02/19/2013
Funny cheese story...A couple of weeks ago, I went to the New Seasons on SE Division, I was looking for some blue cheese, not just any blue cheese, but one that was "photo worthy" for my photo shoot that evening. There were two people at the cheese counter, a tall man and a dark haired women named "Wendy", the tall man asked me what I kind of blue cheese I wanted, and I told him "the pretty kind with lots of photgenice veins". Most of the blue cheese was already cut and in white wrappers, so I asked him to open them and show me what they looked liked. After finding one that looked sort of good, I asked him if I could have a "fresh slice", but the one he cut for me just didn't look right and he could tell I was not 100% happy. He was very polite, and the women next to him could barely contain her laughter, because I guess it is funny buying cheese based on looks alone, but I wanted a really pretty cheese for my cover photo. He found an even better unopened wheel of a different one, cut into it and it was the perfect blue cheese slice. As he's about to show Wendy how to "wrap" the cheese in celophane, I asked if he could not wrap it so I could keep the "sharp edges". He was extremely polite and put my cheese in a "to go" container, Wendy was just giggling and I was too, I guess it was a funny process. I hope that he sold all the cheese I made him cut up for me. By the time I hit the check out line, word of my crazy cheese lady experience had spread to the checker, who told me that my cheese guy was well known as being on the "high maintenance" side, and that they all appreciated me running him through the paces, especially with the new CEO shadowing him. Guess I gave them a good story. :-) http://www.oregonlive.com/window-shop/index.ssf/2012/12/qa_with_new_seasons_new_ceo_we.html
New Seasons' new CEO and president shares how lessons learned at Starbucks will help her lead the 12-store grocery chain.
