Doctored Frozen Cauliflower Crust Pizza |
I love interacting with people (in very limited time blocks) in order to learn about humans, yet customers can be tiresome pretty quickly. I plan kitchen spaces in 2 hour appointments. I love this and I hate this. My first of the day was an older German lady. I joke that I am the Bill Burr of Bloggers, and the truth is that I came here to New York to study the intricacies of different people and I believe nationality and ethnicity are very important to describe an encounter. I am not one to say we're all the same, in the way that many do. I'm ecstatic that we are not. I like different, I seek different. But it doesn't mean that it's always pleasant or that all observations come in easy to swallow pills. So she's older, a woman, a German, so what? Well, for the story it sits a lady in front of you that you could imagine. She wasn't a young, Japanese 30 male. It means that she was, coincidentally, if you want to look at it that way, what society might call slightly abrupt, a little harsh in her demeanor. She didn't listen to anything I said, which was all unique to her, but it made the process memorable. I actually love the Germans or the common similarities I notice in many, because, like the Russians, that rough edge is not personal, it's simply a different way brought up by many factors. They are to the point and not so emotional. So to interact, is a lively game of ping pong for a sensitive little waif like me. These personalities help me and I need that. Their energy is admirable and she was no spring chicken but she definitely gave me a run.
She came in with a plan from another company and I said, what do you like about this and what are you unsure of. No! I want this exactly as you see it. She responded. Just make me a drawing using your products and give me the price! That's what I want from you. See, that's direct. I'd point out things intermittently she could consider changing but her only answer was no, with an exclamation point, not mean, just decisive. I'm aware she may feel a little uncomfortable in this cold retail environment so I try a few ways to ease her into a more creative mindset, to no avail. She would come around to the more obvious advice but her initial answer was always no. So I got used to asking three times. I figured she knew what she wanted and left it at that while still trying to help. So after a long 2 hours I present her with the 10 foot island she requested, no pantry, although she said she desperately needed a space for all her cans and boxes and no recycle cabinet, although all pictures showed she had at least 3 trash cans on her floor in her high end apartment. After asking if there was anything more I could do for her and if she was satisfied with the final plan, she nods clearly unsatisfied and I sigh, under my mask. I was tired at this point and wanted this game to be over. I print out the pictures, tally the order and hand her a folder, ready to say goodbye. As I move to get up, she says, 'Well, I mean if you have suggestions, I'm open to them' and then she proceeds to tell me multiple things she would like changed. I actually loved that about her.
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