Michael Bevilacqua (![[info]](http://p-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif){kind=small} time3) wrote,@ 2007-06-06 08:13:00 |
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| Entry tags: | discursive |
Skippack Village Coffee Haus and Books Owner calls me a coward?
Originally published at Bevilacqua.us.
Calling customers names? Perhaps you better cut back on your caffeine intake, pal. I’m pretty sure that’s not how you handle two fair customer opinions in the real world.
Verbatim, here is what I recieved in my email this morning from the owner of the Skippack Village Coffee Haus and Books shop (actual email can be seen here):
Michael,
I’m sorry you were unhappy with the drinks you ordered. If you had said something I would have been happy to have you choose another selection, or comp the ones you didn’t like.
If you’re a Starbucks drinker, as it seems by some of the comments posted, then mine would definitely not be to your taste. Starbucks starts each drink with 4-6 shots of vanilla, regardless of what you order. That’s 320 to 480 calories before you’ve even ordered the drink. I use a 1% chocolate milk for my base in a mocha, not a syrup, which, by the way, you spelled incorrectly. The 16 oz. frozen mocha includes two shots of espresso. The price which you were so outraged at stems from the fact that our coffees are organic, come from estates made of coops of 29 farmers, each farmer having 2-3 acres. We only use spring water, and make each drink to order. It takes 52 beans for a single shot of espresso so there are 104 beans in the frozen mocha.
Thank you but LeButler’s Pantry, which by the way you also spelled incorrectly, would not suit our taste as their coffee is not organic. Although, life you, that we have in common, I love Charlie’s place. Had Charlie approached me, I would be happy to have some of his coffees on my menu, however, I hate to break it to you, Charlie doesn’t roast his coffee, he gets it from somewhere else. Sorry to shatter that idea. We do however, have several Claddagh selections on our menu, Claddagh Coffee is also located in the village behind Grandma Brenna’s. Our roaster, which we are quite satisfied with, does not roast to the City++ that Starbucks does but chooses instead a medium roast which is more akin to the needs and wants of my customers. If you would have asked for a drink suggestion, I would have recommended an Iced Americano which would have better suited your taste buds. Or maybe you are used to the powdered mixes or condensed versions of the mocha served at various locations. All my espresso-based drinks use traditional Italian recipes although we also have the Long Black and Flat White from Australia and the Cubano, from Cuba, in case you couldn’t figure that one out.
You also spelled the name of my coffeehouse incorrectly, it’s Village Coffeehaus, one word, paying homage to the people who settled our, as you call it “quaint” town. I guess, a town with a history over 300 years, being viewed as quaint, is appropriate as we have tried to maintain our history never giving way to the crushing blow and concrete of chains that serve nothing more than turning American towns into identical strip malls of cheaply made goods and services.
We have been open for nine months now, so I’m sorry to say, for you, we will definitely be here for our one year anniversary and beyond. Why is that? Because we offer ten different single region coffees. All are ground to order and brewed with spring water. Our signature espresso is enjoyed straight up because it’s a blend of five different beans, carefully selected. We are members of the Specialty Coffee Association, the Barista Guild of America and the NFIB. As well, we support Coffee Kids TM and the Susan G. Komen Foundation. We have also given support to Germantown Academy, Perkiomen Watershed Concervancy, St. Marys, the 4H Club, Mennonite Heritage Center, the FOP and the Skippack Historical Society.
Thanks for the offer to supply a LINUX-based system, but we already offer an in-house IMAC running LINUX for patrons to use as well as Comcast High Speed Cable Internet which provides our free WIFI. Maybe you did not look at my website closely enough or you might have noticed that.
Book titles are carefully chosen to reflect a wide audience. Titles vary and include, New Age, Witchcraft, Christianity, Islam, Ecoshamanism and Magic to titles that invoke discussion such as Going Nucular, Out of Time, Darwin and the Barnacle and My Father’s Gun. We don’t leave out the spiritual with titles such as House of Whispers, Wake and the AVI title, A Book Without Words and PA titles such as John Adams Party of One, Runaway America, Where Washington Walked and The Signers, and of course, the Marguerite DeAngeli books. By 1732 there were 553 coffeehouses in London specific to discipline and purpose.
To say that we resemble something you would find on South Street, I’ll take as a complement. Right now, I have seven different local artists and three more are on the way. That’s another way, I am unique. All local artist’s works are displayed free of charge. We also have music just about every weekend, it’s also free. This Saturday is Dave Antonio. Dave, was one of my first musicians. Dave’s music offers a unique world beat as he plays various instruments such as the Sitar, Didgeridoo, Tribal Drums, Singing Bowls and Native American flutes.
The sauna is definitely a “working” unit and on display because I believe that Life if Good, it’s really, really, good. If you would have read the brochure on the sauna it provides numerous health benefits. We always encourage people to relax, browse and enjoy. The 90 degree heat in here this past weekend was nothing compared to the weekend before, it must have been over 100 then. If I owned the building, there would definitely be air-conditioning. Imagine if you will for a second, that you were here about five minutes, I had to work this weekend 30 hours in that heat. The building I am in was built in 1823….obviously well insulated considering the stifling heat, the new owner which bought the place in December did an outstanding job on the outside facade and is now concentrating efforts on the interior. Obviously you know nothing about small businesses as I can’t just run down the corner and purchase an air conditioner. That’s the owner’s place, not mine.
Well all in all, I must say that one negative comment out of thousands of satisifed customers isn’t bad, just a little unwarranted, and, well to be honest, cowardly done.
Sincerely,
Johnna Mountain
Owner/Manager
Village Coffeehaus & Books, LLC
