Ordering Adventure
The other day (Wednesday, June 16, 2010) I successfully ordered Ben & Fat Jerry’s chocolate ice-cream at Mighty Tops in Canandaigua.
But on scrap-paper that can be misplaced or lost.
Lori’s Funky Food Market seems to have a better handle on this.
Special-order anything from them and a book gets trotted out.
Special-ordering anything from Tops in Canandaigua is out-of-the-ordinary.
Normally Mighty Tops carries Ben & Fat Jerry’s chocolate ice-cream, but the past three visits they were out.
“Cancha just have the store-manager special order it?”
That’s my sister-in-law in Florida; a Godsend because she knows how important Ben & Fat Jerry’s chocolate ice-cream is.
She knows that because she can’t get it where she is — that Ben & Fat Jerry’s is the BEST chocolate ice-cream in the entire known universe.
“To do that I hafta -a) find the store-manager, and -b) carry on a conversation.”
As a stroke-survivor I find my speech-center compromised; that is, my ability to carry on a conversation.
I can usually do it — if I control its speed.
But I often find myself stuttering looking for words.
It was pouring rain as I left the Canandaigua YMCA; reason enough to avoid Tops.
But after perhaps 100 yards it stopped raining, and I could see blue sky. So I set off for Tops.
I walked gingerly into the store, direct to the ice-cream section.
Nothing! So into the fray; screw up the courage.
“Who do I see to order something?” I asked the front-end manager.
She glared at me.
How dare I come into her store and not just buy something from the shelf.
“What exactly do you mean, sir?”
Note to friend the same age as me — I’m 66.
“As you advance in age, you’re knighted. Everyone starts calling you ‘sir.’”
“I’d like to order some Ben & Jerry’s chocolate ice-cream.”
She skewered her face as if thinking, then......
”Frozen-dairy call Extension 300,” store-wide.
Minutes passed.
“Well, I guess we gotta go find them.”
We hiked back into frozen-dairy; no sign of anyone.
She disappeared behind large swinging steel doors into the back; overhead was a sign that said “Associates Only.”
“Doncha mean employees?” I thought to myself.
She waddled back out, and asked another store-employee (Woops; “Associate”) if they had seen anyone from frozen-dairy.
”No.”
Back up front.
“Grocery call Extension 300.”
Ring-ring.
“He’ll be right up,” she said, striding away.
More minutes passed, then a callow youth appeared — no more than 25 — about 200 pounds in a dirty sweat-stained tee-shirt.
“What can I do for you sir?”
The knight bit again.
“I need to order Ben & Jerry’s chocolate ice-cream.”
“Did you look?”
“Nothing on display,” I stuttered, trying to find the right words.
“You normally carry it, but have been out for a while,” I finally said.
Off he went in pursuit of scrap-paper and a pen — this is Tops, not Lori’s.
Back he came with scrap-paper and pen.
Deafening silence.
“What do you need?” I finally asked.
“Name and phone-number;” all of which he scribbled onto the scrap-paper.
I get the feeling my sister-in-law in Florida had more success calling the Canandaigua Tops long-distance.
• “Mighty Tops” (Tops) is a large supermarket-chain based in Buffalo we occasionally buy groceries at. They have a store in Canandaigua.
• “Lori’s Funky Food Market” is Lori’s Natural Foods, south of Rochester in Henrietta — a source for salt-free cereal, sauce, and health foods.
• “Ben & Fat Jerry’s” is of course Ben & Jerry’s. A fellow employee at the newspaper I retired from called it that.
• I had a stroke October 26, 1993, and it slightly compromised my speech. (Difficulty putting words together.)
• I work out in the Canandaigua YMCA exercise-gym. (“Canandaigua” [“cannon-DAY-gwuh”] is a small city to the east nearby where we live in Western NY. The city is also within a rural town called “Canandaigua.” The name is Indian, and means “Chosen Spot.” It’s about 15 miles away. —We live in the small rural town of West Bloomfield in Western NY, southeast of Rochester.)
