Edit: When I went back to proof read this post I realized that I got quite off track from my original point. It started out as just sharing a great email that I got but my thoughts and emotions took over. I decided to leave it as it was because it’s what I’m thinking right now. Sorry for losing you in my rant…..

The events of the past few days have bugged me a bit. Mostly because I hate being in situations that I can’t control……

Then something awesome happens. A long time customer of Butcher Boy got in touch with me today to share a few stories about his trips to our place. The stories embody exactly what we tried to provide to customers. It wasn’t just food. It was a sense of family, being a part of a tribe, the sense that someone that you don’t really know cares about your happiness. These were the things that we wished we could give to our customers.

Unfortunately it’s not something that is easily shared from the customer to the business. These days it’s not the norm for most businesses to get to know their customers on a deeper level. It’s not the norm for a customer to expect that treatment when they walk into a business either.

It’s sad that the “old” ways of doing business have given way to the big box stores but I think that we’re starting to move away from that paradigm. It’s time for business to create a more personal connection with customers. It’s time to treat them like they actually matter.

Trust me, that’s not easy. When we opened up the new store, Butcher Boy Prime, we got a barrage of people saying that we were greedy and getting too big to provide service. I’m not saying that we were perfect by any means, just that we tried our best to do what we thought was right. There were always problems, whether with products or service, it was just too much to not have an issue once in a while. But I do promise that we took every issue seriously and did what we could to make it right. For every person that says that we screwed something up there are ten more than can tell you about me delivering their Thanksgiving Dinner in my own truck, after hours. Or how I never questioned someone when they told me that they had a steak they didn’t enjoy, we just gave them a new one. The only people that have bad things to say about the business are the ones that didn’t give us a fair chance to make it right. I can’t blame them for that though, we’ve been trained to think that the business doesn’t care. They probably assumed that we wouldn’t either.

A lot of folks don’t realize how long we worked on the planning of that new store either. I still have a notebook with ideas and plans dating back to 1998. We started scouting for property in 2005 and finally opened in 2007, nearly a decade after we started talking about it. Lot’s of people said it was the wrong time. Maybe it was, but it didn’t seem like it back then.

Most folks don’t realize that I was only 25 when we signed the deal for that location. It was then that I sat down with a blank piece of paper and laid out every bit of that store. I was only 26 when it opened and I was in charge of a 60 person crew, many of them older than me. I’m damn proud of that. They also don’t realize that my dad and I put over half a million dollars of our own money into that store as well. It didn’t all come from a bank that we bankrupted on. It came from 35 years of hard work from my father and every bit of financial comfort that I had for the rest of my life.

Now that that’s over I have something to share with you. Here is the exchange of emails from Roy Corkill. Reading things like this justifies every bit of my career to this point. The part about him running into my dad getting ready for a fishing trip touched me the most. I can only hope to continue on this path.

From: roy
Sent: Tuesday, June 15, 2010 1:50 PM
To: Clint@misterfnygy.com
Subject: food!

Clint, as a long-term Northern Nevadan I am so sorry to see you guys close the store. I lived in Sparks forever, so I was one of your customers. I actually at one time worked at the Insurance office across the street from you guys and got to have lunch regularly at your deli- the best deli in town by the way.

I don’t know what could have happened to make you file bankruptcy. The new store I guess.

I just watched your seafood boil, it looks yummy!

We moved from Sparks to Meridian, Idaho five years ago, and when we get back to Sparks I head straight to the deli. I always have your roast beef sandwich and a bucket of the best gawdam potato salad in the world. Nobody makes it like you, not even grandma. You need to market that stuff, I will take the first order! Last time I was there I asked mom if she had ever been there (she lives in Fallon), she said no so I told her I would bring back the best spud salad she ever had. She agreed with me. I don’t know what you put in there but it is so good I am drooling right now thinking about it.

Next I suppose is the bacon burgers you guys made. Jesus those were good, again I don’t know what you grind into those but wow they make me happy. When I was there last, I bought ten of them and froze them at mom’s house so I could have one here at home once in a while. Of course, they are gone now damn it. Your store was the only place I ever stood in line and didn’t bitch. That line would go clear to the back cooler on saturdays and I didn’t give a shit if I was last.

