Food Shows

When I first started out at Jake's, the two main companies that sold to us were smaller, in state companies. I believe their names were Pacific Fruit and Portland Wholesale. Now they are part of national companies, Food Services of America and Sysco Foods.

I remember the first food shows that I went to. It was in an ice cold warehouse somewhere down by the river in Portland. I wished that I had worn warmer clothes but I came home with bags of goodies and had learned quite a bit about making deals for products.

I believe food shows must have just been starting back then as I was wooed to come to them. I was given overnight stays in nice motels, lavished with gifts, overwhelmed with samples, and enticed with rebates for the business. It was kind of a Disneyland effect.

I remember one local show back in the 90's where they were giving away prizes to the purchasers. I had learned how to 'work' the system pretty well by then and ended up with a bag full of tickets. I won so many prizes that I began giving them away to the people around me as I wanted the grand prize.....a trip to the Oregon coast. Judy and I enjoyed that trip, staying right on the ocean at Depot Bay.

As the two companies got bought up by their now larger ones, the enticements for coming to their shows grew. One show, we walked away with not just a TV but two smaller ones for our kids. In another, I gave my young kitchen manager a 30 inch TV and VCR. It was a nice homecoming present for his young family. Still, in another show, they got you to buy more product by giving you minutes in a money box. There were bills in the bottom and they turned on blowers that blew the money all around you. Your job was to grab as much as you could in the time allotted. I had gotten to know the owner of the food brokerage giving this one away and he showed me the tricks of getting the most before I went in. I ended up paying for our trip to the coast with this one.

At the same time, the more local bread company out of Eugene, Williams Bakery was working hard to get and keep our business from the Portland based, Franz Bakery. Every year, they would take me to Oregon Duck games and even after the two companies combined, the Duck games were still there and Blazer games were added. At one time, I was given my choice of both.

Back then, the 'fringe' benefits were unbelievable. I knew of one local grocery store manager who was given box seats in the games and I can only imagine what he would have received in the food shows.

Jake's owners encouraged me to go to as many shows as I could as I would always bring them back at least 6 - 700 dollars in rebates for product, one time I even earned them over $1000.

Then, somewhere in the later 90's, things changed. It was as the companies began to get larger and larger. The Bread company CEO changed to a more 'numbers' man who realized that he could sell just as much by taking care of the larger chain restaurant leaders and the spiffs for independents started to come to a screeching halt.

Almost overnight, the games were cancelled for us and even for the local bread managers. I believe the tickets were given to the more district managers of both their business and the ones of the chains.

At the same time, the now huge food purveyors found that they could squeeze money from the brokers themselves and the show spiffs began to wane. It was still worthwhile to go, however, in most cases. The big shows were getting bigger but somewhat manageable with the companies asking us to bring only a couple of representatives and no children to the show. I could still wrangle some pretty good rebates of 3 - 500 and could come away with some pretty good samples.

Somewhere along the line, they started letting anyone into the shows. I found them to be much harder to work. So, I began preordering our product and just not going to the packed shows. This did not work well for them as they wanted me there so I was told in order to get my show rebates, I needed to be there.

So, one of the companies had it's big Portland show on Wednesday. Judy and I got up early and headed over the pass. We did enjoy the fall drive with the leaves turning and arrived at the show at around 11 or so.

The show was packed. We were lucky to get parking spots not to far away and met up with our local salesman as we walked in the door. He told me not to bother trying to get any more 'points' from anyone other than our two largest buys as they were just not giving out many extra points. So, I marked those two on my map as we began going down the isles. Now, there were plenty of samples to be sampled right then and there but most of the packaged samples were wrapped up tight with tape. They were for visual only as now large groups and families roam the floor, many of them just looking for these free things. These now large groups caused yet another problem, clutter.

Just walking down one of the isles was became a challenge of it's own. I saw one larger chef who had sweat pouring off of him, his hair matted with it from just fighting the crowd. I bet, in certain ways, it was cooler in his kitchen than it was out on that floor. We were bumped, jostled, and pushed. One lady who had managed to get herself quite a few of the elusive free samples dropped her bag right in front of me, tripping me with it. Now, getting a bit frazzled, I told Judy that I felt like kicking the bag.

