When was the last time you actually handwrote a letter and dropped it in a mailbox? A local bakery recently had a retro snail-mail exchange go viral on Instagram when they responded, with mind-blowing grace, to a handwritten customer complaint.
A person named Beverly mailed a handwritten letter to Ben’s Bread, a family-run bakery in Seattle’s Phinney Ridge neighborhood, where carb cravers line up for their crusty, tangy sourdough loaves, blue corn pound cake and breakfast sandwiches on English muffins made with locally milled grains. It was one of those egg sandwiches that inspired Beverly to write a letter. Unfortunately, its contents were quite unsettling to the bakery’s owners.
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Ben’s Bread posted a photo of Beverly’s letter on their Instagram page, calling it their “first ransom note.”
It’s a bit tough to read, so I’ll summarize: Beverly did not enjoy the breakfast sandwich they ordered over a month ago while visiting Seattle. They took two bites and threw it away. They included a self-addressed, stamped envelope requesting a refund + tax. And if Ben’s didn’t mail them the money? They threatened to “post on the appropriate website there in Seattle.” Breakfast sandwich blackmail.
With all that is happening in the world right now, it’s hard to imagine stewing over an $8.50 breakfast sandwich for a month, then projecting your rage onto a small local business.
Ben’s Bread wrote on Instagram:
“A threat of a negative review or report on a local website if we do not send you money is not the way to give feedback to any small business. Please remember we are real people, doing our best, taking pride in what we do, and working with care.”
But I am not sharing this story with you to highlight Beverly’s bad behavior or to inspire you to rush to Costco to buy a 58-roll pack of toilet paper so you can decorate their yard with copious ribbons of white two-ply.
I am sharing this story because I was so blown away by Ben’s Bread’s response to Beverly — they took a road so high you could reach it only by 747 or hot air balloon or spaceship. Here is the incredibly kind, surprisingly generous handwritten letter they sent her (that would have been really hard for me to write and send!):
It’s a bit tough to read, so I’ll summarize: Ben’s Bread’s owners apologized, but explained that the situation could have been remedied immediately if Beverly had spoken up in the moment. They said they don’t give refunds for food that has already been consumed. But they looked up Beverly’s address, found a locally owned bakery nearby and included a $10 gift certificate to cover the cost of the breakfast sandwich (and then some), so Beverly could get a bagel and support another local business.
We are living in a time where there is so much to disagree about, so much to get upset about and people are always going to challenge us. It’s not easy, but my new mantra in life is: Be the Ben’s Bread, not the Beverly.
P.S. If you’ve never had a homemade English muffin, Ben’s are very good! Their sourdough loaves are insane. And they’re serving pizza on Wednesday nights during the summer months.
P.P.S. After reading this story, you may not be surprised to learn that Ben’s Bread donates a portion of all proceeds to the local community and other charitable organizations.
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Have a food- or drink-related question? (Need a restaurant rec? Have a mystery that needs solving?) Send me a note: rachel.belle@cascadepbs.org
XO
Rachel Belle
