Hmpf
Well, despite all the snow and dreary weather today, we were business as usual at PJP. With just a smidge over 1,000 jars leaving our storefront via UPS this week, we need every working hour possible to make jars, shipping boxes, and labels…not to mention regular pies to stock our shelves and to fill pre-orders. Oh, and every third person to stop by today asked about chicken pot pie availability. And chicken pot pie for the masses sounds LOVELY…if only we had room to make it because there are 1,000 Jelly Jars in our store. Except we got a new store to have more space, so yeah…that’s how it is going over here. Ahem.
Here’s what else is new:
We made 2,500 tarts and delivered them to a single customer on Saturday. On the pro side: we did not have to work overnight to finish the order, marking growth in our baking speed and organizational skills. On the con side: it took a large SUV and a second car to deliver it all and basically, loading all that in made me want a cute PJP delivery truck.
Actually, loading all that into the cars and then unloading all of it into the venue made me want an actual delivery person. Preferably one that isn’t me or Jeanne. You know who doesn’t have good dolly cart driving skills? ME. (Or Jeanne, though she will dispute this claim.)
But you know who does enjoy Dolly Parton? ME. (And Jeanne.)
Due to overwhelming demand, today we closed down pre-orders for the rest of this week AND the 23rd and 24th. There was much wailing and gnashing of teeth from me over this decision because we hate to disappoint people, but I also know what we can realistically make each day and how important it is to find the sweet spot of busy without being a hot mess. Primarily because we’ve been a hot mess before and we don’t care for how it feels one bit.
My scientific method for figuring out when we are getting too much on board for the coming days Is specifically when I feel like I’m running down the street and PJP is right on my heels and breathing on my neck, like a low budget suspense film. Which, ironically, is how it will feel in January when we slow down markedly from December but all our fixed costs are the same. Hmpf.