We stopped at the two larger purchases and I made my way into them to receive as many extra points as I could. Usually, these guys would load up pages of points for me but today, there stickers were much lighter. One mentioned that they had much less to deal than they had in the past. I thanked him for what he did give me. The second gave me one sticker. I looked at him with a inquisitive look. He mentioned that he saw our price deviation sheets eluding to the fact that I was given a better price than most on his product. I did not argue that fact nor did I counter that the agreement was made so that I would purchase other products exclusively also. It was just not worth it.

By the time that we had gotten to the last two rows, Judy and I were pretty done. We decided to walk down the middle of the isle and look both ways. If we saw something interesting, we would decide if we wanted to fight the crowd to see more or just reach in and grab a info sheet that would allow me to explore more online. That didn't work so well either as the middle of the isle seemed to be where the families would gather and just 'talk'.

By the time that we finished the show, we both felt like we had worked a full shift. I had four or five samples in my bags along with a puzzle and a spat that I had won on a wheel spin. I did stop at a wheel that had Blazer gear on it, thinking that I might try and win something for Jay. But, in order to spin the wheel, I needed to purchase Blazer tickets. "Why should I buy tickets to something that may not happen?", eluding to the soon to be cancelled season if they cannot agree to terms. "Because they are fully refundable.", came the smile back. After looking at the prices (ouch), I decided that I would rather just watch them on TV.

We made our way to the person who counts up the points. "Congratulations!", she smiled. "You have earned 1700 points. Wow, that is one of my larger point totals today. You can use half of them now on gift certificates to Fred Meyer or on our prizes here and you will receive the rest when you purchase all that you have promised to buy.". "I would just like that as a rebate when I finish up with my purchases. Would that be OK?', I asked. "Yes", she said as she worked her calculator, "You will receive a check for $170. That is if you purchase it all." Since I had overbooked to insure the best possible rebate, I knew that figure would be more like $120 or so.

As we walked out the door, I was working things out in my head. $120 minus gas alone was now $60 not to mention wear and tear on the car. The fresh air on my face as we exited felt incredible. We walked back to our car to head home spending over two hours in that packed building. I realized that I had not gone back to the Coke booth to get us a drink for the way home. I looked back at the building and told Judy that I was just not up to fighting that crowd just to get a free coke. We stopped for gas in Troutdale and I bought myself a coke. Judy, on the other hand, had not been able to get herself enough free samples to feed herself and ducted into the local subway for a sandwich for the way home.

We arrived back in Bend around 5 or so. We both called it an early night as the next day we would be driving back to.....Portland. But this time in a much more relaxed atmosphere. A day trip with some of our Model A friends. A much more relaxing enjoyable day trip. I kind of think that food shows might be coming to an end for me.

Surprise

I was reminded on Saturday morning about the Vietnam Veteran's annual dinner that evening. I had forgotten all about it and called Judy to see if she wanted to go. I was kind of surprised as she normally does not like going out in the evening.

I later called my buddy, Zin, to see if he was going and we agreed to save seats for each other there. So, when Judy and I arrived, we had two seats waiting for us amongst some of our close friends. I was seated across from Judy with Zin and his son, Mark on one side and Loren ( a close friend and Iwo Jima survivor) on the other.

I feel very comfortable with this group of people and enjoyed greeting and talking with them prior to the meal. I noticed Dr. Carnahan as he walked in the room. They had a photographer and he was taking his picture. The doc is one of the most highly respected men that I know. I owe so much to him.

The photographer was walking around the room snapping shots and he stopped in front of me and took my picture as I smiled at him. I remember wondering why he took a pic of me but shined it on as he seemed to stop at quite a few people.

Terry (VVA president) opened up the meal with the pledge and a prayer was spoken. Then my friend, Tony spoke of the meaning of the POW table over in the corner. My mind drifted on how hard it would be to have a son who was never found. You would always wonder what happened to him.

