Business 8 - Outside the Oven

Welcoming people at the front door

A few weeks ago an email with a subject line, “Front Door Ideas-and a Cookie-Worth Stealing” popped into my inbox. It was a post about how a hotel chain welcomes customers at their front door with cookies (not ours – but that’s okay). It made me think about some of our customers and how they use our cookies to welcome clients “at the front door”. Perhaps more importantly, I thought about how we welcome clients to our front door – our website.

Making others feel welcome is something I grew up with and had the chance to share with Debbie several years ago when we visited my Aunt Opal, before she passed.

Aunt Opal welcomed us as soon as we arrived — Aunt Opal with Debbie and Anna

We were traveling back home and decided, on a whim, to stop by. She lived in the house where my grandmother was born in 1890, a chance to re-visit a piece of family history. We knocked on the front door for our un-announced visit (family visits in the country do not require reservations) and after exchanging greetings and hugs, we were welcomed in the house. It was close to lunchtime and she offered to prepare us a ‘little something’.

I like to think that Aunt Opal was really a seven foot tall woman packed into a five foot frame. With seemingly no effort and barely taking a break from telling stories, she put together a feast that would have fed at least two dozen people. We sat down in the kitchen where my grandmother ate as a child and I can’t remember a time in my life when I felt more welcome.

After lunch, we spent time catching up on family news. She gave us a tour of her garden, a plot that would have been a challenge for people half her age to tend. We left well fed, with an arm full of preserves and some rich memories. I can almost smell the cornbread and find myself re-telling this story almost fifteen years later.

What does this have to do with Anna’s Gourmet Goodies? I’ve said this before, but it bears repeating. We bake cookies, but are really in the experience business, creating memorable impressions. To make that happen, we do our best to practice principles I learned growing up of making people feel welcome as soon as they come in the door.

This past week, we added a new client. After sending us their order, we helped them edit the message a bit, corrected a few typos (did not even tell them) and offered up an alternate package that better suited their needs and actually cost less. Yes we are happy to have the business, but more important, we wanted to make them feel comfortable and welcome right away.

When we send cookie gifts for our business clients, branded with their logo and message, we know that in many cases they are trying to make their clients feel welcome. By practicing the family values I learned growing up over and over again, we try very hard to make it look as easy as Aunt Opal did preparing that meal, leaving an equally lasting impression that hopefully will inspire recipients to tell their story to others as well.

Our ‘house’ might be digital (website, Facebook, Google+, Twitter), but if you happen to stop by, we’ll try our best to make you feel welcome right from the start whether you are a first time customer or a member of the Anna’s Gourmet Goodies family. And if we do it right, perhaps you’ll tell that story to someone else 5, 10 or 20 years from now and in turn, welcome others the same way into your ‘house’, wherever that might be.

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I met my match on Valentine’s Day

I was living in Louisville when I met my match. I’d moved back to my home town from North Carolina after winding down a business I started upon graduating from Duke. I started a second software company in Louisville, but that one also fizzled out after a few years. I re-started my career working at a local company selling engineering software and hardware.

I dated a little, and while there were some terrific women, nothing really fit my idea of a long term relationship. Friends and family fixed me up on a few blind dates – most of which ended often before the dessert course was ordered.

I saw an ad in the paper (yes – back when we read newspapers) for Singles Night at the Hawley Cooke Bookstore on Valentine’s Day. I remember thinking that if my mom were still around and I told her I met someone at an event like this, she would likely approve. It was worth a shot since most of the other avenues were not guiding me to the kind of person who might be a good fit.

This card helped me find my life's match. — This card helped me find my life’s match.

The plan for the night worked like this: When you walked in the door, there were two baskets – one for men and one for ladies. The bookstore cut small children’s Valentine’s in half, one in each basket. You had to go around the room, introduce yourself, and see if the cards matched. If they did, you entered a drawing for prizes. The idea being this was a clever way to invoke conversation and find possible ‘matches’.

I can’t remember exactly how many people where there, but it was a crowd. My first match was an attorney from Louisville. While we enjoyed some conversation, it was pretty clear that she might not make it past the main course at dinner, much less the dessert menu.

I was thinking of calling it a night when I noticed this beautiful young woman that I had not spoken to. She was there with a friend, and while she was attempting to be social, did not seem all that interested in finding ‘a match’. She walked up, introduced herself and asked to see my card. I showed it to her and she said, ‘Well, aren’t you lucky – it looks like we matched.’ I’ve heard people tell stories about the moments they remember when they first met their spouse – this is mine. I was indeed very fortunate that day.

