Yes, revelation. Not resolution. I don't believe in New Year's Resolutions. Frankly, the idea of reserving one day a year to make life changing decisions gives me hives. If you want to make a change, make it. Don't wait for a holiday. But I digress, back to my New Year's Revelation.
It was actually New Year's Eve and being the jet-setting family that we are, we decided to skip the parties and get take out. We decided to be adventurous and try a little Mexican carry out joint we'd spied one day while running errands in Lake Orion. So there I was sitting in the parking lot at Revere's Mexican Carry Out wondering if I made the right choice. Why you ask? The parking lot was fairly empty and the windows were steamed up to the point that you couldn't even see inside. But I had a hungry family to feed, so in I went, not knowing what to expect. Then I met Deb.
In the 20 minutes that followed, I had one of the most pleasant experiences that I can remember in a darn long time. Deb, the owner of Revere's was an absolute delight. She took my order, then proceeded to prepare the food while continuing to have a conversation with me. We talked about her business, Lake Orion, her grandchildren, even our shared love of Disney World.
But what was even more amazing, Deb knew every person who walked in the door by name. More than that, she took the time to ask them about their family, all the while, continuing to prepare orders for the long string of tickets in front of her. It was sweet, borderline charming and an experience that could only be found walking in the door of a small business.
And that's when it hit me (here comes the revelation). It's no big secret that I love what I do, but one of the things that I love the most is working with small business owners. And that 20 minutes spent with Deb reminded me of that fact. Small businesses owners are smart, savvy and most importantly to me, passionate about what they do. Her restaurant was rockin', the phone never stopped ringing, but Deb never broke a sweat and still managed to make every customer feel like they were the only one in the place.
And just in case you were wondering, the food was terrific! And we've been back several times to see Deb and I can tell you it wasn't a fluke. Every time I go to Revere's, it's been the same - great food, special service and a good feeling every time I walked out the door. And within that lies my new challenge. How can I share that kind of experience our downtown customers? I know that those same things happen every single day in my downtown, but how do I harness that energy, maximize it and of course, market it? And that's what I'll be working on these days. Did you see what I did there? I made a decision to make a change and it's not even a holiday. I know, I'm crazy like that.
Happy Revelations!
Kristi
The Downtown Geek