Then, Terry spoke of something that they had decided to do as a group earlier that year. They had decided to honor a member. A sort of veteran of the year. Someone that they could show appreciation for their efforts in the group. He said that two names had come to the top of the list and that their was so much passion for both of these individuals that they decided that the first year would be shared between them.

As he spoke, my eyes drifted around the room at the special people that were there that were deserving of such an award. I looked at my buddy, Zin and all of the hard work that he does for many organizations. Chuck, the head of Central Oregon Veterans Outreach and how hard he works to give a hand up to down trodden vets. Jim Gunn was another that I thought deserving....or Taz. Doc Carnahan certainly had to be one. I would definitely be voting for him.

So as he spoke the first name, I almost feel off of my chair. It took a second to really set in. He had spoken my name. I looked up at Judy with what must have been a shocked look and then felt somewhat embarrassed with all of the clapping and the smiles directed my way. Terry was motioning me to come up to the podium and join him as he spoke the second name: Dr. Carnahan.

The honor and the surprise was incredible. But the honor of having my name next to this man who I love and respect so much on a plaque that will be hanging on the wall of the VFW hall forever in even more so.

I am secure?

I got an early call from Jim. The phone lines were down and so was the ability to use the credit card machine. I recently changed to the Bend Broadband system so I called that all familiar number. I went through their extensive menu only to find dead ends. I could not find anyone. I started just bouncing around until I finally was able to speak to an operator.

She informed me that the offices were closed and that no one was available. I told her that I was a business and that my service was down. "You might try rebooting your modem.", she stated. "Isn't there a 24 hour line for businesses?", I asked. "No", she said, "You will just have to wait until the office opens at 9."

I drove down to the diner and reset the modem thus bringing everything up. It seems that the company had upgraded which caught some modems off guard including mine. I then had a thought. Why didn't the alarm company alert me? I walked out into a nearly full diner. We had quite a few hunters in on their way to camp. After helping out, I called the alarm company and asked them if they knew my status. "You are alarmed. The alarms were set last evening around 9PM.", came the answer. "That's funny.", I said, "I am up and running with a full house.".

The one problem had brought to light another. Without the phones, there was no security.

I was at the office of Bend Broadband at 9. While I waited for my rep, I sat and talked with a sweet little lady who was in with her husband. They were confused over how to operate their system. I felt for her as she stated, "I wish I could still use my old crystal set.". My business rep came out to see me, apologising, with a 24 hour hot line number. I shared with him my discovery and he agreed to get together with the alarm company if it had anything to do with his system.

I then called the local office of the alarm company and discovered something that I did not know. Most every alarm is via phone lines and they have no way of knowing that the lines are down. "I don't like that at all.", I said, "Do I have any options?". They said that I could go cellular and that after the cost of the box, it was $10 more a month which covered the cost of the cell service. That was a no brainer to me and I immediately ordered up my upgraded security.

It was only 10AM and I had already solved two fairly big problems. Now, if I can just find that just right waffle recipe.

I got the power

Judy and I drove to the Powell Butte on Saturday. We stopped by the car show just as the awards were being given out and the show began to break up. I walked around talking to car friends and noticed Al Halligan's truck was there. I looked around for Al, and when I couldn't find him, left my card on his steering wheel so that he would know that I was around.

As we walked back to our car, I heard someone shouting my name. Turning around, Al was waving to me so we walked back.

"I have something that I need to show you!", he said with excitement. "This is great and I thought maybe you and I might go into business with it.".

We walked back to his tent area and found a well built man standing with his wife. "Show Lyle how that works.", Al said. The man had a rubber like bracelet on his right wrist. I had kind of heard of something like that before....seems like it used magnetic pulses or something to sort of balance you.

Now, I am always open for new things but am a bit of skeptic at the same time. "So, if I use this will my body transform itself into yours?, I asked. The man laughed while his wife made some sort of remark about his belly.

"No", he stated, but let me show you what it will do.

