[Cache – #117]
Dear Reader: Please watch next week for a very exciting announcement coming from Ted Matthews (lead author of Brand: It Ain’t the Logo) and me.
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Who among us appreciates great customer service? While elsewhere in the world this may seem like a truly idiotic question, in Toronto it is not, because the service in this city is, on average, brutal.
It is a mystery as to why Torontonians tolerate the city’s legions of passive-aggressive wait staff. Then again, in a town that elects Rob Ford and doesn’t seem to mind him being a crackhead, no mystery is too perplexing.
Thank goodness for the refreshingly exceptional service and product knowledge of Beerbistro in the city’s downtown. Even better that it’s spawned two new and exciting foodservice ventures that promise to deliver a customer experience at least as wonderful.
Dineen is the stunning new downtown cafe on Yonge Street that has, in just its first month of operation, set a service standard for this category that is unlikely to be surpassed in the forseeable future. Genuinely enthusiastic and attitude-free staff, beautiful surroundings and outstanding espresso were exactly what I expected to experience upon hearing that ex Beerbistro manager Cheri Dueck was opening a cafe.
Brian Morin, formerly Beerbistro’s owner and executive chef, once told me that “There’s a great idea at the bottom of every beer glass.” Evidently he’s had a few brewskies lately, as he and ex Beerbistro co-owner Kathleen McGinn have launched Craft Dogs, purveyor of gourmet handmade hot dogs, on King Street East.
One would expect a fairly decent dog from Brian – a laureate, along with celebrity chefs such as Jamie Kennedy, of the prestigious Bocuse D’or competition. And from Kathleen, one of the planet’s rare individuals to be at all times deliriously happy with the calling of hospitality, one is assured of exceptional service with a smile – which, apparently, she is unable to remove from her face.
Drop by and find out for yourself.
**Brand: It Ain’t the Logo is Number One on the Globe and Mail’s list of business bestsellers for the month of March.
