It was packed at Cleveland Park Wines & Spirits ( 3423 Connecticut Avenue N.W. Washington D.C. 2008 Tel : 202-363-4265 sales@clevelandparkwine.com www.clevelandparkwine.com ) for our Annual BUBBLY in-store tasting last night ( Wed. Dec. 10th, 2008 ) and it was hard to move around with the hundred-plus people there wanting to taste the 45 or so bubblies that we had ten people nice enough to pour for them and explain what it was that they were sampling.
As usual I went around and helped where I could and welcomed everyone. It's my job and I love it. I could finally relax just a wee bit and try a bubbly or two as I worked the floor doing whatever I could to help people and make them feel comfortable and at home.
I spied a young lady that was standing off to the side that had been there for awhile tasting and I asked her how she was / was she enjoying herself ? She asked me : " May I be honest? " That caught me off-guard but I quickly answered " " Please ".
She went on to comment about the range of people there, all ages and from all walks of life and that she noticed that everyone was welcome and everyone coexisting happily together there and seeming to be enjoying themselves. She appreciated this. In her serious tone ( I was stunned to hear this just like that from her and I loved it! It may have made my day more than any other thing said to me last night because I didn't see it coming at all. What this young lady said was honey/ bubbly to my lips. Thank you. I have already forgotten your name and for that I am truly sorry.
Your words echoed my philosophy to how a wine store/ a place of business should be run. Everyone is welcome, the more the merrier. We want you all there/here with us. We want to share with you all. We're going to sell wine anyway : let's make it fun, open and a learning experience where we can for one and for all.
Thank you for your perceptive words of assesment. I take them to heart and as a complement, one that I will not soon if ever forget. I hope to see you again. I hope you read this and come back to the store and reintroduce yourself when there is not so much going on around us that I cannot remember your name!
When I shared this with my wife this morning she said that it sounded like you might have had a really bad experience somewhere else.
Cheers to you all. Thanks for coming. We had a birthday celebration for one of our favorite customers last night. Pat, I'm thrilled that we could offer you this on your birthday! I hope you and Warren had a blast and you'll have to tell me where you both dined afterwards?
Time to go! Have to walk our dog and clean-up at the store after this most wonderful, gregarious, store-packed, bubblies-flowing evening last night. Cheers, TONY
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