He had me balance on one leg with my arms straight out from my side. He then used two fingers on my left elbow to throw me off balance. He had me hold the band in my hand and using those same two fingers could not throw me off balance....in fact, he could not even using his whole hand with force. I seemed to have gained extreme balance all of a sudden.

Then, he had me stand straight with my hands to my side. With the band in my hand, he pushed down on my left hand with all of his might. He could not bring me down. Then he had me hand away the band. This time, he brought me down in seconds. I had super human strength with the band.....incredible!

I was sold. If he would have had a band, I would have bought it on the spot. "Does it work for other things?, I asked. "All sorts of things", he stated and went on to tell many stories of the effects of the band.

As we left, Al yelled over. "I will get in touch with you, Lyle. We are going to do this together."

All the way home, Judy and I talked excitedly about the product. I had asked the guy if it would help anxiety and he said for sure. I could just see it working for my PTSD and us able to do things in life that we want and yet cannot do. "We could take that trip to Utah!", Judy said.

That night, I decided to go online and see what was out there. This is one time that I am very thankful for the web and it's information. I discovered not only was the band a fraud but how this man had persuaded me into thinking it so powerful. It all has to do with your center of balance. When he used his two fingers, to pull me over, he put more pressure on the inner finger thus pushing me outward. When he wanted me to balance better, the pressure was on the outer finger thus pushing in towards my center.

The same goes for the strength test. By pushing inwards, it looks like I am very strong. The next time, he pushes down, he uses an outer push and brought me down. It is all so subtle that you don't notice.

So, last night when the cool kids showed up, Al and his wife, Roxanne were with them. Al had his band and was telling me how that guy at the car show was pushing him to sell the product. So....I asked Al if he would allow me to show him something.

We did the same test as the man had done. But, I did the opposite. With the band on, Al seemed to have no balance and no strength and when he took it off, he had both. "OK, I thought it was too good to be true. How did you do that?", he said. So, I showed him the guys secret.

"Wow", Al explained, "The guy would have had to show me this sooner or later. I could never sell something like this that would defraud someone. How can he live with himself while doing that?".

Now, I have told you this story to tell you of other powers that are out there. In this case, the power of friendship. I had let the pressure of the day get to me and was feeling a bit blue. I did not want to go down to work but it was Wednesday and the crew might need help so I did. I just wanted to go home and to bed.

But, as I sat with Al and the rest of the cool kids (Ricki named them that), my spirits began to lift. We joked and laughed and then the guys all stood around the cars swapping stories. Al left me with his band so I could wow some customers and I suddenly realized.....I no longer felt blue. I was actually uplifted just standing there amongst my friends.

As we broke up, I made a statement, "Guys, I just want to thank you all. You have really made my day!". I don't know if they realized just how much they had. "Go out and sell some bands!", Al joked as he got in his car and drove away.

I watched them as they left and then walked back into the diner....a contented and happy man.

For Whom the Bell Tolls

I know that I can be hard a times. Especially with sales type people. I believe that one has to be a bit to be in business. But, at the same time, some of my greatest and deepest friendships have been with the same. You will find me very easy to deal with when I am being served and serviced right and....I can be a bear when there is a problem that is not being addressed to my standards. My standards? I guess you would say that they are what I would be doing if I were in their place.

On a daily basis, I walk the floor with a pot of coffee talking with our customers. I am looking for more than just empty cups. I am looking to insure that each and ever customers experience is the best that it can be. I listen for key words and phrases that might lead me to inquire deeper. For instance, if ask how their meal is and they say 'fine', then I will inquire further. Sometimes that means they like it but many times it means they had a problem of some sort and I want to know what it is so I can solve it. I want that customer back.

I often talk business with my buddy, Frank, who seems to get a kick out of some of my stories both in the front and in the back of the house. He says my way of dealing with salesman that are not servicing my business up to my expectations is that I will encourage and prod from a distance. If I don't get what I want, I get a little closer and encourage more. Somewhere along the way, my encouragements get more demonstrative. He said, the problem comes when all of a sudden, I am in their face and they wonder what changed Dr. Jeckyl into Mr. Hyde.

