Get it straight.

[hannah]

"The register's not working, so everything's free" is the sort of thing that happens in the movies, not real life. Except it happened today. I guess New York City is about as real as the movies.

There's a bakery that just opened in my neighborhood, so my brother and I stopped by for its soft opening. And as soon as we stepped inside, we learned that - at least for a little while - every order placed would be free. No charges leveled whatsoever. It's not a sustainable business model, but for an afternoon, when you're building up a client base, you can't get a better reception.

I ordered coffee and a breadstick, and tipped them with a two-dollar bill. It seemed appropriate.

Comments

[olivermoss]

That sounds like a fun experience! Likely better to give away some baked goods than frustrate people.

[catdetective]

Ooh, now that is a good way to get some customer loyalty... (and a very appropriate tip!)

Well ...

[ysabetwordsmith]

In certain circumstances, it happens and it works. It's most likely with any highly perishable product -- they can't sell today's goods tomorrow, but giving them away creates a huge benefit.

[independence1776]

Nice!

[vyctori]

So how was the breadstick? Worth going back for?

[hannah]

It absolutely does. I was just delighted to be there in the critical window of it happening.

[hannah]

I don't know how long it lasted, but I hope they got enough word of mouth to make it up in terms of the next day's profits.

[hannah]

I carry those twos around for exactly that sort of situation.

[hannah]

Indeed.

[hannah]

Not really, no. It's a gluten-free bakery, so the breadstick came out the texture of a pretzel. If I wanted a pretzel, I'd go get one of those. But their scones were nice.