i have got to say
maybe im naiive
maybe im too trusting
maybe im too honest
maybe im too much of an old fashioned %$#^&* idiot
but when i do business with someone
i dont steal
i dont cheat
and i dont try to fuck them over..
of course i try to make a profit
im in business for crying out loud
but i make an honest profit!!
the fact that 90% of my business is as a wedding caterer
means i am holding possibly the most important day of someones
life and more than one person's life in my hands
it means all the more that i need to look into my heart
and find the kindest place in my soul
and from that place deal with my clients
who are quite often
annoying
high maintenance
challenging
un-appeciative
and sometimes just full on obnoxious as hell
i am holding their wedding in my hands
and this is a day that the bride, the groom the parents of bride and groom
and anyone else who loves them dearly will remember for the rest of their lives
so i take my job seriously
no one is harsher critic than i am
when food is deemed delicious
perfect beyond any expectation by all of the guests
i still scold my sous chefs for some fault i may find
my chefs also take their job seriously
they have been hired partially for their wonderful culinary skill
but mostly for their sense of honor
and loyalty
and deep caring for what they produce
we all put some love into the food
and my waiters
are hired not for their cheekbones
or for how tall or dark or handsome or pretty they are
but for their ability to be charming
courteous
hard working
and honest
so all that being said
i have to tell you that for some reason
lately
i have been victimized by the
un-ethical behavior of clients in a way that astounds me
i have catered a wedding from start to finish that was flawless
that was beautiful to the point that the bride, groom and family were
dumbfounded with awe
and then had the client stiff the entire staff
a very very large staff for their tip
these are the hard working
starving nyc waiters, bartenders and dishwashers
who survive on tips
the good kind
great staff who just made this wedding
a success
who are the reason these guests left so happy
and then
to decide when it is all over
to simply rip them off
to say thank you and fuck you
what decent human would do that?
honey
i dont know
but
this is the tip of the iceburg
of the kind of behavior i have seen of late
from people who presented themselves to me
as decent
honorable
folks
from people who give hugs and kisses when they goodbye
and
thank you
thank you for everything with such a look of gratitude
maybe they should be in show biz! great acting...i must say
great acting..
i am sitting here in a state of fury
and what are my options
to deny all the great people who work for me their tip?
or to lose all that money myself?
i guess you know that answer
im paying the tip out of my own pocket
and its a painful bite from this small business owner i can assure you
a very painful bite..
so whats the lesson
to trust less
be harsher
be more like other caterers in nyc
huge contract
no mercy
high volume mediocre quality
to become exactly what my clients say they hate
its tempting
i cant afford to get ripped off like this much more
i can tell you
and my heart cant afford
to put so much love into an event
and then be so severely screwed over
but then
i have to breathe
i have to breathe
and i have to try and remember
the good kind
people who still send me emails
years after i have catered their weddings thanking me
i have to think of them
of the young couples who send me postcards from their honeymoons
i have to think of them
of the parents who send me long letters of praise
i have to think of them
i have to try
try
try
not to become
like the few
the dis-honest
the un-ethical
the shallow
people who have done me harm
and done harm to my staff or tried to
because of my kindness, because of my trust
i have to try to not throw away my kindness and my trust
or i become just like them
and that would be the worst thing they could do to me
and the worst thing i could do to myself
