Have you ever had one of those kinds of weeks where everything is going so wrong that you think surely someone must be video taping all of this just to see how much stress you can handle? Then suddenly “Surprise, ha ha, we got you! Just kidding”. Or maybe you have really pissed someone off so badly that they are doing everything in their power to ensure that you completely fall apart? They have somehow discovered everything that matters to you and systematically begin destroying it. Ok, that’s just paranoid right???
I knew it was that bad for me this week when I one point, Jasmine, who is my right hand and complete support here at work (and in life sometimes), actually said to me one day, “Wow, there was a little while there I was actually scared to talk to you…” Yes, it was that bad.
So Sunday everything was great, Jasmine and I decided to drive down to LA and do a little food research. You have to do that from time to time just to stay on top of things. We had a great time, only I did the unthinkable, what everyone in the restaurant biz knows not to do, I did it. I ordered fresh fish on a Sunday night. Fish tacos to be exact. I should have already had the big red flag raised when the food arrived to the table in less then 5 minutes. Hmmm, when was this fish actually cooked? I proceeded to eat it anyway. Not a good decision. By the next morning, I was so sick I could barely get out of bed. Lets just say, I do not like calling into work sick. It is not in my nature. But there I was, stuck at home while I should have been taking care of business.
Tuesday, I am actually feeling ok to return to work, but decide it will be ok to go in and then finish my newest tattoo that night. I leave the shop in so much pain I am not sure how I actually made it home that evening. I think I may have started crawling into my bed whimpering at some point…
Wednesday comes around, I am just starting to feel back to normal when Jasmine tells me one of the printers are down. Our main printer, the one that sends all of our food orders back to the kitchen. I say, “No problem, I can fix this!” Thats when all hell really breaks loose. Not only did I NOT get the printer working, I managed to take down the one other working printer, the cash register and the computer. It was at that point Jas begins to look at me with fear in her eyes. With good reason. Lunch was in full swing and we were handwriting orders on tickets and using our old school cash register. I actually contemplated shutting the doors so that I could compose myself. I should have just had a shot of our fabulous Zapopan tequila we have on reserve for our margarita cupcakes. That would have made some pain go away, or just brought on a whole new kind. I knew it was bad when my very IT savy friend took a look at the situation and told me it was so hot, the entire computer could have just shut itself down committed computer suicide… Thats when I called in the big guns. The IT crew did manage to get everything fixed by closing time that night. But get this one, in the last few weeks, someone nearby hacked into our crushcakes network and began sending out mass viagra spam using our ip address. Yes, viagra. So you might be sitting at home, looking though your email box when suddently you get an message from Crushcakes. You might think, mmm whats this? Perhaps I would enjoy a scrumptions and delicious cupcake from Crushcakes, lets see what they have to say…then you open the email and all you get is, “Are you big enough, hard enough, all that you want to be? No? Then check this out…” Yuck!!! Yep, so we had to put a major lock down on our system here. So between this weeks IT work and that, I am pretty sure I have paid the IT company’s payroll for the week.
Then comes Friday. Nothing bad happens on Fridays right? I have actually said that myself. I may have even said that to a customer this very morning. I guess I was wrong. During lunch, 2 of my refridgerators starting making this loud grinding noise. At that point I just look at Monk and say, “Are you freaking kidding me???” One of the fridges is in our cafe dining room, it was so loud we just had to laugh as Monk came out and unplugged it for us. There was nothing else we could do at that point, just laugh. Or cry. Or throw a cupcake in someones face…
But here is what makes a week like this worthwhile. I am at the gym, finished up, showered and putting on my Crushcakes tee shirt. One lady in the locker room sees me wearing it and says, “Oh Crushcakes, I love that place!” Then another lady comes up to me and tell me that Crushcakes is her kids favorite place in the world. Then another tells me she secretly comes in all the time and loves our cupcakes…yes, despite it all this is an amazing place to be everyday!
peace.love.food.
SN
People seem to be crazy about online reviews. What is the best car out there? The best hotel? The best restaurant? The best coffee? And of course, where can I get the best cupcake? But here is the deal, the review you may be taking as gospel is just one persons opinion. One persons thoughts and feelings about why they loved that particular sandwich or hated that particular salad or coffee drink. Maybe it was personal, the reviewer did not like the person that made the food therefore they hated the entire experience. Or maybe the person is jealous because someone else opened the boutique of their dreams before them, therefore they were determined to spread their rage all over the internet hoping to take them down one review at a time. What did I hear recently, jealousy can make a person do things they never thought they were capable of….
When I first opened Crushcakes, one woman worked very diligently at trying to stop me from opening before I even had a sign on the door. She called the city and told them I was doing construction without a permit, forcing a city inspection. We were tiling at the time, no permit necessary. After we did get open, she called the health department and told them I was not baking the cupcakes here on premises in order to force a health department inspection…if that was the case then I’m not sure why I needed the thousands of dollars worth of ovens, vent hoods, mixers, refrigerators, etc that currently reside in my kitchen. Of course this woman was just upset because she never got her bakery opened, and that’s sad for her but probably better karma down the road had she just focused on herself rather then on me and my business.
