Communication Breakdown

We were given inaccurate information this past week, and it sure made for a tense atmosphere regarding the market. There was an email sent out by the market manager saying that someone had complained about getting food poisoning at the market. For a food vendor, it’s your worst nightmare. Nobody likes to hear that someone got sick, it affects everyone, but you especially don’t want to be the source.

I emailed the manager and asked who was the culprit, and the reply said it was us. What?!? R and I were so bummed, though we could not for the life of us figure out how someone got sick eating our falafels. I guess there are a number of sources of spoilage, but we’re pretty careful. Needless to say, we were bummed, and figured our days at the market were numbered.

I kept emailing the manager to get more information, and was wondering to myself why we weren’t informed earlier that it was us? Shouldn’t we have received a notice that our food made someone sick? It didn’t all add up, but we were too bummed to rationally think it through. Finally, after a half dozen emails, the manager asked us why we were freaking out and asking so many questions when we weren’t the source of the poisoning. What, again?!? I told her she said it was us, and she replied that she made a typo and was very sorry for the mis-communication.

I couldn’t believe it. We were way too stoked to be resentful, and felt a huge sense of relief. I’m guessing the market will be under more scrutiny, so we have to be vigilant as always in terms of food safety, but that’s all for the good of the customer, right? Sometimes I wonder why exactly we’re doing all this.

Until the next time, thanks for reading, and thanks to Dan Tantrum for the pic.