That being said, let me tell you my waffle story. It actually starts quite a while back. When I was managing Jake's back in the early 90's. I always wanted waffles and had called my friend and mentor, Jack Mangin from the Pilot Butte Drive In (the man who created it). Jack came over and showed me the ins and outs of waffles and introduced me to the company who makes the best. The Carbon Waffle Company. Their malted waffle mix is absolutely the best.

All went well until my delivery man and I had a problem. I don't recall the problem but I do recall that our personalities clashed. The problem was resolved when I called his company up and discussed it with them. I did not want the man fired, I just wanted to get what I felt was good service. That phone call seem to resolve the problem and I was told that Shawn was still there so I felt that all was good.

Now, fast forward to the more present. A few years back, I walked into our storeroom to find a huge amount of waffle irons. It seemed that the salesman was just dropping them off and not picking them up. Trying to be the good guy, I called the company (Waffles Northwest who distributes for Carbon) and told them that they might want to pick them up. Unfortunately, that salesman was not doing what his business wanted him to do and he lost his job. I kicked my self for not talking to the salesman first. He was a very nice man who we seemed to get along with well.

The next salesman was different. And he immediately began changing things. The first thing that he changed was he began charging me for my irons. I remember challenging him regarding that and he told me that it was company policy. I reminded him that the company provided me with irons for using their product exclusively. He told me that the only person who could override that was not him, but Shawn. Shawn? The same Shawn who had delivered back in the 90's and I had a problem with? I asked him if Shawn was now the manager. "He is more than that.....he is the owner.", came the reply.

I was shocked remembering back but went on to contact Shawn about the issue. I recall the conversation as I felt that he seemed to either remember me from before or he had just not changed his style. He told me that many customers were abusing his irons and that he had to charge for that abuse. I told him that my crew does not abuse and that we only need irons when they get used too much. He said that he would leave it up to Chris, our new salesman, and if Chris felt that my crew was abusing, he would charge. If it was normal wear and tear, there would be no charge.

We went on quite well....until this spring. I was working the line on a Saturday when I noticed some of the waffles coming out a bit too brown. When I inquired, I found that the timer bells on the iron were not working. My first step was to have Jim talk to Chris about fixing the bells.

A while went by and I had the same thing happen again. When I asked the cooks about the overly brown waffles, they made mention that the bells still did not work. So, this time, I called the company direct. I left a message stating that I wanted the bells fixed. No call was returned and to my surprise we received timer bells in the mail. Jim installed them but we had to really play around to get them to ring true.

I then received a bill for shipping on the bells. I called the company to complain and was told that I had ordered the bells. "No, I didn't.", I countered, "I said I wanted the bells fixed.". I then informed them that I would not be paying for the shipping on the bells.

So...this summer, I started seeing overly brown waffles once more. And, to my surprise, found that the bells on the iron were not working. I called the company and received no word back from them. And so, I took the next step and called the Carbon Waffle company. I believe I also emailed them so that they would know that I really had a problem. I was soon called by Chris, the salesman. I told him that I was getting a bit frustrated over all of this and that I wanted my timer bells to work. He said that he had sent me bells and I told him that they did not work. I remember getting a little frustrated with him and telling him that I wanted him to fix the bells, the next time he was over. I do know that my tone was firmer as I was on my cell and after I got off, one of our cooks said, "Remind me not to get on your bad side.".

His next time here was on the 24th of September. And on the 25th, my bells did not ring. I looked for the bill to see if there was an explanation and found something else. A charge for a new iron. Now, I remembered back that on the month before, he had refused to deliver an iron saying he was out.

And, so, I ratcheted up to the next level. I looked online for any other distributors. Waffles Northwest had the only rights in the area. I contacted my other purveyors and had them begin to check into their programs. No one had malted waffle mix. I called Waffles Northwest and left a message. I sent emails to them and to the Carbon Waffle company. When I did not hear back, I saw a number on the side of one of their boxes and on Monday morning, called the Carbon company. I was told that they would inform Waffles Northwest. I said that I had already done that but they were insistent that they needed to do that so I conceded.