Oftentimes I hear from our customers that they found us online and have read our reviews. I have to admit that when I hear this I find myself cringing and hoping for the best. I have talked about this with you before, our reviews are not always the greatest despite our valiant efforts. But this is the big secret about online reviews…wait for it…here it comes…the reviews are not always what they seem to be…truthful. For whatever reason, people just like to spread hate, anger, frustration and there may or may not be any truth behind it. It is sometimes just a whole lot of emotional throw-up people seem the need to share with the rest of the world. We, as human beings sometimes seem to have this desire to bring everyone into our drama. Maybe its a need to be validated or just make ourselves feel better after a really shitty day, but whatever it is, its out there.
Yes, I can take the honest reviews. Do I like them? No of course not, but I do try to learn from them. Things like, food took too long to get to my table (yes, its NOT fast food for a reason) or cupcakes are a little dry (human error when making 1000 cupcakes from scratch every day, it happens). But here is the one I hate, I mean really hate. So much so that I think about it for days afterwords. It is when a customer actually tells you before they even get the food that they will give you a good review if its exactly what they want, and what they want is not usually something we would do. Or better yet, I will give you a bad review if you don’t do exactly what I am asking you for right now. These are not normal requests, mind you. Because anyone who knows me knows that I will generally bend over backwards to make a customer happy. I will do whatever I can within reason. I have run to the art supply store to get a little girl crayons while waiting for her breakfast here at the cafe. I have sprinted blocks away to Vons to get fresh strawberries for a customer that really wanted some with her pancakes. But here is a request that was just a little out of my realm, despite the customers threats of bad reviews. A customer called me just a couple days before her event and requested that I drive all the way to Santa Ynez to deliver to her some mini cupcakes. I may have actually considered it except that it was on a day I already had a wedding booked in the opposite direction, Carpinteria. Now I am not sure about you, but I cannot be in 2 places at the same time. And I don’t usually deliver mini cupcakes to Santa Ynez. But the customer threatened me with the, “I will put negative reviews all over the internet and to everyone I know if you don’t deliver these mini cupcakes to me. And I know a lot of people.” What do I do? Do I bow down to this review blackmail or concentrate on the wedding order that has been booked for weeks? I had to tell her I could not do it, despite the verbal abuse I continued to receive. There may be negative reviews about me all over the internet as I write this, but I just couldn’t do it. And I have been thinking about it ever since. I know I need to let it go. I have been in customer service and the restaurant business long enough to know you can never please everyone, but damn it I try.
I wonder how long this phenomenon has been going on and I have just been completely unaware…people using online reviews as a form of blackmail against businesses in order to get what they want. There are so many other ways to get what you want. You can try to be nice, for example. Or as my sister Alex says, “just say thank you”. Or plan ahead of time. Or just realize that we are all just people trying to make it in this crazy world day to day with all of the same problems, stress, and issues to deal with and maybe if we could just be a little patient, we may just get what we want. And try bringing a box of cupcakes along the way, it may just take you as far as you want to go….
peace.love.food.
SN
Have you ever heard of magical thinking? The general idea behind this concept is that if you are positive and think about something you want long enough and hard enough, you can actually make it come true. Well, I think that you can get the same exact reaction a lot easier with a box of cupcakes.
Now that I am newly single, I have begun thinking a lot about how am going to get out there and meet people. And when I do, what will make me any more special then the hundreds of hot girls that live here in this City of Santa Barbara where we seem to be surrounded by the most beautiful people in the world? What will give me that edge, besides of course my sparkling personality and good looks…modest aren’t I??
So I watch what goes on around me and the dating scene that is actually taking place each and every day at Crushcakes. Girls and boys all meeting each other over cupcakes and coffee. We have one customer that has an account with us and he adds new girls to it every few weeks or so. The girls on his list can come in whenever and buy whatever cupcakes their hearts desire, all on him. We have another single father who comes in with his son and has breakfast every weekend. They look so cute together, I am pretty sure I have taken a second peek at dad a time or two. Then there is Ginger, my favorite French Bull dog that comes in with her hot master and sits out on our patio looking so adorable to all who walk by. There is no way any girl could pass without stopping and taking a look at either of them…
So what do I have to turn the heads? Well, I think I may have finally realized what it is and all this time and I have not been using it properly to my advantage…no not my boobies, ass, hair, or award winning smile…why its my cupcakes of course!
For the 4th of July I was invited to a BBQ with some friends, most of the guests I did not know. When I arrived at the door step, hands outstretched with a box of Crushcakes, I could barely get past the entry way. I was suddenly surrounded by numerous people all clambering to get to me and the cupcakes. When I began to describe each flavor within the box they actually simultaneously held their breath and oooohhhed and aaaahhhed at each cupcake. When it began to circulate throughout the group that I was actually the owner of Crushcakes, wow, I think there may have been someone fainting in the corner. No, of course I’m kidding about the fainting, but some people did have me cornered for what felt like hours wanting to know every detail about owning Crushcakes. Yes, I have to admit, I did feel like a celebrity for a very short time there. I began to think about other parties could I get myself invited to just so that I can use my new found power. Oh, I could get dangerous…
But this all does make me wonder, does everyone who arrives at a party carrying a box of Crushcakes get the same reception I did? If so, its no wonder we sell out so often. When I was asked what I would like to drink, the party hostess was gone so long finding the kind of wine I like, she may actually have run to the store to go and buy it for me. Cupcakes are just magical…there’s not many other food items I can think of that will bring this kind of reaction. Maybe chocolate, but you can only have so many boxes of Sees. Maybe a really good bottle of tequila or wine? Some kind of homemade treat? No, cupcakes are definitely one of a kind…and we will see what kind of magic they bring my way…
peace.love.food.
SN