It happens all the time. No one is immune.
But forgetting can be life-threatening - especially to a healthy, vibrant, well-loved business.
Forgetting what?
The lessons we all learned in Nursery school and Kindergarten.
Personally, i've always liked the story of the Golden Goose. A poor peasant gets a golden goose. (Yes - I'm really fast-forwarding through this story to the good part..) Then not satisfied with the one golden egg each day, he decided to kill it thinking the goose had a storehouse of eggs inside. He wanted them ALL at once.
But in his greed, he killed the goose - and there too All his future riches... What a shame.... Tisk tisk..
Yet - it's so easy to forget these simple, basic bits of wisdom and insight into life.
In my town there is a pastry and bake shop that is loved by everyone. That is - until the owner recently decided it was time to kill the goose.
This is actually a franchise - a chain. Which is what makes this story all the more tragic and interesting - not to mention instructive.
Anyway - whoever is in charge (and i suspect there has recently been a fundamental change in leadership. It has the smell of a the second generation taking over.) has recently made some dramatic changes.
While most other chains and businesses in general are heading in the direction of decentralisation, of giving individual divisions or branches more leeway to solve problems and even introduce innovations locally --- these geniuses are centralizing. Pulling all decision making and even all production to the capital city.
If you walk into the shop (as one person did recently) and try to order ---say 20 cakes--- for the next day, any other cake shop would jump at the order thanking the goods of money and prosperity.
BUT
Since everything now has to be made in ---and hence shipped from--- the capital city. That is impossible.
More to the point. There are more and more cases of people getting sick. Why?
Surprise, surprise --- because the cakes must travel a minimum of 12-15 hours to reach our city. And that is AFTER they have made their way to the distribution center. I can only imagine how old the cakes must be by the time they arrive here. And there are plenty of cities FARTHER away from the capital than us.
Their own (new) policies give us a good ballpark figure. If you order a cake on Wednesday - you cannot have it until Saturday at the earlierst! Maybe not till Sunday or later...
Now - remember, this is not just some local spokal bakery. This is a posh, upscale, respected place where people purchase cakes as gifts, for weddings and other special occasions.
Wow!
Knowing that - will i eat one of their cakes?
PERISH THE THOUGHT.
The goose killing doesn't end there.
The new arrogant idiot-geniuses have also decided to stop selling cake by the slice during the holidays.
Can you imagine the that? The lunacy?
When do most such shops do the bulk of their business?
If you answered - during the holidays - you are dead right.
Just to put a little more color in this picture.
Their shops have a very nice, highly refined set of relaxing tables and comfy chairs that regularly attract couples, families and friends to drop in for high quality, delicous bit of decadence.
I don't have access to their books, but the slices must have a significantly higher gross margin than the cakes. The slices must be big sellers. And don't forget - when people sit down, they buy HIGH margin drinks.
A cash-cow. Or in this case - Golden Goose.
I was royally pissed off the other day when i went their with my partner only to be turned away from the slices counter - with a Better-Than-Thou sniff. No apology. No attempt to explain or make any kind of amends.
So - i talked to a good friend who is a local food critic. That's when i found out about cake production in the capital and the food poisoning it has led to.
At that moment i was not longer sorry we hadn't eaten their cake. I was thankful. But incredulous.
Then and there i realised once more, many people go into or maintain a businesses not to make money - but but as an Ego-Trip. To show the world just how big they are.
That's fine with me. I'm just waiting for word to get out. For more and more people to be refused the slices - being looking down on as peasants who are not worthy of being customers. And more people to continue getting sick.
Because - eventually - if they continue with these policies, someone, (maybe me) will wait for their business' death. Then everything they have - their land, buildings, equipment, recipes and even customer lists will be for sale for pennies on the dollar.
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