I asked the line cook who had been on when Chris delivered if anyone had looked at the irons and their bells. I told him that I was surprised that he (the cook) had not said anything to Chris. "I don't talk to Chris. He is a jerk.", came the answer.

That afternoon, Chris called me. Now, I am the bear that Frank talked about. I could have easily been diffused by a simple apology and a promise to get the problem solved but Chris became quite confronting. "I fixed your bells. They work!", he demanded. "No, they don't!", I countered. I asked him if he did not promise to fix the bells this time around and he countered with "I sent you bells". The conversation got a bit heated with Chris telling me that I always seemed to have problems with him every time he stops by and with me saying that I only had one problem but now had two as he had charged me for the new iron. He stated boldly that it was Waffles Northwest policy that all irons be charged for if they were overly dirty or misused. Since I knew that my crew keeps pretty good care of the equipment, I asked him if that meant the latter. He then accused me of twisting his words. He said, "I can't deal with you anymore. I am passing you over to Shawn.". I said, "Fine". Hanging up the line, I dropped my head and attempted to relax. I had let him push my buttons and had let my anger build. I have never liked the feel of anger.....especially the after effects. I tried to compose myself and ready for the next call. But....the call never came.

Early this morning, I stopped by Frank's office to chat. I shared my waffle story with he and his crew and they uplifted me with their laughter over my story. Frank asked me what I was going to do since Shawn had not called me. "I don't know. I think I am going to call the main company again.". I asked Frank if he thought that was a good idea and he agreed that even though it wasn't the best, it seemed to be the only option.....that or stop selling that brand of waffle.

So, I called the hot line again. This time, I talked with a young man. At first, he thought I was having problems with my mix and he began his normal explanation of how to properly mix the mix. "You are not listening", I interrupted, "My problem is my timer bells don't work. And I cannot get anyone to fix them.". He agreed that the timer was important to get the best quality waffle. I then went on to inquire about the waffle iron charge. He said $25 was pretty cheap. Some companies charged $50. "But, the program states that the irons are provided.", I countered. "Look", he said, "I promise you that I will contact Shawn and we will get this problem resolved. He will call you today.". So, I hung up and waited for the call.

Around 1PM, I received the call. "Hi Lyle, this is Shawn from Waffles Northwest.". "Hi Shawn, I am glad you called". "Well, you won't be. I am done with you. I am giving you a 30 day notice. I will be in your business at the end of next month to pick up my equipment and I will no longer be servicing your restaurant.". "I am sorry you are doing that", I stated. "I am sorry you went over my head.", came the answer. "All I wanted was my timer bells to work.", I said. "That problem is easy.", he angerly stated. "Just clean the bells and they will work fine. You know well that the problem is over spraying that clogs up the bells. All you would have had to do was take them out, clean them, and put them back in. They would work fine.". I could see that this conversation was not going to turn out good and that if I continued that I would just get myself all worked up so I simply thanked him and hung up.

I sat there at my computer looking up Carbon's mission statement that states how important the customer is and how they endeavor to delight them by exceeding their expectations. Had my expectations been that out of line? And then I read articles where it's president stated that their salesman would provide and service irons free of charge for simply using their product. I guess nothing is as simple as it seems.

So, today, I guess I get busy. I have to decide what the best step to take is. I know that their seems to be no other waffle mix like Carbon's. It is simply the best. So, I guess I call the company back up and look at what my options are now. I probably will bring up those articles that I read but I know that probably doesn't mean much right now. They don't know me. They do know Shawn. And, Shawn is their man.

So, for whom the bell tolls.....I guess it tolls for me.

The Balloons

I was just about to go to bed when my phone started its song. I looked at the caller ID and my heart sank.....as it read "Alarm". That told me that the alarm company was calling me. I looked at the time....9:48. It didn't make sense. Did someone hide in the bathroom or something? Were they trying to set the alarm and messed up? I was already up off the couch as I answered and was told that the motion detector in the back room had gone off and that the police were on their way. "I am too", I stated. "How long and what are you driving?" "Five minutes and a white Nissan.", I answered as I already had my shoes tied and hat on.

