Exit 128
2:30 in the morning. Omaha, Nebraska. After a late night, a traveling district manager walks into a gas station, not sure what to expect at this hour. He opens the door to bright lights, a clean atmosphere and two upbeat smiling employees, who greet him cheerily. So he assumes what anyone would... they must be getting robbed. Naturally, right? Well, they weren't getting robbed, they were just happily doing their jobs the way most QuikTrip employees do. And thus began the greatest love affair of my husband's life.
For this episode of Booth 13, I thought it might be fun to give you a little insight into Jon and I and what makes us tick. We are huge fans of breweries, Mexican food, pizza, food trucks, beer, burgers, pubs, sushi, beer, bagels, donuts, and... um, did I mention... beer? However, with all this variety, and all the times I've been asked, or thought about, what our favorite places are, the two places I realize that we frequent the most? QuikTrip and Dunkin' Donuts.
My love affair with Dunkin' didn't begin until we moved here 7 years ago. (I didn't start really drinking coffee until then, a moderately shocking fact if you know me). Jon had less than 3 days to find us a place to live and he found a great apartment- with a cookie happy hour and free coffee. I used to go up there every morning and it wasn't long before I started "also getting Jon a coffee" when I would walk up there. (Jon hates coffee.)
When I worked at J Alexanders in Colorado, my GM at the time was an avid Dunkin' Donuts fan. We didn't have DD in Colorado, so I assumed he was from the east coast. He was adamant that DD had the best cup of joe in America, so I was eager to try it when we drove by one shortly after moving here. Now, I had had coffee before- in design school the busiest hours at Hopkins Hall were between 9pm and 3am, believe me, I'd had coffee- however--- I had NOT had coffee! Yum-my! Derek was right! Pretty soon "caramel swirl with a little bit of cream" became my regular and they started recognizing my voice at the speaker. When I switched to only sugar on Fridays, I became the "fun day Friday" or "flavorful Friday" girl. One day I pulled up and the speaker said, "Happy Friday! Go ahead and pull up, do you have your mug with you?" I stuttered back, "yyeahh, how did you know it was me?" She saw my car pulling around. Another day, when I was waiting to pull out of the parking lot, two other cars got into an accident and swung around and hit my car. As we were all exchanging information and calling the police and such, the owner and my favorite drive-thru gal came out to check on me and see if I needed anything. You get where I'm going with all this? Customer Service. These people have it and that's why I'm there. There was one day I was so excited that one of the newer people in the drive thru knew what my regular drink was, that even though I had been considering getting something different that day, I just said, "yup!" and let her get me my regular.
This is the main reason Jon loves QuikTrip so much. Before you are even done laying your items on the counter, they are already ringing up the person beHIND you! The employees there have all worked there for longer than we've been parents, hell, some of them for longer than parents of college graduates have been parents! They treat their employees well I would imagine, and that trickles down to the customers. Some places just have it and man, when you find it, you hang on. It's such a quick (pun intended) and simple part of your day, but it makes things just a little bit easier and better and let's face it- there are days when not one thing you do is quick or easy, so it's nice to have a little of it from time to time.
I like to think that Jon's love of QuikTrip stems from his love for me and my ever-present search for clean bathrooms. Which they have by the way- very clean. However, when you travel as much as he did, it makes all the difference in the world when you can walk in and know that you will encounter quality, clean and friendly.
But seriously, if you are over for one of our infamous deck nights, just don't mention QuikTrip (Mark!), because... I have heard enough about Jon's great love to last me a lifetime.
For this episode of Booth 13, I thought it might be fun to give you a little insight into Jon and I and what makes us tick. We are huge fans of breweries, Mexican food, pizza, food trucks, beer, burgers, pubs, sushi, beer, bagels, donuts, and... um, did I mention... beer? However, with all this variety, and all the times I've been asked, or thought about, what our favorite places are, the two places I realize that we frequent the most? QuikTrip and Dunkin' Donuts.
My love affair with Dunkin' didn't begin until we moved here 7 years ago. (I didn't start really drinking coffee until then, a moderately shocking fact if you know me). Jon had less than 3 days to find us a place to live and he found a great apartment- with a cookie happy hour and free coffee. I used to go up there every morning and it wasn't long before I started "also getting Jon a coffee" when I would walk up there. (Jon hates coffee.)
When I worked at J Alexanders in Colorado, my GM at the time was an avid Dunkin' Donuts fan. We didn't have DD in Colorado, so I assumed he was from the east coast. He was adamant that DD had the best cup of joe in America, so I was eager to try it when we drove by one shortly after moving here. Now, I had had coffee before- in design school the busiest hours at Hopkins Hall were between 9pm and 3am, believe me, I'd had coffee- however--- I had NOT had coffee! Yum-my! Derek was right! Pretty soon "caramel swirl with a little bit of cream" became my regular and they started recognizing my voice at the speaker. When I switched to only sugar on Fridays, I became the "fun day Friday" or "flavorful Friday" girl. One day I pulled up and the speaker said, "Happy Friday! Go ahead and pull up, do you have your mug with you?" I stuttered back, "yyeahh, how did you know it was me?" She saw my car pulling around. Another day, when I was waiting to pull out of the parking lot, two other cars got into an accident and swung around and hit my car. As we were all exchanging information and calling the police and such, the owner and my favorite drive-thru gal came out to check on me and see if I needed anything. You get where I'm going with all this? Customer Service. These people have it and that's why I'm there. There was one day I was so excited that one of the newer people in the drive thru knew what my regular drink was, that even though I had been considering getting something different that day, I just said, "yup!" and let her get me my regular.
This is the main reason Jon loves QuikTrip so much. Before you are even done laying your items on the counter, they are already ringing up the person beHIND you! The employees there have all worked there for longer than we've been parents, hell, some of them for longer than parents of college graduates have been parents! They treat their employees well I would imagine, and that trickles down to the customers. Some places just have it and man, when you find it, you hang on. It's such a quick (pun intended) and simple part of your day, but it makes things just a little bit easier and better and let's face it- there are days when not one thing you do is quick or easy, so it's nice to have a little of it from time to time.
I like to think that Jon's love of QuikTrip stems from his love for me and my ever-present search for clean bathrooms. Which they have by the way- very clean. However, when you travel as much as he did, it makes all the difference in the world when you can walk in and know that you will encounter quality, clean and friendly.
But seriously, if you are over for one of our infamous deck nights, just don't mention QuikTrip (Mark!), because... I have heard enough about Jon's great love to last me a lifetime.
You are a great writer! I thoroughly enjoy reading your blog. Thanks for taking time to share.
ReplyDeleteThanks so much! Glad you enjoy!
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