We enjoyed some conversation and finally, as I was walking her out to her car, I asked for a phone number. She obliged.

After a few stumbles arranging our first date (Debbie’s memory on this differs from mine), we started seeing each other on a regular basis. We shared many of the same interests, yet we were different in many ways. Most importantly, we became friends and that carries through today, 21 years later.

A few years after we met, my career brought me back to North Carolina. In a leap of faith, Debbie decided to also move, leaving behind her job of 17 years as a paralegal. Shortly after the move and a little more than two years of dating, I was convinced this was a match that would stick. Fortunately, she did not swallow the engagement ring in the glass of champagne I served that night and said ‘yes’ to my proposal. We were married on, what else, Valentine’s Day in Louisville.

We shared our story with the bookstore and they were so excited they featured our wedding on the local news channel. I’m not sure how popular Valentine’s Day is for weddings, but it makes it nearly impossible to forget my anniversary.

After my trip to the ER last year, Debbie says she does not want a repeat of that day. I have no worries that will happen again. I’m not sure exactly how we’ll spend the day, but it will probably involve a nice meal with both my Valentines – Debbie and Anna. We’ll probably cap it off with some big chocolate brownies from Anna’s Gourmet Goodies and a scoop of raspberry sorbet – one of our favorites.

Valentine’s Day for me is a reminder of just how lucky I was to find my match on that fateful night at a bookstore in Louisville. I hope you’ll take time to remember how and where you found your match, and share that story. And if you haven’t yet found your match, keep looking. If you can still find a local bookstore, that might be a good place to start.

Of course, if you’d like to send the special person or persons in your life something memorable, hop on over to our website. We’ll bake, pack and ship it, and toss in a little extra scoop of love, no additional charge.

Have a memorable Valentine’s Day,

–Chris

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Sometimes a delivery failure is great service

The holiday shipping season is coming to a close for us. We have cookies and brownies en route to almost every state and a couple of military bases around the world. A few of our shipments travel via FedEx, but the overwhelming majority are carried by the men and women of the United States Postal Service. While we’re confident they’ll arrive as scheduled, we are particularly happy that one package shipped via USPS was not delivered.

Our gourmet cookie gifts are delivered by the USPS. — In this case, great service was their priority.

One of the things we do to make sure cookies arrive where they should is to check each address against the Postal Service database. If it doesn’t return a valid 9-digit zip code, we don’t ship the order. But, there are some things that we cannot catch. If it is a good address, but the recipient has moved, the package will be returned. This year we had a client call us with a different address issue that our database could not catch. It seems that the package was addressed to a husband and wife, only the wife had passed away earlier in the year and their list was simply not updated to reflect that change.

Our client called immediately once we sent the tracking information to see what could be done. I’m guessing this would not be the first time something arrived at this widower’s home, but our client was genuinely concerned and asked for help.

I looked up the number for the post office in that zip code and called the Postmaster. I explained the situation, he immediately understood, and perhaps more importantly, he empathized. He asked that I send an email with the package information and a request to stop delivery. Turns out the package was actually being delivered out of another office, but he offered to handle everything. It arrived that day and was to be delivered the next morning.

I notified our customer that the Postal Service was trying to locate the package and stop delivery. I can only imagine how many packages they were processing on that day, but there was never a mention of effort required or any complaint from the Postmaster.

The next afternoon, I received a phone call. Delivery had been intercepted and the package was to be returned to Anna’s Gourmet Goodies. I notified our customer and they were overwhelmed with gratitude.

Depending on who and where you strike up a conversation about the United States Postal Service, chances are good that you’ll hear some type of complaint about delivery, service or whatever. Bashing the US Postal Service is right up there on some people’s list with baseball, Mom and apple pie.

But it’s not on my list. Frankly, we get great service from the USPS. Not perfect, but we’re not either. This is one example where a delivery failure was actually the result of outstanding customer service. Not because he was required to do so, but rather because a compassionate human being understood the situation and did what he could to help. Great customer service comes from people who understand the rewards of serving others and are not afraid to take action to help.

Given the number of orders we shipped out this holiday season, odds are good that we’ll get returns for some reason. And it is possible that some packages will not be delivered when they should be. Failure happens. No one on this earth is perfect. We’ll do what we can to help.