I shouted to Judy the word that we both dread. "Alarm". "Please be careful.", she answered. "Are the police on their way?". "Yes, I will and yes, they are!", I shouted as I raced out the door.

Thoughts flew through my now very active mind of previous calls and the damage that I had found when I had arrived. I hoped for the best and prepared for the worst. Then it hit me. The area of the motion alarm. I remembered just hours before when Judy and I had supper with our Model A friends. Some of them had left me a bouquet of balloons. I had decided to just leave them in the back room until today. They must be swaying in the breeze caused by the air conditioning.

I called Judy so that she would not worry and then quickly called the alarm company and was answered by a friendly female voice. I told her who I was and that I was responding to an alarm. "What is your address?", she answered. "2210 NE Hwy 20....you can't have that many alarms going off right now.". "What is your security code?", came the canned response. "****", was my response. After she was sure I was who I was, she then let me tell her that I thought I knew what the problem was. "Could you please let the police know that they don't need to come.", I asked. "Yes, we will and thanks for calling us back.", she responded.

I arrived to find two police cars outside the building. "Sorry guys!", I stated, "I know what the problem is. I am OK.". One of them decided to come in with me of which I greatly appreciated as I knew that I could be wrong but was pretty sure of myself.

Sure enough, as I entered the back room, there they were.....swaying in the breeze. I reset the alarms and walked out with the officer. "I will be here in the morning with my wife.", he stated. "We are looking forward to sharing one of your omelets.". I asked him when in the morning and he said that it depended on when he got off. I thanked him for his quick response and we both agreed that we were happy that it turned out like it did.

I shoved the balloons into the back of my rig and headed home. As I drove, I called the alarm company on my blue tooth. The same female voice came on and I told her who I was. "What is your address?" "My address is 2210 NE Hwy 20 and my security code is ****.", I stated. She thanked me for calling her back and wished me a good evening. The adrenaline rush now behind me, I suddenly was very tired and headed off to bed after putting the balloons on the dining table.

I was awoken by the yapping of Mia. Her bark told me that something was not right in the house. I jumped out of bed knocking my nearly full glass of water off onto the floor as I grabbed my bathrobe and shot down the stairs to find Mia........barking at the balloons.

So, thank you Speedy, Teresa, Marv, and Pauline for the thoughtful balloons. Thank you East Cascade Security for your call. Thank you Bend Police Department for your quick response. And thank you, Mia, my home security alarm. And thank you , Judy for informing all on facebook of my mini birthday demise. It has definitely made the beginning of my day very eventful. I can only wonder what the rest of the day will be like.

My Life

I want to preface this post with something. When I do post about the annoyances in my life, they are meant to be in an anecdotal way. I am very happy with the life that I have been given. It is not perfect (far from it) but who's life is? Make no mistake, however, I appreciate every blessing that graces my path and know without a shadow of a doubt that I am blessed.

I think that the measure of a person is not always what he accomplishes but how he handles the things in life that are put in his way. Does he let things get him down or does he attempt to laugh at them. I try and chose the latter.

My buddy, Frank, laughs at me when I stop and see him and tell him of the things that are going on in my life. He says that Jerry Seinfeld would have a field day with me. There always seems to be something going on with my business or in my day to day life that is.....interesting. That is also one of the reasons that I love it.

For instance, the lady who came in last week with a complaint. I was away and one of my wait staff met her at he door. She came in with a to go box filled with hashbrowns that she wanted redone. The waitress opened up the box to see hashbrowns that had been half cooked and scattered.

"These are not our hashbrowns.", the waitress stated. "They most certainly are!", demanded the lady, "I just bought them here.". "Do you have an receipt?", the waitress asked. "No, I didn't ask for one.", came the reply. "Well, is this the box that they came in?", asked the waitress. "Yes, this is exactly what you gave me just minutes ago.", replied the lady who was now beginning to get quite annoyed.

