Catching People Doing Something Right

Carytown is one of Richmond's jewels. It's block after block of owner operated retail businesses. It's an area that can not be mistaken for anywhere else in the country. One of it's social hubs is located at the intersection of West Cary and Auburn Streets. From 7:00 am until 6:00 pm the shop is Betsy's Coffee Shop and from 6:00 pm until 11:00 pm it's Bin 22, a wine bar.

I'm among a large number of people who frequently start their day with a cup of "not" over roasted coffee and Michelle's fresh baked goodies. Now, I've met my friends at Betsy's for years when I'm in town and it's one of the centers of my social life.

However, I don't tend to get out of the office early enough to drop by at the end of the day. Mike is one of the guys who drops in after work most days. It's rather amusing because Mike is always apologizing for ordering a Guiness in a wine bar.

Last week, Mike showed up after work and Bin 22 was out of Guiness. The waitress apologized and asked if Mike wanted anthing else. He said no and left thinking he'd walk up the street to another place. He walked into another shop and there was Greg, the guy who runs Bin 22, with his arms full of Guiness. He looked at Mike and said, "The beer distributor didn't come today and I knew you would be coming in and I didn't have any Guiness."

So, Greg & Mike turned around and walked back to Bin 22 and Mike enjoyed his afternoon stout.

Now, I doubt Greg made much, if anything, buying a Guiness at retail and reselling it, but he didn't appear to be as interested in the profit on that one transaction as he was in serving his regular customer.

People talk about Richmond being a big little town. Carytown is full of small shops that give the same kind of attention to their customers and the folks who work at the corner of Cary and Auburn, whether they're working for Betsy's or Bin 22, you can expect good food and good service.

Write to me about catching people doing the right thing. I'm interested in hearing about your experience with good service.

Gayle Turner ><((">