You can rest assured that anytime I’m standing in a crowd and the subject of the Postal Service comes up (it does happen), you won’t find me serving up any complaints. This one act of selfless service covers a lot of other mistakes. You see it just so happens that the addressee who passed away this year shares my wife’s name, Debbie. And I’m very thankful that our postman won’t be worried about stopping delivery of any packages coming to our home, addressed to my wife.

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Why I’m really, really thankful this year

It’s official. The season of giving thanks and celebrating holiday traditions with friends and family officially begins this week. Yes, I know some retail stores put out Christmas decorations months ago – the real kick-off starts on Thursday.

At Anna’s Gourmet Goodies we’ve been preparing for the ‘holiday gift rush’ over the past few months. We are grateful that many of our best and most loyal customers will be sending out our cookies again this year. We won’t tally up numbers until the flour settles after we ring in 2014, but total sales are up nicely so far this year. We have you, our friends and customers to thank for that.

I believe that having an ‘attitude of gratitude’ is something that pays off in business and in your personal life. This past February I had the opportunity to get a clearer understanding of what that means on a personal level after taking a ride in the back of an ambulance to Rex Hospital.

I'm especially grateful for everything this year — I’m especially grateful for everything this year

I was finishing up my Valentine’s Day grocery shopping after stopping by my doctor’s office to make an appointment. I had not been feeling 100% and Debbie finally convinced me to go in for a visit. While at the store, a feeling came over me unlike anything I had ever experienced. I felt faint. My chest started to hurt. I knew things were not right. I dropped the basket, got in the car, and drove the 50 yards up the hill back to the doctor (I’m a practical guy – what can I say).

The urgent care office on the first floor took me in right away. When you say ‘chest pain’, you go to the front of the line. Within minutes, I was wired up, and people were rushing around. The doctor came in, took one look at the EKG and said, “Mr. Duke, you are going to the hospital right now. You are having a heart attack.”

Within minutes, I was on a gurney, nitro under the tongue and on my way to the cardiac care unit in the ER. On a day filled with hearts, love and candy, I called Debbie from the back of the truck and said, ‘Honey, meet me at the hospital. They tell me I’m having a heart attack. I’ll be okay. I love you.’

To say that I received care that was over the top would be a gross understatement. From the EMTs who whisked me off to the hospital, to the staff ushering me into the ER, to the cardiologist who calmed me and diagnosed my issue with perfect precision, I was in the absolute best of hands.

Fortunately, it was not a heart attack or blockage. It did require minor heart surgery to remove fluid from around my heart. Once again, from the nursing team who cared for me, the prep-nurse, to the skilled surgeon and his team, I was cared for, prayed for and watched over with divine grace – no question about it.

The surgery was a complete success. After a few days in the hospital, I was given the all-clear to return home. Tests both in the hospital and afterwards revealed no problems. No treatments and no therapy. I recently completed a stress test and watched my heart pumping away on the ‘heart TV’ as I call it. Everything is functioning normally and according to my cardiologist, I have no more risk than the healthiest people on the planet.

Am I thankful this year? You bet I am. Not only is Anna’s Gourmet Goodies having a good year, but I was given a rare gift – the chance to look at my life from a totally different perspective. To put my trust in the hands of an incredibly skilled and passionate group of people who were totally focused on giving me the chance to continue on my journey. To come out of the experience in near perfect health. The words ‘thank you’ really are not big enough.

I’ve said it before – we make cookies – but we are really in the business of making people happy. Of helping others say thank you to friends, family, clients, whomever. We’ve always been passionate about putting the same level of care in every order – whether it is one cookie or three thousand. However, this year I’ll probably toss in an extra measure of thanks to share a little bit of the gift I was given this past February. You might not taste it in the cookies and brownies, but rest assured there’s a little extra ‘thank you’ in every box.

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My early, unexpected, holiday gift surprises

Almost everyone loves a surprise. Before Anna was born, we gave the doctor strict orders that we did not want to know whether we were having a boy or a girl. Despite the fact that he sort of let it slip in front of Debbie, I did not know until that precious little bundle emerged into the light of day for the first time, right in front of my eyes. 15 years ago, and I still see everything as if it were happening in slow motion.

