What Kind of Pie Shop?
The most compelling part of PJP is that just when I think we could NOT possibly work any harder, we do. And last week was no exception, as we starting baking in the early hours of the morning and finished in the dark hours of the night. But while we worked harder than ever, we seemed to encounter less difficulties than ever. In other words, if this all is a simulation video game…I think we just unlocked the next level of achievement. (At least for a few weeks until PJP West End opens and the game starts to slay us again…)
Here’s a recap of the highs and lows of last week:
HUNDREDS of pies left PJP last week. On Thursday, we only baked for orders because we couldn’t confidently handle a store baking schedule in addition. And let me tell you, SOME PEOPLE WERE NOT HAVING IT. At least five times, I heard “so you are a pie shop that doesn’t have any pies out for sale?”, even while they looked at the hundreds of boxes with names labeled on them and Team PJP ardently baking. People are either a delight or a disaster Christmas week. Thankfully 98.5% of our customers are gems.
The other 1.5% would probably prefer Sam’s Club pies, their prices, and their pie availability.
I did go in and make ONE White Chocolate Strawberry pie today even though we were closed. A man wanted to purchase one last week for his Christmas celebration today, wherein his daughter was coming home for the first time in 11 years. If he bought it lsat week, it wouldn’t be any good today. He cried and I folded like a cheap suit because a child not home for 11 years breaks my heart. So I went in and made it and he picked it up at 10. And I can promise the 1.5% that Sam’s doesn’t offer that service.
I did order dinner for pickup from Texas Roadhouse last Wednesday because I baked for 14 hours and couldn’t bear the thought of cooking. The app had a glitch and created our dinner order twice and charged us twice. When Jason went to pick it up, we weren’t the only ones with the issue. They refunded the second charge but gave us both night’s of meals. And all I could think is what a nightmare of a show it probably was in that Texas Roadhouse kitchen that night. NIGHTMARE. Food service empathy, for sure.
But all in all, we had a fine week. Jeanne didn’t need stitches, no one cried (though I came close), and listening to Christmas music on Alexa for hundreds of hours didn’t kill our holiday spirit. Though, when we wrapped it up at 2 on Christmas Eve afternoon, we basically all left tire marks in the parking lot during our hasty retreat. (Just kidding, Kroenke Group, if you are reading this.)
We are back to our regular schedule starting tomorrow, but then 10-2 on New Year’s Eve. You might consider a pre-order if you plan to stop by. I don’t know how busy we will be, but what sort of pie shop doesn’t have pies for sale on the shelf?
