Support Local
But, I still try to support local as much as I can. I have a new favorite coffee shop. San Vito Coffee Shop. I have several local coffee shops and they are all excellent. San Vito has the best breakfast wrap ever that is currently my guilty pleasure. My partner and I walk there on one of the weekend days and feel the treat is justified. There is one chain that we like for breakfast, too, but no matter how fresh you get that food, it just never seems hot enough. We get our wraps and we have to wait several minutes to eat because it is so hot. And, it tastes so decadent. When you are in a local coffee shop, there is no signs telling you to hurry up, and for some reason, when we sit down, we start talking about art and literature. And, it is not because we are preparing for trivia. We just naturally seem to drift to that conversation. And, looking around, other patrons seem to be having deeper more mindful conversations.
I have to tell you my last two Saturday nights. Last Saturday, my partner took me for a drive just to explore a different part of the city. As we were heading home, I expressed a craving for a certain bowl of soup only available at an international chain. I know that restaurants are opening with smaller capacity. I didn't want to take a spot in the restaurant to just order a bowl of soup so I decided to call them to see if they had room, etc. First of all, I had a difficult task to get a local phone number. Finally, when I got the phone number, I got an automated attendant giving me options and none of them were what I wanted but I picked one hoping I could talk to someone. An actual person answered but I don't know where they are located. I asked about wait time. The woman said that if I wanted that information, I would have to download the app and find out there. I asked if the soup was a take-out item. She said normally I would have to call back and ask for that department but she would make an exception and transfer me. I don't think I felt as grateful as she intended me to feel. After being on hold for a minute, I spoke to another woman and asked if the soup was a take-out item. She didn't know and put me on hold to find out. In my head, I thought if she was the person answering the "take-out" department, she should probably know. Regardless, she came back to the line and told me that the soup was available for take-out and it came in three sizes. I asked for the price. Again, she put me on hold. I guess she could not possibly anticipate that question. She came back on the line and told me the prices and indicated that the price did NOT include breadsticks. The way that she said NOT made me feel like I was four years old and it made me feel like I was trying to get something without paying. How did she know my character? She didn't. I thanked her for her time and hung up.
Contrast this to my experience the previous Saturday. I was getting together to reaquaint with some high school friends. I was happy that a local restaurant/bar was suggested. It happened to be Underdogs. A local pub/restaurant occupying a space where previous businesses have failed.
When all restaurants were closed to indoor dining, I had a craving for a particular dish and ordered it from Underdogs. With my order, came a coupon for a free item once they reopened.
My craving wasn't satisfied. I didn't like it. I thought I would let the restaurant/bar know and sent them a private message indicating what I didn't like. I didn't want to harm the business but I wanted them to know. The manager immediately reached out to me and sent me a gift card so I could try again. I felt a little guilty that they were going out of their way to try and accommodate my fussiness in the middle of the shut-down. I ordered the dish again. It was good but still didn't satisfy my craving. I looked at the menu again. Now, I understood. The dish had been based on a traditional dish but had been "upscaled" and, of course, it was not going to satisfy my craving because it was not the recipe that I had in my mind.
So, I was very happy that my friends chose that restaurant to go for our night out. It was a great experience. There was social distancing and you could see how this local nightspot were taking our safety seriously. We were there for a long time, like about 40 minutes before we even looked at the menu but we were never rushed. We interacted with 3 staff members and all of them were fantastic. Friendly, upbeat, and great ambassadors of the business. They couldn't be nicer or more professional. They contributed to a wonderful evening and were kind enough to be our paparazzi. As re-opening has happened, I have always asked employees how they feel about returning to work. It usually is a mixed-bag as some employees feel forced into a situation. Not these three young adults. They all were brimming with enthusiasm because they were working in such a positive work culture.
Shop local. The difference in service will astound you.
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