Coffee With The Crew #1: Tiffany
With sunlight shining through the many windows of Patis Bakery, her favorite cafe in Times Square, I sat down with our Director of TKTS and Fields Operations, Tiffany McCullough. We had a lovely conversation over some avocado toast and tomato basil focaccia, talking all things Broadway Crew, and her time with the company!
Thank you for taking me to Patis Bakery! This is such a cute spot.
TIFFANY: Isn’t it? I love coming here on my breaks.
Yes, obsessed with my tomato basil. Okay, okay, I want to start this off by asking you to define your role here at Broadway Crew!
TIFFANY: I am the Director of TKTS and Field Operations. Basically, what that means is that I do a lot of training of humans, a lot of quality control in the field - making sure people look good and have a good spirit about what we do. And making sure that we’re all doing the job to the best of our abilities!
Perfect way to describe it. I want to talk more about your journey to Broadway Crew: what brought you here initially, what about the mission resonated with you, etc.
TIFFANY: Well, funnily enough, Sam and I met at a Christmas party back in 2018 through a couple of mutual friends, it was a holiday party for folks who couldn’t travel home for the holidays. We became acquaintances and then we kept running into each other at readings and shows, etc. I was working at a restaurant when he started Broadway Crew, and one of our friends said “If Tiffany comes to you for a job, you better hire her!” So, he was posting job openings on Facebook, and I was ready to get out of food service and…it was time for a shift! I reached out to him and he was like “Absolutely, you’re hired!” We didn’t really need to interview or anything. Then I started about a month after Broadway Crew got its first client, stationed out at TKTS as a Crew member, managed by Sam. What made Broadway Crew so special at the time was that my boss was working right beside me. Yes, we were building the company and the culture, but Sam was just such a genuinely good human, his idealism went right to my heart. He leads from the side, down in the trenches alongside us as management. That inspired me and has impacted me through every facet of my life. It motivated me to stop expecting anything from anyone that I wasn’t willing to do myself. I just think it’s a special quality we have as a company. From then on, I was just kind of in it, you know?
Exactly, it was infectious. It was an infectious energy.
TIFFANY: Yeah! It was. We started building a team, and Sam had to go up to the office, so he needed someone to take that energy that he imparted and continue that training with our new hires. It’s a testament to him and the people he’s brought on that we are five years down the line, and those things are all still true. Being out there together.
And you’re doing a great job.
TIFFANY: Thank you! All of our managers do work in the field, it really sets us apart from other street teams. We take great care to have a level of oversight, we’re out there interfacing, chatting and trying to make the outcomes for the client better. And most importantly, we want to make the experience of the Crew better as well, it’s symbiotic and really important to us. I’ve never had that in a work environment before in my life. It’s a great company culture. Coming to work doesn’t have to be miserable. Yes it’s work, you have a job to do, but it can be fun and engaging!
Right, we take a much more personalized approach, more than most companies. We gauge what specific people bring to specific shifts, trying to make it a great match.
TIFFANY: People come in different shapes, sizes, and personalities, all this stuff doesn’t need to be glossed over. It should be elevated and showcased.
Let’s get into some nitty gritty. What have been some of the most surprising challenges throughout your time at Broadway Crew? And how have you overcome them?
TIFFANY: That’s a good question. I think it’s a hard job, plain and simple. There’s this mentality that you’re just talking all day, but it is hours upon hours of personal engagement. Being able to navigate one-on-one engagement while also managing a thousand people throughout the day is not a skill that everyone has. I have always seen myself as extroverted, but it is simply hard to do that for hours at a time. Also, I’d want to say that I do think I’m a good leader, but it has been challenging for me to navigate wanting what’s best for the individual, versus what’s best for the team as a whole. Especially when you have a client to take care of! I think that our family approach fits into our culture well, but it’s hard to have that discipline day-to-day.
Yeah, it’s really a testament to the company and how awesome you are at the job. Combatting monotony and making every interaction special.
TIFFANY: That goes back to the leader we have in Sam. He reminds us to show up with integrity, a strong intention for the job, but also to take care of yourself first.