I don’t know what the pace of life is like in your home or business, but it’s about to get pretty crazy around the bakery. Things get really busy, but we try our best to keep everything in balance, pay attention to the details and be grateful for ‘little gifts’. I came upon a couple of these ‘unexpected surprises’ while taking photos for our 2013 Holiday Gift collection.

We’ve been preparing for the holiday season for several months now. We look at what we did last year and try our best to come up with packaging that fits a broad scope of celebrations. Debbie and I worked together to come up with a selection of box and ribbon colors that can be mixed and matched to create gifts that deliver a memorable experience.

Debbie put together some sample packages and I headed out to Jim and Trica Bell’s shop, Under the Oaks, off Highway 98 just outside of Wake Forest. They make our pottery and have a garden center that is one of my favorite places to visit. I’m always finding an interesting setting to highlight our products.

Our cookies make people (and cast moldings) happy — This smiling face was the perfect backdrop for a cookie photo…why?

While looking around the grounds, I moved some leaves and found this smiling face. Covered with a beautiful green moss, I can only imagine how long it has been lying there. Waiting for me to come by and take a picture with our cookies? Perhaps. They do, after all, make people happy.

I wondered around the grounds looking for that perfect spot for another photo. From a distance, the large green magnolia tree seemed like a promising setup. On closer inspection, I noticed the buds strutting their bright red berries on this Southern magnolia. Another small surprise that made it all the more appropriate as a backdrop for holiday product photos.

Red berries from a Southern Magnolia — The perfect inspiration for our 2013 Holiday Gift collection photos

If you look carefully through our website, you’ll probably find some hints of these little surprises in our photos. Can you see them? Please hit reply and let me know. Who knows, maybe you’ll get an unexpected surprise…

The holiday gift season is hands down our biggest time of the year. While we have orders in the queue, but also know that there will be some people coming to our website on December 23 and even after. We take care of each order, just like it were the only one, looking after the smallest of details, because sometimes the small, unexpected surprises make all the difference.

The pace around the bakery won’t let up until after December 24th, but you can rest assured that even in the midst of the rush, I’ll be thinking about the small gifts I found at Under the Oaks. And we’ll make sure that a little bit of that feeling goes into every package that leaves the bakery.

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Lasting impressions are sweet

It doesn’t show up in all our marketing literature, but occasionally I mention that ‘our cookies leave a lasting impression, long after the last crumb is gone’. We don’t keep fully documented case histories on every delivery, just anecdotes gathered over the years. One of those anecdotes placed an order with us last week.

Gourmet chocolate chip cookies — Yes, they are as good as they look.

It was the kind of phone call that virtually any business owner loves to get. It seems this person had received our cookies as a gift some five years ago. They came in a special promotional box that was a one-time purchase. He did not keep the box or our info, but remembered the cookies.

Now at a new company, he’s in a position to send out gifts to clients and prospects. He remembered Anna’s Gourmet Goodies, did some searching, digging, and found us. He was excited. Frankly, I was ecstatic. Not about getting an order, or a new client, but because our core mission, what we do at Anna’s Gourmet Goodies, played out in real life. Our cookies made someone very happy and they remembered that long after the last crumb was gone.

I think there’s a lesson in here for all of us, no matter where you work or what type of business you may own or run. People sometimes remember what you tell them. But they definitely remember how you make them feel. Focus on the experience.

All of us are bombarded with products and messages every day – more than we care to count. In the end, we might not remember not the message or the product, but we are likely to remember how the experience made us feel. When we first tested the idea of cookie gifts coming up on ten years ago, one of my testers told me, “I felt good about the product before I ever opened the box. The presentation, the story, everything about it made me feel good”.

That concept is something we apply not only to the people who open our gifts and taste that cookie or brownie for the first time, but to the people and companies who place the orders as well. We want them to feel good about the experience of interacting with Anna’s Gourmet Goodies. I have no idea when the next recipient might become a customer. Or when the next customer might refer someone else, or leave their company and recommend Anna’s Gourmet Goodies at their new place of work.

Successful business owner want every customer to become a raving fan. It would be nice, but I don’t know anyone who can control or predict that with absolute precision. We’re all human and unpredictable at times. What we can do, is to control the experience. We can treat everyone in a professional, kind and caring manner so that, in the majority of cases, they feel good about the experience with our company. Something you can also implement at your company.

Of course it helps when you are in the business of making cookies and brownies that taste as good as ours do. And if the taste and the experience match up to create a permanent memory, well that’s a pretty sweet outcome no matter how you measure it.

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