Incoming call from Wake Up Call Coffee! The drive-thru coffee chain is the best in the Inland Northwest according to Inlander readers for the fourth consecutive year.
Courtney True, head of Wake Up Call's marketing and social media, attributes these wins to the bond that the company has with its customers.
"We want to know every single one of our customers, know their drinks and become friends with them," True says.
She also points out Wake Up Call's mission.
"Our main thing has always been great coffee and great service, we just care deeply about the community and how we can help," she says, adding that Wake Up Call aims to be a positive place for customers, baristas and the community at large.
The coffee chain, founded in 2004, opened 14 new locations in the Tri Cities in the past year, bringing its grand total to 29 stores throughout Washington and Idaho.
Each location, with the exception of its Sprague Union District cafe, are drive-thrus. About half of them have lobbies, some of which are aptly designed to look like a red London telephone box.
Congruent with the London theme is a converted double-decker bus that brings Wake Up Call to major Spokane events such as Bloomsday, Hoopfest and Spokane Indians' games.
The brand also partners with nonprofits throughout the year. In the past they've donated a portion of a certain drink's profits or day's worth of sales to Spokane Angels.
Alongside great coffee provided by Dillanos Coffee Roasters, thoughtful service and taking care of their community, Wake Up Call is known for its signature energy drink, the MadHatter, derived from green coffee with no artificial colors or flavors.
Versions of the drink created by each location go head-to-head in a bracket each March for a competition known as "MadHatter Madness." Some flavors from this year's lineup are Steptoe's Paradise Breeze (guava, passionfruit, strawberry and lemonade) and Edison's Space Jam (blue raspberry, watermelon, white peach).
"We love the creativity of our baristas. A lot of the drinks that we come out with are drinks that our baristas came up with," True says.
The business also has an app, "a central location for everything Wake Up Call," which tracks a user's drink orders and offers a loyalty program.
Wake Up Call's attention to its customers' needs, as well as to the support of its staff, is what has grown the company from its very first Spokane Valley location on Dishman-Mica Road to the successful, regional drive-thru chain it is now.
"The people are just amazing, every barista we have, it's like a family," True says.
2nd PLACE: Dutch Bros Coffee
3rd PLACE: White Dog Coffee
