In Closing

It's been just better than a year since closing my dream business. I find myself reflecting back often. Would I have done better; survived the blasted winter months, if I had stayed focused? Am I even capable of focusing on just the business as so many owners seem to do? I have friends who only talk about their businesses. The job is all-encompassing. Does it have to be that way to stay in business? Now, as I decorate cakes in the bakery at a local grocery store, I can't help but wonder. As I watch familiar faces pass by the artificially lit shelves of glass, I know the answer is Yes.

I miss the smiling faces and bubbly conversations. I miss delivering the best tea, the best scones, the best jam, and the best soup as the Coffman family would say. They would book the tearoom every year for their family Christmas gathering. The kids would dress up and drink unbelievable amounts of Earl Grey tea. The whole family looked forward to their visit to the tearoom. Lewis and Marilyn would come on other occasions, as well, including the Special Tea Luncheons. They would stock up on Paisley tea and Paisley Scones, their granddaughter's favourite.

Most of the tearoom visitors wouldn't hold back if something wasn't up to their standards. I always knew where I stood. Some days at the tearoom were better than others. Some days the magic powder didn't make it into the soup. Some days we would run out of tea sandwiches or scones. Although our sandwiches took several hours to replenish, the scones only took twenty-five minutes from start to finish. Most customers would wait for them to bake and enjoy their tea and company. Some would be upset and chose something else.

Some days our tables would all fill up at noon exactly. On those days we would send our overflow customers next door to shop at Joannie's Fashions while they waited for seats to become available. Some days there would be nobody until three. Some days (usually in the winter) we wouldn't have anyone come in for three days in a row! One could never count on the weather. Rain, sun, snow, grey skies - it was different every time.

Be prepared no matter what. My husband would say, but after several hours of not knowing if customers were coming, I would start busying myself with sewing, painting, or other such projects.

One project took four years of researching Paisley's history. I met with some of the village historians to finally finish co-writing the Second Edition of the Paths of Paisley. It was a great accomplishment. During our seven and a half years of business, my husband and I also took turns as the President of the Paisley and District Chamber of Commerce. We played a big part in getting the local paper; The Paisley Advocate, out to the public as well.

There were too many distractions. That's what did it.

Paperwork is not fun. Not for me anyway, and not for my husband either (not with his own full-time job to worry about). There were paychecks to be written, recorded, compiled, and sent off to the government. There were all the taxes to be tracked and remitted too. There were more taxes and fees than I had bargained for. My biggest pet peeve was WSIB. We were unpleasantly surprised one year with a demand from the government to submit five years' worth of retroactive employee benefit payments to WSIB. Apparently, they had finally won some court case.

I'm sure it has its place in big companies. Companies that have risks and large numbers of employees should be managed with rules and procedures. Why bother with a tearoom? We had no dangers, no deep fat fryers or open flames. With only three employees (I being one of them) I just couldn't see the point. The tearoom made a small amount of income for a large amount of paperwork. Mind, when you add up all of the similar-sized businesses having less than ten employees, they make up about 65% of Ontario's business sector. That adds up to quite a lot of government revenue. None of us are big enough to hide under tax shelters or afford lobbyists to sway government views. I guess we would all have to close our businesses in order to make the government stop nickel-and-dimming. Three businesses on Paisley's main street closed in the same year. I wonder what factors made them close?

Was it increasing the minimum wage? That certainly played a factor. Now I have an employer and actually get a real wage. I see that minimum wage has gone up yet again and I feel bad for my employer. Although I will enjoy the bigger paycheck, he will undoubtedly be assessing and re-assessing his business and staffing levels. Who is worth the pay increase? Who will stay and who will go? Which manager will he push to the limit of their stress endurance in an attempt to get more work out of those people who are already spent? At the same time, the price of our necessities will ultimately skyrocket to recover the ever-climbing costs of the compulsory minimum wage. How many more businesses will fold because they can't afford wages?

If prices are too high, people won't come no matter how great the food is. It won't matter how brightly coloured the packaging is or how yummy the scones are. People will cut back and businesses will hurt even more. More businesses will then close and more people will become jobless. Ultimately there will be less money flowing through the hands of our consumers. In the end, we the people, will go full circle and suffer.

There are places I love to visit. I visit them whenever I can in hopes that they won't disappear. I visit tearooms especially. Whenever I find one I just have to go in. I love tearooms. I love antique shops, too. I really love the quaint, interesting places that carry products you just can't get anywhere. I love items that are made locally or in-house. There are places that upon entering, you feel that the owner has gone to great lengths to offer an interesting and unique atmosphere. Visit them as often as you can and be generous with compliments. They mean the world some days. It could be that one thankful remark, that one gracious smile that gives the shop owner the strength they need to go forward and seek out one more month of sales.

Lastly, be kind to the serving staff. Do it whether you are an employer watching over them or a customer being served. These are people with lives. Some have children, and others are still children themselves. With the right encouragement, they will blossom into wonderful, able-bodied souls that are ready and willing to deliver the best of what they have. Your smile could make or break their day. I loved the customers that would happily come in, looking forward to their visit. Other visitors would arrive hungry and tired. I would say to my servers, don't worry about it, just get them their pot of tea and all will be well with them soon. I can count on one hand in the seven and a half years that this advice did not work.

I know that I have changed over the years. As a customer, I make sure that I am courteous. I smile at the server, remembering both my time as a tea hostess and my manners. I appreciate the service being delivered to me. I pray we all do the same so that we may continue to have quaint and wonderful businesses to visit and enjoy.

As for having a tearoom again, I don't know. Maybe someday I will? I would have to make some changes, though. I would do it differently next time. That is if I decide to do it again…