O•S•C•A•R© - Old Ottawa South

Page 40 The OSCAR - OUR 37 th YEAR July 2010
Tasty Tidbits From Trillium Bakery
By Jocelyn LeRoy
I would like to address a growing
phenomenon among many “20 – 30
somethings.” It’s the expanding
culture of instant information –
texting, blogging, tweeting – and
skimming the surface of a vast array
of subjects.
Also, I would like to respond to the
young man who blogged about my
bakery after a small incident that took
place in less than five minutes in my
store. He came in, bought a cookie,
and then asked for bus fare. He threw
a tantrum because I wouldn’t give it
to him. I apologized, but I simply did
not have enough change.
He went home and wrote about it and
rated the bakery based on his opinion
of my not giving him the very last of
my change for bus fare.
After reading his negative blog about
this, I decided to look into who
reads these blogs, and how they use
the information. I discovered to my
alarm that legions of young people
do most of their shopping, research,
opinion forming based on advice and
evaluations given by bloggers on the
net. They access this information
through their I-phones and other hightech
innovations involving gadgets,
games, apps and anything else new
and trendy. They are on top of their
game. This could be good for the
economy, some would argue.
But I worry about depth. Our future
Shopping by I-phone: The Entitled Generation
parents, teachers, leaders, doctors and
politicians are, more now than at any
other time, skimming the surface.
They rely on anybody-out-there’s
opinions and private thoughts gone
public, giving the bloggers a lot of
power and credibility to inform their
audience of what’s good and not-sogood,
what and where they should
eat, buy and read. Does anyone ever
wonder if some of the information is
flawed?
I was also alarmed to learn by talking
to the people about whom I am
writing – friends, family, customers in
this age bracket – that they don’t dig
very deep or question the information
that bloggers are putting “out there.”
It’s the number ratings that catch their
attention and upon which they decide
to “pass or go.” Their actions are
based on a quick perusal, running the
risk of relying on a thoughtless word
rolled off a glib tongue.
I was surprised when many told me
they see themselves as the “entitled
generation” (post university, prechildren,
couples and singles).
Everything has come to them easily,
they say. Finding ways to spend
their money is a novel and somewhat
addictive way to create their “good
life.” They are bright and educated,
hip, living it up and happy with their
lifestyle. And refreshingly honest!
Writers and readers I know tell me
they get frustrated by book and movie
reviews given by critics who trash
books that are of high standards, even
containing brilliant writing that meets
most or all criteria of excellence.
These worthwhile titles often get a
big 0 in favour of some new, trendy,
and even poorly written piece of
literature; this can be another example
of someone’s private thoughts finding
their way into the public domain.
In the case of books, you might
ask, “Who gave the critics lunch
or a free book? Who is giving all
these opinions? Why do we give
them so much credibility?” We can
unintentionally fall into the standard
of a single person.
I would like to thank the gentleman
who blogged about “that woman” at
Trillium Bakery (that would be me)
who wouldn’t give him bus fare and
who dropped his rating of my bakery,
which he admitted initially delighted
him. He gave me pause to reflect
and food for thought.. He drew my
attention to this generation, who form
their opinions about shopping habits,
blogging and instant information at
their fingertips.
Thanks for the publicity, too. I would
like to tell him that his snap decision
doesn’t reflect who we are to people
looking for number ratings.
I admit I am curious about people
putting their private thoughts into the
public domain through their blogs.
And I’m curious about why a person
can suddenly become an expert
because of a clever turn of phrase or
a sardonic tone. He or she catches
people’s attention and suddenly
become a “critic.” They are raised to a
level of expertise by their readership.
The uncharitable view of the
blogger towards my bakery, and my
unsuccessful attempts to mollify him,
caused me to realize that this person
has no idea whatsoever of the overall
philosophy of the bakery. This is my
life, my passion; it’s a little corner of
love and caring for people’s health.
This blogger has no knowledge of my
business and the years of far-reaching
positive effects our efforts have had
for so many people.
Everything that I think is worthy
and good has been poured into my
business for 31 years. Activities
have included contributions to
charities, neighbourhoods, jobs for
students, apprenticeships, and help to
customers in need of money, food and
companionship.
A simple decision based on a single
encounter can wield a lot of power.
With a rating of less than 9 or 10
(“I didn’t like the colour of the
Tell OSCAR Readers
about your travel
or your interests.
Send text and photos to
oscar@oldottawasouth.ca
walls.” I don’t like cilantro.” I got
bored on page two.”) reflecting an
opinion based on a fleeting moment,
a restaurant, small business or a
book can be transformed into toast.
Businesses can be evaluated and
judged by people’s private musings.
Your business can be taken into the
public domain which doesn’t come
near what it’s really about.
Bus blogger, I hope you now
understand more about what my
business entails, and that running
a small business requires so many
layers of obligations. These involve
service, paying bills, quality control,
meeting health and city standards,
building customer loyalty by earning
their trust, never calling in sick if
you’re the owner and sometimes
forgoing a paycheck so staff always
can get theirs.
Probably I shouldn’t worry about
the effect of the use of our mostly
wonderful technology. When the
20 – 30 somethings become parents,
their priorities will change. Their
kids will develop allergies. Trillium
Bakery will come to the rescue with
good old-fashioned, real customer
service, caring, and foods that took us
years of trial and error to get where
we are now. It’s all so you can eat and
not have to deal with ingredients that
don’t behave the way you want.
We will continue our home deliveries
to severely disabled customers, credit
to those who forget their wallets,
listening and empathy to those of you
with distressing dietary concerns.
Anyone can blog their way to fame
or notoriety. That’s pretty cool. But
think about what a glib comment
can do. I got burned. The result,
though, was enlightening, thanks to
my friends, family and customers
and bloggers “out there.” It was an
interesting experience talking with
you and getting to know you more.
We need to wake each other up
sometimes. Thanks for that, too.
Please remember, tomorrow you may
be hit with a gluten allergy. Where
will you turn if you’ve read only that
glib little rating based on someone’s
private opinion gone public that was
based on a personal experience that
has nothing to do with who we are and
what we do? How then, with our 31
-year reputation, can we help you with
serious dietary challenges?
P.S. I give the Bus Blogger a “9” for
telling his story like it is (for him,
featuring self-absorption and lack of
reality) and a “3” for credibility.