We know it has been some time since you’ve heard from the Seniorpreneurs. Do not mistake our silence for the creaking of the rocking chair. These past few months we’ve been ruminating over the direction of Off Our Rocker Cookies while plotting the next chapter. Our customers have been clamoring for the rockin’ misadventures of Terri and Nanci, even if it isn’t related to baked goods. With that, it’s time to for the Co-Rockers to weigh in (287 collectively, on a good day) on food trends, food vernacular and etiquette.
The Wizards of OZempia
Pay attention to the company behind the curtain, Novo Nordisk, makers of Ozempic and Wegovy created the drug to help diabetes patients control their blood sugar. The side effect, weight loss. Other wizards are battling for market share as the demand has grown. The current barrier? Pricing and limited supply. We’ve heard the results and it’s a life changer for those who have struggled with obesity. The Queen of Media, Oprah Winfrey, dedicated a prime time special to the weight loss magic. So the Co-Rockers are curious, as the collective waistline drops, what does this mean for the food industry and fad diets as people are clamoring for this new miracle drug. Will the Golden Arches repave their yellow brick road downsizing their options from Big to Mini Mac and Quarter pounder to literally the size of a quarter? The shrinking waistline effects on the aisles remain to be seen, but we can tell you this Toto, we have a feeling we aren’t in Kansas anymore.
Sally Sells Starbucks to the Seniorpreneurs
With 6 am kitchen hours, it’s BYOC unless you’ve left your Yeti on the counter and in desperate need of a boost. Hence our recent visit to the local Starbucks.
“Good Morning, what can I get started for you?” says the cheery Barista
“A small coffee with steamed skim milk please”, quips the Co-Rocker
“I don’t understand”, says the confused Barista
“A SMALL COFFEE WITH STEAMED SKIM MILK” says the very tired Co-Rocker emphatically, to which the Barista responds in similar volume, “I DON’T UNDERSTAND”.
The Co-Rocker digs deep, clears her head, sucks in her breath, and forms the words she hadn’t used in quite some time, “A TALL, SKIM MISTO PLEASE” and with that the Barista enters the order, taps a few buttons, and points to the screen.
Tipping…the scale
According to Meriam Webster, a tip (n) is defined as “a gift or sum of money tendered for a service performed or anticipated” or it’s synonym, gratuity, “something given beyond obligation usually for some service.” There is no question that the POS (Point of Sale) Systems have revolutionized the restaurant industry making it easier for customers to pay for services and provides businesses with detailed information that is of value for growth and customer retention. However, tip shaming has become a “thing” when cash has abdicated the throne to apple pay. Upon reviewing tipping levels, we have concluded that it is not about the service and or server, rather the tip choice we make is a reflection of YOU, the tipper and not the tippee. So, we’ve decided to reinvent the scale and return to those elementary school report cards of old.
15% “Needs Improvement”, 20% “Satisfactory”, 25%, “Good”, an above and beyond custom tip is “Excellent” and if it’s NO-TIP, it’s “Unsatisfactory”.
In the case of the barista above, we chose 20%, hey we needed the cup of joe and despite the rusty lexicon we made it through, and we found ourselves satisfied.
Love the conversation! All good topics that are very current and real. No reason for me to comment but can’t help myself on one subject, “tipping”. Most people don’t know that this started with railroad porters who initially were not paid anything at all. So they were totally dependent on whatever they were given as a gratuity. This then became the norm in restaurants where we always had a separate lower minimum wage which made “tips” very important. I know as I was one of these people getting that lower wage! However today with what seems like every business putting out a cup for tips, from Carvel to Starbucks etc etc it seems like an abdication of the businesses responsibility. I always leave whatever change I get or add $1 on the card but think this is going overboard!
You rockers are the BEST!