But on scrap-paper that can be misplaced or lost.
Lori’s Funky Food Market seems to have a better handle on this.
Special-order anything from them and a book gets trotted out.
Special-ordering anything from Tops in Canandaigua is out-of-the-ordinary.
Normally Mighty Tops carries Ben & Fat Jerry’s chocolate ice-cream, but the past three visits they were out.
“Cancha just have the store-manager special order it?”
That’s my sister-in-law in Florida; a Godsend because she knows how important Ben & Fat Jerry’s chocolate ice-cream is.
She knows that because she can’t get it where she is — that Ben & Fat Jerry’s is the BEST chocolate ice-cream in the entire known universe.
“To do that I hafta -a) find the store-manager, and -b) carry on a conversation.”
As a stroke-survivor I find my speech-center compromised; that is, my ability to carry on a conversation.
I can usually do it — if I control its speed.
But I often find myself stuttering looking for words.
It was pouring rain as I left the Canandaigua YMCA; reason enough to avoid Tops.
But after perhaps 100 yards it stopped raining, and I could see blue sky. So I set off for Tops.
I walked gingerly into the store, direct to the ice-cream section.
Nothing! So into the fray; screw up the courage.
“Who do I see to order something?” I asked the front-end manager.
She glared at me.
How dare I come into her store and not just buy something from the shelf.
“What exactly do you mean, sir?”
Note to friend the same age as me — I’m 66.
“As you advance in age, you’re knighted. Everyone starts calling you ‘sir.’”
“I’d like to order some Ben & Jerry’s chocolate ice-cream.”
She skewered her face as if thinking, then......
”Frozen-dairy call Extension 300,” store-wide.
Minutes passed.
“Well, I guess we gotta go find them.”
We hiked back into frozen-dairy; no sign of anyone.
She disappeared behind large swinging steel doors into the back; overhead was a sign that said “Associates Only.”
“Doncha mean employees?” I thought to myself.
She waddled back out, and asked another store-employee (Woops; “Associate”) if they had seen anyone from frozen-dairy.
”No.”
Back up front.
“Grocery call Extension 300.”
Ring-ring.
“He’ll be right up,” she said, striding away.
More minutes passed, then a callow youth appeared — no more than 25 — about 200 pounds in a dirty sweat-stained tee-shirt.
“What can I do for you sir?”
The knight bit again.
“I need to order Ben & Jerry’s chocolate ice-cream.”
“Did you look?”
“Nothing on display,” I stuttered, trying to find the right words.
“You normally carry it, but have been out for a while,” I finally said.
Off he went in pursuit of scrap-paper and a pen — this is Tops, not Lori’s.
Back he came with scrap-paper and pen.
Deafening silence.
“What do you need?” I finally asked.
“Name and phone-number;” all of which he scribbled onto the scrap-paper.
I get the feeling my sister-in-law in Florida had more success calling the Canandaigua Tops long-distance.
• “Mighty Tops” (Tops) is a large supermarket-chain based in Buffalo we occasionally buy groceries at. They have a store in Canandaigua.
• “Lori’s Funky Food Market” is Lori’s Natural Foods, south of Rochester in Henrietta — a source for salt-free cereal, sauce, and health foods.
• “Ben & Fat Jerry’s” is of course Ben & Jerry’s. A fellow employee at the newspaper I retired from called it that.
• I had a stroke October 26, 1993, and it slightly compromised my speech. (Difficulty putting words together.)
• I work out in the Canandaigua YMCA exercise-gym. (“Canandaigua” [“cannon-DAY-gwuh”] is a small city to the east nearby where we live in Western NY. The city is also within a rural town called “Canandaigua.” The name is Indian, and means “Chosen Spot.” It’s about 15 miles away. —We live in the small rural town of West Bloomfield in Western NY, southeast of Rochester.)
posted by BobbaLew at 1:22 PM
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