I have lived in Highland Park for 27 years and have been a longtime patron of the Bryant Street Mkt and its predecessor, always wanting to give locally-owned businesses a leg up. My one-star rating is not about the quality of the market's products. In fact, it's a great market with great sandwiches and groceries. The problem is with the owner! Simply put, he's either ridiculously passive aggressive or blatently rude. I have long been put-off by his demeanor, but now I'm done. This week, I called ahead and placed an order for sandwiches and pizza. As always, he begrudgingly took my order and replied, "ten minutes." I killed time at the bakery across the street. I arrived at the Bryant Market 12 minutes after placing my order (smart phone confirmed!) and politely identified myself to him as the woman who placed the phone order. To let him know I had arrived. Reasonable? I thought so.
His response to a really good customer who greeted him with a smile: "that's why I told you ten minutes." WHAT!?!
I'll help you on this one with other possible responses you could've used, owner of business that deals with the public everyday: "Hi, we're still working on your order." Or, "Thanks for calling ahead. The pizza takes a little while to heat. We'll holler when it's ready." Or a simple and succinct: "Five more minutes." There are literally a million other ways that you could've responded without making a nice woman like me dislike you. Why do you treat at least some of your customers with such contempt?