Back to School is our bread and butter! It’s what we do best and is something we pride ourselves on year-round, way past September. And just like Monk Office itself, Back to School season is fueled by family and our Vancouver Island communities.
Recently, Rogers Media asked our third-generation CEO, Caitlin McKenzie, about some of her favourite Back to School memories growing up at Monk Office and what the company does to help customers during this busy time. Read the full interview below!
CM: One of my favorite memories is going with my dad to the store we used to have in the University Heights Shopping Center. At the time, we had some of those miniature push carts that they have at grocery stores for kiddos to use. He walked around holding the sheet of paper and I got to push the cart around and just start throwing things in. I thought it was really fun! It felt very grown up!
Interviewer: Now, the stuff that you were grabbing off the shelves, was that stuff that was on the list of school supplies you needed, or were you just grabbing random things that you just wanted to put into your little miniature shopping cart?
CM: It started off pretty structured, and then I realized, you know, just what else there was. And so, I started to grab things that I had no business grabbing or needing whatsoever. You know, I’m about six years old at this time.
Interviewer: You didn’t need four containers of Elmer’s glue.
CM: I didn’t, no, nor did I need a fountain pen.
Interviewer: But who knows. At six years old, maybe young Caitlin was thinking to herself “calligraphy it is. I feel like calligraphy is right!”
CM: I know one of my favorite things was always organizing my school supplies. I loved a pencil case! I would take out the blue pens, the red pens, the pencils, look at them all, and then put them all back in their case.
Interviewer: What about Hilroy notebooks? How do we feel about Hilroy notebooks?
CM: You had to have them!
Interviewer: You did!
CM: The notebooks were my favorite. I just thought they were so… They were just so awesome! I’m not sure if you are familiar. Well, you probably are, because we’ve all used them, but they come in different sizes, like different prints inside. My favorite was always the one that was blank on top, where I could draw something, and then interlined underneath.
Interviewer: Let’s pivot! Monk Office has the hookup for people who have kids going back to school, but also for university and college students. You guys have anything and everything they need to get geared up to go back to school. Even fine art supplies for the creative students! Monk also has a really great service for parents that are super busy and can’t actually come into a store to do their shopping – you’ll actually do the shopping for them?
CM: You betcha! If you would rather spend your time doing something else, then you can email us your school supply list. You can drop it off at any Monk store and one of our team members will pick it for you and let you know when it’s ready for pick up! We call it our “Pick 4 U” program and it’s available every year.
Interviewer: Can I email you my grocery list as well?
CM: I don’t know that Monk has expanded to groceries.
Interviewer: Maybe you can start carrying a clothing line too! Or oil changes? I can picture it now, Caitlin rolling up her sleeves and getting in there!
CM: All great ideas, things to consider down the line!
Interviewer: Everybody knows Monk Office and the good work that you guys do in the community. How many locations do you have that we can go and visit to get our school supplies?
CM: Thank you for that! Our Island communities are so important to us. We have six locations in addition to our website shop.monk.ca, which ships across Vancouver Island.
Interviewer: Wonderful! Caitlin McKenzie, President and CEO of Monk Office everybody! Need more details? Head to monk.ca
CM: Exactly! This has been a great chat. So much nostalgia!
Interviewer: Agreed! As always, thank you so much for swinging by to say hi.
CM: The pleasure was all mine! Hope you all have a successful back-to-school season!