I went to your first customer appreciation day and remember watching you carve ice sculptures, then I got the first beer you poured down the the sculpture (didn’t work that good LOL).

I will quit boring you with my memories, I really just wanted to say how sorry I am about the business, I hope you get something similar going again. And remember, if you ship potato salad, I am first!!

Best regards,

Roy Corkill        the big heavy set dude

From: Clint Jolly

To: ‘roy’

Sent: Tuesday, June 15, 2010 2:01 PM

Subject: RE: food!

Thanks so much for that Roy!

We had to close because we just borrowed too much money at the wrong time. It is unfortunate that it ended that way but we did have a hell of a ride for a long time.

Glad to hear that you enjoyed the potato salad so much. Here is the recipe straight from my book for you to try out. Probably not making a batch this size but just divide it down and it will come out just right. Part of the secret is to peel, chop and mix the salad while the potatoes are just a little warmer than room temperature. Makes them soak up the flavor better.

Potato Salad

50#             Boiled Russet Potatoes

2.5#            Chopped Celery

2#               Chopped Onions

1.5#            Sliced Olives

2#               Dill Relish

2 Doz.         Boiled Eggs

1 gal           Best Foods Mayonnaise

2# 4oz.       French’s Mustard

2oz             Kosher Salt

2oz.            Black Pepper

1oz.            Granulated Garlic

4oz.            Carl’s Prime Rib Seasoning

Method:

Boil potatoes in salted water until cooked tender, about 20 minutes at a boil. Peel and dice potatoes into 1” X 1” cubes. Chop celery and onions into a rough dice (3/8”). Eggs are peeled and then chopped both ways in egg slicer. Mix all ingredients together and adjust seasoning.

Would you mind if I shared your email with folks? It embodies the reason that I worked so hard to make customers happy! Of course I will not share your email address and I understand if you would rather me not share it.

Thanks again!

From: roy
Sent: Tuesday, June 15, 2010 2:17 PM
To: Clint Jolly
Subject: Re: food!

Clint, I am shocked you sent me a confidential recipe like that, just shocked. You guys are the best, just the best. Even when I saw your Dad at the Indian store at Pyramid buying lures for the lake, he was just as friendly as if I was buying a thousand pounds of meat from him. I saw him quite a few times at the lake on Mondays, we both had that day off. You were always kind as well. That is why it is shocking to see this happen.

Use my name or e-mail or anything you want. Edit it if you wish to keep my rambling to a minimum. Thanks again!

God bless you guys.

Roy

From: roy [mailto:roynlauna@msn.com]
Sent: Tuesday, June 15, 2010 2:34 PM
To: Clint@misterfnygy.com
Subject: food again

I guess I am on a roll now, you got me thinking. While in the store one saturday morning, I was getting some of your delicious bacon. There was a black gentleman in there buying 5 lbs of applewood bacon. He asked me if I had ever tried it, I said no. He said that was the only place in the world that he knew of that sold it. He was I believe from Canada, I could be mistaken on that but he should have been hired on the spot by you guys to sell bacon, nothing but. He was just excited about that stuff, I guess the same way I am about your salad and bacon burgers!

Then, my boss before I left Sparks, was an Allstate agent, Larry Hall was his name. He bought a rotisserie for the office. We had a big area with a fridge, table, sink, etc. Larry couldn’t wait for Fridays to come around because he headed down to your store and got three stuffed pork chops for us guys to enjoy almost without fail on fridays. This guy cleaned those bones better than a dog. Man, he went nuts for them. We always overcooked them because we liked the crunch that the machine put on the fat.

Yessiree, part of my girth is directly contributable to you guys.

Take care,

Roy Corkill

From: Clint Jolly

To: ‘roy’

Sent: Tuesday, June 15, 2010 2:46 PM

Subject: RE: food!

More great stories Roy! It was amazing to see how fanatical people got over some of our products, especially the bacon, tri-tips and stuffed chops.

My dad is still fishing out at Pyramid just about every weekend. In fact one of his fishing buddies caught the biggest fish yet this year- 16 pounds and change!

Thanks again for sharing those stories, it brightened up my day!

I also have something else to share. A blog post from the Butcher Boy Blog about a year ago that has the story that led my dad’s business choices. It now hangs above my desk. Thanks for giving me the respect in reading this post, it means a lot to me.