Customer Satisfaction

One of the things I enjoy most about our farmers' market is the interaction with our customers.  It took several years to develop a clientele.  But, now we have quite a few people who seek us out.  One of these is an older woman named Jill.  She always wears a big brimmed hat as protection from the sun.  For a couple of years, we just knew her as the "lady with the big hat".  We aren't too good at remembering names, especially if we are having a really busy day.  So, it may take several times for someone to introduce themselves before their name imprints itself on our brains.  But, at some point, we came to know Jill as Jill.

As I said, Jill is an older woman who lives alone.  She has some family or acquaintances in Switzerland because a couple of years ago she asked us to babysit her African violets while she went on a 2 week trip to Switzerland.  I was pretty nervous about this because I'm not that good with houseplants.  If they survive my care, they can probably survive anywhere.  At any rate, she brought them to the market with her one Saturday and we took them home.  I set them on my kitchen counter by the window and checked them every day, worrying that I would water them too much (or not enough) or that they would be attacked by insects or disease while they were in my care!  I breathed a sigh of relief when the 2 weeks were over and I was able to return them to their rightful owner none the worse for wear.

Jill has certain favorite items that she buys.  She loves sweet peppers, especially banana peppers, and she likes parsley.   One of the reasons I've been so frustrated about my parsley not producing this summer (see July 18th entry) is because I hate to let Jill down.  So, whenever I am able to harvest a bag full, then I save it for her.

As I mentioned in the July 18th entry, we are having the hottest summer in decades.  Days and days of 100 plus degree temperatures.  The last few years it has gotten to where I have a hard time tolerating the heat.  This must have been very apparent a couple of weeks ago when Jill was at our farmers' market booth.  I usually wear t-shirts and shorts in hot weather.  Jill, noticing my attire, told me I shouldn't wear t-shirts because they were too hot.  She pointed to the cotton blouse she had on and said it was much cooler than a t-shirt.  I told her I'd have to see about getting some of them, but promptly forgot the conversation after she left and we got busy again.

You can imagine my surprise when the next week, she brought the following item to the market and gave to me.

Needless to say, I was very touched by her kindness and concern for my well-being.  And, I wore the blouse the next week.  Sure enough, it was a lot cooler than a t-shirt!