10 Million Reasons
Or why we should behave like we are on line, not online
This coming month will mark the 10 year anniversary of Big Dave's Bagels & Deli in the beautiful Mt. Washington Valley. It set me off down memory lane, thinking about my now lengthy career. We have owned 4 businesses in 2 states over our history. A total of 31 years of serving customers. I roughly guesstimate that we have waited on approximately 10 MILLION folks. This number really affected me when I totaled it. I’m still somewhat awed by it. It made me realize just how nice our customers have been to us and our employees over the years. Against a backdrop of millions the few unpleasant guests that we have encountered are statistically irrelevant. I do not believe we could have lasted this long if this was not the case. We have been blessed with customers treating us as nicely as we try to treat them. That old golden rule still applies in my eyes. Thank you all so much for this.
Which brings me to the point of penning this letter. Like anyone alive in our country I am acutely aware of our politics. One thing that I have prided our businesses on is never allowing politics to enter our business world. No candidate signs have ever graced our stores, even when a personal friend once ran for office (he did not appreciate my response). I just never felt like it belonged in a bagel shop. I usually have enough issues to concern myself without looking for any more. Much like the 10 million of you that we have served who understand the challenges that daily life presents us. We truly cannot tell, or care, how you vote. From our perspective we just see friendly people waiting for food and kindly choosing us for that purpose. Neighbors on their way to work, caring for their families, dealing with life issues, trying to be good people. I have also seen so many wonderful interactions amongst customers while they wait for their turn on line. Neighbors being neighbors, friends meeting up, visitors engaging locals, so many nice moments. The personal touches that make a day better for all involved. Simple human warmth.
I am merely a baker but I have to figure that these 10 million loyal patrons we have waited on do not all vote the same. Statistics would tell me that it probably breaks down along similar lines as our New Hampshire, which is one of the last ‘Purple’ states left in our country. Meaning split down the middle. This, in addition to being an early primary state brings more politicians to here than I ever saw in 45 years of living in New Jersey or New York. We have had candidates visit our businesses from both sides of the aisle. I guess it would be natural that politics is discussed more here for these reasons. In our local paper I read venomous letters from folks on every side of issues, some who I know personally as nice customers. It doesn’t get better in social media circles either. Online comments under local cable news stories are shocking, the attacks so incredibly mean spirited. Some of these nasty attacks have also come from people who we know as polite and gentle. Fortunately what I have never witnessed is these same folks speak this way on our line at the shop.
We have to treat each other respectfully. This includes folks with differing opinions, whether it is political or not. Disagreeing with someone does not have to mean demeaning them. To me the path for us to move forward lies in mutually respecting all people. I myself have many friends who I know probably vote differently than I might. I love them all dearly. When I read about people who do not speak to family and friends due to political leanings I feel sad for them. What a silly reason to lose important folks from our lives. It is my humble opinion that if we all behaved like we are standing on a line with our neighbors, as opposed to being online with our enemies, this short time we are here together would be much better spent.
Just pretend you are in our bagel shop if that helps. Peace to all.
