You KNOW I write when something hits me–always looking for inspiration–and hoping it’s interesting to those of you who read this. This one, may be personal, though I have always been taught that, in business, nothing should ever be taken personally. Lord know I try to embrace that mantra, but, I fail.
Like this one…SYSCO foods (who, and maybe this is relevant in some corporate-screw-you way, tried to buy-merge with another large Foodservice provider, US Foods, but the deal was blocked by the government on anti-trust grounds. So, there’s that)…so…SYSCO foods….they have been our largest “partner” for 21 years, since opening COBBLESTONES. Two restaurants, often somewhere garnering nearly 75% of our purchases across all food and wares. We have spent MILLIONS (upon millions) of dollars with these guys. And, the kicker is, we told many people through the years, that we do business with them because, aside from competitive quality and price, they treat us like we are as important as the big corporate accounts. They, at times, treated us better than the local little guy, who wouldn’t drive product a couple of miles to us in a pinch on a crazy-busy day, yet these guys would drive 40 miles to the warehouse to bail us out. It was a love fest. We were committed. We had problems along the way, and we worked them out. They cared. They were helpful.
Until recently, when they pulled the WORST move you could ever pull with me (and I would think many operators). They refused to deliver an order, on 12 hour notice, due to outstanding invoices. Oh no you d’int! Threaten us? Our business? Our guests experience? For how much money?!
This isn’t the small butcher across the bridge who needs the cash flow to pay the giant beef producers…this is an international, billion dollar giant, trying to buy up other giants–and–well…I’m just thinking, like, I looked up and there was a giant foot looming over my head…like a flea on the ass of a woolly mammoth…pick a metaphor. Butch Willfork rushing the middle against a bunch of 5th graders. They refused delivery until we “caught up” with past invoices. (We are talking 4 figures here, for the record…) They said, screw your customers and your plans for this week’s specials.
This relationship has been heading in this direction for the past year. I don’t know what changed at corporate headquarters.
Bye bye SYSCO. That was the straw.
There are plenty of great, caring people out there to sell us…everything…who hopefully will appreciate a 21 year relationship a little bit more than the “new guy” over there changing the way business is done, after 21 years…a guy who thinks threatening accounts is the way to do business. Maybe it is. But not up in here…not with us.
Hello Agar, Katsaroubis, Captain Foley, Bill Leading, Costa Produce, Siegel Egg, Paul Marks Co., Pantedosi and LaMarca, Kinneally Meats, Tri Mark…who am I missing?!
Leave a Reply