Dumb crook

Yesterday, in the wee hours of the morning, Mick's cell phone rang. This couldn't be good. Middle of the night calls usually mean that the freezer has gone down (i.e. ice cream melting) or an alarm sensor has been triggered. This time, however, it was the Porltand police calling to let us know someone had smashed in the front window of the fish and chip shop to break in. We rushed down there and found this:

We always leave the cash drawer open so that if a crook breaks in, and wants the small amount of money left in the drawer, they can take the money without breaking the cash register. This crook was apparently too dumb to realize that the drawer was open. He worked really hard for the $30 he made off with. First of all, he spent about 20 minutes banging on the window trying to break it. Here's pictures of the rocks he brought to do the job.


After breaking the window, the crook went though the window and to the cash register. Apparently not noticing that the drawer was open, he moved some shelves so that he could unplug the register, and then, dropping money all over the place, went back through the window with the register. At that point, he must have realized that the drawer was open, because he left the register on the sidewalk and took the money he hadn't dropped all over the shop. He must have guessed that the doors were alarmed because he didn't open any doors.

A neighbor heard the banging and called the police. Unfortunately, the officers that are usually nearby were in different spots dealing with other situations. By the time they made it, the crook had gotten away. The police said that we should put a sign in the window that says "No cash on premises overnight" because it actually prevents these types of crimes. I put one up.
Luckily, we were able to get the mess cleaned up and the window replaced before opening time.

Little Ramsey

If you like Gordon Ramsey, you will love this. The kid's a dead ringer! I can't believe a little kid says the F-word so many times.

Postive and Negative

Helping to run Mick's fish and chip shop has really opened my eyes to human nature. Unfortunately, what I have discovered is that people are much more motivated to say something when they are mad than when they are happy.

We have many, many happy customers in the shop every week. I can tell from their smiles and the "yummy" noises they make when eating, from their cheery "see you next times," from their repeat business, and from their massive tips. However, there are the unhappy ones. Unfortunately, we haven't always been able to keep up with the increasing numbers of customers and the wait times have gotten out of control at times. Understandably, people are upset after having waited an hour for their food, and at that point are so grumpy that they expect food from heaven at a fish and chip shop. We're trying to get better at keeping up with the crowds and more accurately communicating wait times, so at least people know what to expect (or opt out).

We hardly ever hear from the happy customers, maybe a couple of phone calls and emails. However, we hear quite a bit from the unhappy ones in the form of phone calls, emails, and online anonymous reviews. For example, right now I am in an email correspondence with a woman who wants a full refund on her family's meal ($31) because the fish doesn't come with chips; you have to order it separately. She feels that we were trying to somehow deceive her. She is also demanding that we lower our prices. Oh, and our portions are too small. AND ON AND ON. All the while, she is comparing our food and restaurant to a large corporate chain. Seriously, if you want frozen, pre-prepared fish and chips and a restaurant with a lot of crap on the walls, go to the chain. I won't mind.

I realized that I have this tendency, too. I have eaten at many restaurants and have been quite happy but have never called or written to let them know I am happy. The few times I have communicated is when I am mad about something (of course, I complain about something more substantial than fish coming with chips, for example, a roided-out waiter screaming at me). I plan to try to change my behavior from now on. It's important to communicate the positive as well as the negative. Let's make the world a better place, shall we?

Happy Fishy

Another good review for Mick.

You need a butter crock

So, what is a butter crock? It's a container with butter in it upside down in another container with water in it. The point is that you can keep butter at room temperature for extended periods of time (30 days) without it going rancid. Another benefit is that it prevents your cat from eating the butter while you are not looking. This is the one that I have. I got it from target.com for about $10.

The metal part contains the butter and the water keeps air from getting to it. See?

It's lovely. You must get one. Then you must make bread and put some butter on it.

Good Review

Mick's fish and chip shop got a good review. I'm happy because he's finally getting the restaurant to the point that it can almost run itself, which means Mick can rest a little during the day instead of working 14 hour days 7 days a week.