is that Chick-fil-A and the family are anchored out of a biblical perspective. They are Christ followers, but as a company, it is not a Christian company. It is a group of individuals, many of which are Christ followers.

Speaker 1:

So David Peck, owner operator Chick-fil-A Palm Desert, david Peck, owner-operator Chick-fil-A Palm Desert, I and my wife and many of our leadership team anchor our lives on Jesus and our goal is to live the gospel each and every day. So that means that I am praying for our restaurant, I am praying for our guests, I am praying for our team and I will unashamedly pray in the restaurant for anybody at any time, and I don't do that with a level of arrogance, but I will always ask permission. Can I pray for you if the Holy Spirit prompts? And we have done that since opening, and I have yet to have anybody tell me no, and I have yet to have anybody tell me no. And so I think, having that sensitivity towards what the Holy Spirit is saying in regard to who I pray for and how I pray and what we pray for.

Speaker 1:

I think that really matters and I do think it makes a difference, and ultimately it then gives God permission to be the driver on what I see and what I do instead of me, and so, at the end of the day, chick-fil-a is an amazing organization. I am just a steward. So I'm here for a season, however long that season it is, and I'm not here to just steward the financial resources. And I'm not here to just steward the financial resources, but you could actually argue that the 600,000 plus people we see every year are also opportunities that we have to make a difference in their lives, and so that matters to me probably more than the financial piece.

Speaker 2:

Wow, that's really good, that's really insightful, and I love that you capitalized on the power of prayer there and what that can do and what that is for you through your organization. Well, as always, we hope that our conversations here are engaging and helpful, but we want to provide people with helpful resources as well. So what are some resources that you would like to point people to that they might find helpful or beneficial in this season?

Speaker 1:

Yeah, so I mean you kicked off the podcast talking about the Divine Conspiracy. Continued Dallas Willard. Yeah, the first book is a tough read, but I think the second book with Gary Black Jr is a really good read.

Speaker 1:

It really is that application of faith and work and the importance even, as the name of the podcast says, the other six days. So that's a great read. I just finished a book from Michael Hyatt the Vision Driven Leader and anybody that's in business. I think it's really good to continue to read and revisit. That's a fantastic book. To continue to read and revisit, that's a fantastic book. And then I just reread another book that was really more about, I think, our culture today, and it's a woman by the name of Angela Duckworth and the book is Grit and she is a psychologist. That looks at how do you teach grit, how do you find grit, what is grit? And grittiness is really kind of that aspect of perseverance that we look at in James James, yeah, and your ability to persevere. And I think that as a culture we have moved toward a little bit of ungrittiness, if I can say it. That way.

Speaker 1:

Maybe a little selfish, and so grittiness has an end game of helping you to be your best, and so what does being your best look like? So those are a couple, three books that I've been reading through that are super good, very good.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, I'll include those in the show notes, and I love that you don't hear that word grit very much anymore, right, and so that's a great like substitute or you know, exchangeable word for perseverance, right, I do like that. Wow, I'll have to check that one out. We'll include a bunch of others in our show notes too.

Speaker 2:

We have leadership books, you know, those are all good ones William Vander Bloemen does, one called Culture Wins, oh yeah, and that one's a good one too. So we'll include a bunch of those in our show notes so you guys can check those out if you want to dive a little bit deeper. And so, david, we really appreciate you having you on here. Any last comments or thoughts before we wrap this up.

Speaker 1:

No, my pleasure, Fantastic, to be a part of this and again, love what you all are doing in the Coachella Valley and keep doing it. It matters, it makes a difference in people's lives.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, you as well. Thank you for sharing all your insights. I mean, I know this is going to help a ton of people out there and we just really appreciate what you're doing and I could just see your heart and you sharing some of your story and journey and we just we appreciate you.

Speaker 1:

Well, my pleasure.

Speaker 2:

Thank you, yeah, absolutely. Well, there you have it, guys. Thanks again for joining us on another episode of the Other Six Days podcast. Be sure to hit that subscribe, follow, share and like and spread the word and, as always, take what you've heard and turn it into something that you can do to further the gospel in the world around you. Until next time, see ya.