Saturday Morning Rituals & Panera Bread
It seems lately that we’ve fallen into a pretty consistent pattern of activity for our Saturday mornings. Let me describe this morning for you as an example of a typical Saturday at the Wilkins’.
We rolled out of bed in a panic at 5:55 because we had screwed up the alarm clock and missed our 5:45 wake-up. After hurriedly brushing our teeth and getting dressed for a run, we set out in the 18 degree temperature for a quick two miles.
Finishing back at the house, Pam jumped in the car to head for her running group, just making it there in the nick of time (remember, we got up ten minutes late). As she left, I headed back out to run another 2.5 miles in the cold. By the time I got back the 2nd time, my hands were so numb I could barely get the key out of my zippered pocket and into the door lock. I guess I need to do something different for running gloves when it’s that cold.
After arriving back at the house the 2nd time, I stopped to shave, then added a few layers of cycling clothes and jumped on my bike to meet Pam at Panera Bread for breakfast. It’s about six miles to Panera if I cross over the highway at Battlefield, and I usually go that way because I don’t like to ride on Sunshine. I make that decision knowing that I’m going to have to climb a long hill up through Southern Hills, but at that point I’m heading to breakfast so I figure I can afford to burn the calories!
This morning, we had a funny thing happen at Panera. We ordered, sat down to wait for our food, and when the little pager went off, I went to the counter to pick up our breakfast sandwiches. As I approached, I noticed a lady walking away with two plates, but didn’t think anything of it until I noticed there was nothing waiting for me on the counter. As I deposited my pager, the guy working the grill looked at me kind of funny, so I said “I’m Tracy. You just paged me”. At that point, he gave me a confused look and it became pretty obvious that the lady had just walked off with our food! Not a big deal. I told him what we needed and patiently returned to wait.
When our order was ready the 2nd time, he was very apologetic about the incident, but I assured him it wasn’t a big deal and went back to eat with Pam. As we were finishing, the manager approached us and gave us a certificate for two free breakfasts as compensation for the problem. Talk about impressive customer service! We weren’t angry or even aggravated because we had plenty of time. It was an honest mistake and not their fault, but they wanted to ensure our dining experience was a good one.
I would say that they had earned a customer for life, but we already were!
God bless….
TW
Explore posts in the same categories: bicycle, Bike Commute, cold weather, Panera Bread, RunningTags: bicycle, Bike Commute, Cycling, Fitness, Panera Bread, Running
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December 6, 2009 at 6:16 am
Getting up late CAN be an inspiration! My second observation – cyclists DO seem to be a patient sort. I know I’ve become more patient as a result of cycling.
December 6, 2009 at 10:02 am
I would like to know the other woman’s story. Did she see something that looked good and thought, that’ll do? Had she gotten up even later than you, and would have taken anything?