When I logged in here a few moments ago I found the sweetest comment from “Woody Allen Fan” that just warmed my heart.  The timing is perfect too because I saw a message someone posted earlier today saying that they couldn’t understand why we get such great press because they ate at the deli and there was “nothing good about it” – “food or service”.  Yikes!  Nothing good? Nothing? Really? I have no reasonable expectation of pleasing all my customers (some are unpleasable) and I know that we mess up sometimes but stuff like that still bugs me.  Is it weird that I tracked down the poster’s email addy and wrote her a message asking to hear about her experience?

I don’t know.  One part of me says that the fact that I care about stuff likes this drives me to do better.  On the other hand, I work very hard already and do my best.  What else can I do?  How about a little ego booster care of Vince the Prince from Petrolia.  Below is a message I believe he meant for me to share and I take great pleasure in doing so… (you’ll see why)

“My wife and I recently visited Toronto, with a Monday trip to Caplansky’s as the main event.  After driving 3 hours, taking 2 subway trains and a 15 minute walk with our group consisting of my wife,
pregnant daughter in law, son and 1 year old grandson we arrived at our destination.  We were shocked and disappointed to find the restaurant closed for spring cleaning.  Being a typical male, I said to my wife ”Let’s go home right now”.  My son then noticed that the side door was open, being from a small town “Petrolia” where everyone is typically friendly, I took it upon myself to enter the restaurant to case the joint for future trips to Toronto. And lucky me, it just so happened that one of people in the restaurant was the owner, Zane. After hearing our tale of woe…Zane, a true gentleman who understands a hungry mans heart, made the kind gesture to let us have a sandwich despite the fact the restaurant was closed.  He was also very apologetic that the smoked meat was not warm as the steamers had been turned off.   When we asked him how much, he refused to accept payment and even threw in a couple of cokes.  We proceeded to a nearby park where we enjoyed a truly remarkable smoked meat experience.  A most disappointing beginning resulted in a great story and set forward a great day in the city, a travel experience we will never forget.  We look forward to returning on our next visit to Toronto and enjoying an outstanding dining experience.  Sincerely, Vince “The Prince” from Petrolia”

His message is significant for me in many ways.  First of all, the day he refers to, the “Spring Cleaning” closure was nightmarish.  We struggled through another busy weekend with a new crew in the kitchen.  New people always bring challenges such as inconsistencies, mistakes and simply the time it takes to train them.  Fortunately we’ve got some really good folks manning the oars and they did a great job.  Unfortunately, when I arrived at 9am Monday morning I was informed by Dennis the incredible prep guy (his chopped liver is… transcendental) that both morning cooks failed to show up.  ”And we’re out of at least 6 menu items,” he said.

Faced with the prospect of starting the week so far behind and knowing the place could use a good scrub down I decided to pull the plug.  Better to live to fight another day than to push my peeps too hard and regret it later.  But this isn’t a battle, it’s show business and the show must go on, right?  I really feel that way.  If CEO Howard Schultz thinks Starbucks is in the fashion business, what’s so weird about me thinking I’m in show business?  Besides the overblown comparison weirdness, I mean.  Its a well-known axiom that ‘grocery stores are in the food business and restaurants are in the people business’ and its entertaining people (and their taste buds) that I’m all about.

There I was on Monday, closed to the public, full of anxiety and feeding my people pizza during a lunch break when Vince the Prince and his family came in the side door.  It went just as he describes although he doesn’t paint himself as colourfully as I would have.  Vince is someone who you’d like to see on Corner Gas or at the bar in Cheers.  His small-town folksy charm belies a personality that’s larger than life.  He makes you feel comfortable with yourself just from shaking his hand.  And he talks with this patter, kind of like a Newfoundlander.  See?  Like I did right there – rhyming things.  His visit and subsequent message put me at ease over my decision.

In the end, I know I did the right thing.  Taking that break allowed us to prepare for what would be another busy Friday/Saturday and Sunday was Mother’s Day.  We had a whack of reservations that day and I can’t tell you how proud I was of our team. Under very difficult circumstances we did really well.  Not perfect but we did our best.  I need to be satisfied with that. I’m learning to be satisfied with that.

As I was leaving the deli around 7.30 pm that evening a new customer got in the last word.  ”Your mother must be very proud of you.”  She said it in the most genuine way as if to say ‘If I was your mother I’d be very proud.’  That, my friends, is why I love my customers and show business.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, May 12th, 2010 at 1:30 am and is filed under Caplanskys. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.