I’m sad, this Foodie Friday. If you’ve hung around the screed for a while, you know that Friday used to be the day when I’d traipse down to my local and quaff an adult beverage or two to celebrate the end of the week. I’ve written about the place before, and while I still patronize it via takeout food, sitting at the bar with the other regulars is not an option for the foreseeable future. Thanks, COVID.
You are probably aware that pubs take their name from the public houses that first appeared in the late 17th century, and was used to differentiate private houses from those which were, quite literally, open to the public as ‘alehouses’, ‘taverns’, and ‘inns’. Much earlier, the Romans established tabernae in Britain, alehouses along their network of roads. Yes, that’s where the word “tavern” comes from.
Here’s the thing. Those alehouses weren’t just places where people went to get drunk. They were meeting places where people could socially congregate, share gossip, and arrange mutual help within their communities. Until last March, that’s exactly the role that my local served as well.
Now before you ask me if I’ve ever heard of Facebook or Next Door, hear me out. I want to make a point that applies to the business world as well. Ask yourself if your social media interactions with your friends and family are as satisfying as Facetiming or Zooming. Probably not. Then ask yourself if those video-based interactions are as good as sitting in the same room or on the next bar stool with a friend. I highly doubt it.
What’s been lost during this pandemic, an economic crisis that has decimated the restaurant industry, is not just jobs. It’s our ability to do what pubs, and by extension, restaurants, were in part created to do: socially congregate, meet new people, have a laugh or a cry with a friend who you can hug. Every business has suffered that loss to a certain extent. Whether it’s customers, suppliers, or staff, I’m pretty sure none of them are coming to an in-person holiday party this year (at least I hope not).
So the real question isn’t how will the bars and restaurants that survive this get back to that happy in-person social place once this is over. The real question is how will your business?
Tag Archives: Business and Economy
Public Houses
Filed under food, Thinking Aloud
Fritters
Let’s think about fritters this Foodie Friday. If you’re an American, fritters are usually apple or corn. The former type is sold in donut shops while the latter might be on a menu as an appetizer or side dish. Occasionally you find other types of fritters. Conch comes to mind as do other sea creatures as being sometimes seen in the fritter manifestation.
Of course, that raises the question of what exactly IS a fritter? Is it a puffy, round doughnut-like thing covered in icing and filled with apple? Is it a ping-pong ball-sized lump of batter? Technically, it’s any form of battered meat, seafood, vegetable, or fruit which is then fried. There are sweet fritters and there are savory fritters, and that definition opens up a lot of other foods to fall into the fritter category. Tempura is a fritter. They serve fritters of peas or pineapple or potato with fish and chips in England. Were the potato latkes folks had for Hanukah fritters? They might be, actually.
Why do I bring this up? Because depending on where you are in the world, a fritter can be very different. It raises the issue of YOU knowing what you mean when you say something but your listener just might not be understanding your words in the way you intend. I think we’ve all had the experience of telling a friend or family member or coworker something only to later find that he or she completely misunderstood you—or never heard you at all. There are a lot of reasons why this happens and one of them is that the meaning of any of the words is unclear.
We’ve all played “telephone”, the game where one person says a longish (12+words) sentence to someone who then repeats it to the next person and so on. How often does the original sentence come back intact? Rarely, in my experience, and the likelihood decreases when we use words like fritter that can have many meanings (and that’s just in its noun form!).
What you think you are saying may mean something quite different to someone else—particularly if you start in the middle of a thought, choose a wrong word or speak too quickly. You might order an apple fritter expecting something you’d get in a donut shop and end up with a dough ball that looks like a hushpuppy containing some apple. Remember that we don’t speak to hear ourselves talk (at least I hope not). We speak to communicate with others and making sure that they understand what we’re saying is just as important as what it is we’re saying. Otherwise, we’re just frittering our ability to communicate away. You with me?
Filed under food, Helpful Hints
Dug In
One thing that I’m constantly reminding myself about is being too dug in. Unless you’re preparing for a full assault from an opposing army, being dug in is generally detrimental on a lot of levels. It stops productive discussions which can lead to positive change. It stifles new ideas and “different” thinking. Sometimes, it even works directly to your disadvantage, producing a pyrrhic victory but little else. Let me give you an example.
This one is from the world of politics but ignore that. I use it only because it’s a perfect example of being dug in and how it can work against you in an extreme sense. With me so far? OK.
Kynect is the Kentucky name for Obamacare. During the campaign a year ago for Governor, there was a woman being interviewed who had health problems and her dependent son had serious health issues as well. She told the interviewer that she and her child were able to obtain the healthcare they needed for the first time under the Kynect program. She also said she was voting for the candidate (Bevins) who said he would get rid of Kynect. The interviewer asked if she believed that Bevins would keep his campaign promise and get rid of Kynect. She said that she believed he would. The interviewer asked her why she would vote for someone who she believed would take away the healthcare that she and her son needed. She answered that she had always voted Republican, so she was going to continue to vote Republican.
That’s not a shot at Republicans. I know Democrats who are just as dug in on voting for their party regardless of the candidate’s position on the issues. My point is that you can’t be dug in. It applies to your openness with respect to new ideas. It also applies if you are “stuck” in a job you don’t like, with people (even working virtually) you don’t like. It’s obvious that it’s time for something you DO like and to dig out.
I find those people all the time while helping them explore their way out via franchises. I tell them to keep an open mind and not be dug in. Take time to learn the culture, mission, and vision of the businesses we’re exploring. You want a change, but to reach your goals, it must fit your beliefs. It does you no good to dig out of one situation into one that’s just as bad, or worse.
How dug in are you? Can I help?
Filed under Franchises, Helpful Hints, Thinking Aloud
Consult Keith 