The waitress asked her to follow her to our hot box area where we put together all of our togo orders. She showed her a stack of styro boxes and then pointed to the card board box that the lady was carrying. "We don't use those kinds of boxes. We have nothing like that here. Are you sure that was the container that they came in?", asked the waitress. "Of course it is. What has happened to the quality of the food around here, anyway. Your hashbrowns used to look so nice.", came the reply.

The waitress then pointed to orders that were about to go out. The hashbrowns portions were squared off and brown. "These are what our hashbrowns look like. Those are not our browns and that is not our togo box.", the waitress stated. The woman stared at her angrily. "Are you going to give me credit for these hashbrowns or not?", she asked. "No, I am sorry. I could if they were ours." was the reply. "Well, I am never eating in this place again.", she yelled as she turned and walked out the door.

The occurrence gave the staff quite a bit to talk about and I made my self ready for the possible phone call from this disgruntled woman and was hashing around in my head just how to handle it. After all, it was just hashbrowns. It would not hurt us to cook her up an order. I know there is a principal of sorts to this but it was not like it was a steak or something.

I chose to leave it for what it was.....a good chuckle for the crew and regulars. I would handle the call as I saw it when the lady called. But, no call came.

Then, a couple of days later as I sat at the counter with some friends who had stopped by, one of them said that she needed to talk with me in private. We went off to the side and she told me of a lady from her church who had called her on the phone. The lady asked her what had happened to the quality of the food at Jake's, specifically our hashbrowns. I smiled as I listened and then pointed to the table that was closest to us. "What do you think of them?", I asked. She looked over at the plate that had just been delivered to two smiling patrons. "Well, those look good.", she replied. "That is what our hashbrowns look like.", I stated, "Would you please ask this lady to contact me. Give her my cell phone number. I would love to talk with her.".

To date, no call has been made. Customer service isn't always about whether you are right or wrong....but more how you handle the situation. But, I would sure like to know where she bought them from.

Now, from that, I had a situation from the other side of the counter the other day. I was out with my Model A friends and we stopped for some treats at a local ice cream store. Now, I know that the sheer numbers of us probably frustrated the young servers a bit and I did feel for them as I know what it is like to have a bunch of people come in when you are not prepared.

I saw a picture of a nice ice cream cone concoction on their board. Wanting to keep it simple, I pointed at it and said that I wanted just that. I asked for it in the same type of cone. The young man pointed at three sizes in front of me and asked me which one that I wanted. I said the small. He made up the ice cream and placed it in a small bowl. "I would like a cone like it shows on the board.", I asked. He looked at me with a blank look and then placed the small bowl in the next size up large bowl. "Here", he stated. So, not wanting to cause a fuss, I took the bowl while Judy's smoothie was being made. I watched him as he poured a small amount of liquid in the pitcher of ice. I knew their was not enough liquid from making my own but said nothing until the young man tried handing me a glass with solid ice chunks in the bottom and a sort of mixture at the top.

"This is not a smoothie.", I stated. "Well, I ran it through three times....this is the best I can do.", He said. "No, it needs more liquid. It is not a smoothie.", I said. Disgruntled, the young man poured a small amount more of liquid in the mix and put it back in the blender. While it blended, I paid my bill......$5 for the smoothie, by the way.

I could see the smoothie was still not mixing and when one of the other young men were close to me, I asked him if he could teach my guy how to make the smoothies. I felt that it was probably his first day or something. Well, I hit a raw nerve. The boy blurted out, "He already knows how to make them......we are busy, can't you see!". I could see and I felt for his frustration so I just left it. Our server handed over something that looked like a snow cone type of drink. "This is not a smoothie.", I stated as I took it and handed it to Judy. The young man looked at me and stated before he turned to help someone else, "Our smoothies suck!".

And....he was kind of right. Everyone who had ordered a smoothie had the same thing. I was left with the thought that I know that when I am not around, things can happen. It is a part of human nature, in a sense. I hope, however, that if someone does have something happen that they do not like, that they will tell me. It is the silent customer that scares me the most.