I was reading a lovely food book "The Calcutta Kitchen" written by Simon Parkes and Udit Sarkhel which gave a glimpse into the lives of people in Calcutta. I lived in Calcutta about 2 years with my parents and absolutely adored the old world charm, the wonderful books in the 2nd Hand Book markets in Ballygunge, the spicy indian chinese in Tangra, the earthy mishti doi from the bhai at Ballygunge Circle...the list goes on and on. The book had a wise saying from a Bengali (you have to understand that an Oriya and Bengali are culturally very alike though they might vehemently disagree) -- What you got to remember about us Bengalis is that we are really only interested in three things - educating our children, reading books and FOOD...
The saying can't be truer -- from my grandmother's kitchen where she lovingly made umpteen delicacies...getting milk fresh from her jersey cow, organic brown eggs laid fresh by her three hens and greens and vegetables from her garden...I remember the layer of flavors and the depth of love she put into every dish. My mother's kitchen where she blended a number of cuisines and came up with pure magic -- from her killer cutlets, to her sambhar to the comforting Dalma...she cooked multiple kinds of food with equal ease...my cooking is a mishmash really --- focused more on using little Oil and lots of vegetables -- not Oriya, not Indian, not chinese, not American but a blend of where my mood and inspiration takes me...
Yesterday was a relatively quiet day at work and K1 and I decided to forsake our packed sandwiches for a lunch at PF Changs. I ordered my usual Shrimp in Lobster Sauce with Brown Rice and Schezuan Aspargus...two bites into my meal I discovered an unappetizing chunk of plastic in my meal and didn't really make a scene but mentioned it to the manager. I got a replacement plate and we had a relaxed time. When it came time to pay for the food -- the manager walked up to us and told us the bill was taken care of...that is customer service and it is very different from how customers are treated in India...and everytime I have a good customer experience, I am really grateful (whether it was getting upgraded to Business in United, an executive suite at Hyatt...)...I do believe strongly in the motto - Engage with your consumers, understand what they need and give it to them...I have tried to apply it in my work life and when I see other people treat their customers (in this case me) well, it really reinforces this value for me in my professional life....so did you find a shrimp in your lobster pot...or have a wonderful customer service experience in the recent past?
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