A solution came to me as I drifted awake this morning...

and my good mood and equanimity have been restored
- and then some - since!!!

Many kisses, darling, hope you too are having a wonderful day.


***

Dear Bread Alone, I visited your Rhinebeck shop yesterday afternoon and ordered several loaves of bread, as follows: 2 organic ryes, 2 Catskill multigrains, 1 sourdough levain, 1 local apple cinammon, and 1 baguette. The total came to $28.75. I paid with a KZE dollarsaver certificate ($25) and made up the difference.

When I arrived home (north of Hudson) and unpacked the shopping bag, I found that there was only 1 multigrain, not 2.

I do not have a receipt. My sense is that I am short a loaf that I paid for. I do not know the precise prices offhand, but perhaps you could let me know if it does seem that there was an error.

I believe too, that the error was caused by the way I was served & rung up, which I found slightly stressful at the time, to the point that in the back of my mind I felt that such an error was bound to happen. When it came to my turn in line, a very pleasant young woman began to help me - I told her that I wished to order several loaves of bread & that I would like them sliced, and she very graciously began taking down the first loaf of bread I'd named & slicing it. This was a very nice way (from this customer's point of view) to be served - it was orderly, I didn't feel 'rushed' - I could consider which other loaves I wished while she sliced & bagged, and neither did the young woman helping me feel rushed.

A moment later another clerk appeared at the cashier. She was pleasant - but very brisk & efficient - possibly a bit too much so, for the situation. I told her that another clerk was already helping me. She disregarded that and pretty much demanded my order right then, that she keyed in. I felt rushed, and also suddenly the transaction was going much more quickly than the young woman actually filling the order could manage to keep up with. And I was distracted - trying to satisfy the expectant cashier, thinking about what I wished to order, hoping that the young woman could keep up, trying to keep a rough tally in my head.... all amid the busy din around the place.

And so sure enough, when I got home --- I found that I was short a loaf.

I am hoping that - if indeed I am correct - that there is some way the error could be rectified next time in Rhinebeck (perhaps, for example, via an email response from you entitling me to the credit of a multigrain loaf, that I could print out & present - that's just an idea).

I know it seems a very petty thing to write over one loaf of bread. But I'm on a very tight budget, and those KZE dollarsaver certificates are fantastic. But I find it very frustrating to see the value of the wonderful discount substantially eroded due to an inadvertent error - one that could most likely have been avoided, had the original young woman helping me been allowed, as I wished & requested - and in more holistic fashion! - to handle all aspects of the transaction with me. I think it would have been a more pleasant & relaxing experience - certainly for me.

Thank you very much for your attention to this request. Sincerely yours, Belle

***

Dear Belle, First off, thank you for your very helpful and descriptive narrative. I want you to know that we will take care of this right away. The most efficient way for me to fix it is to send you a gift certificate which you can then redeem at your leisure, so I will need your physical mailing address.

Further, I really want to express to you how enjoyable it was to read your explanation of the service that you received. I say 'enjoyable' because your writing was so clear that I felt like I was standing in line right behind you! We really try to make everyone's experience calm and lovely and when we fail to do so we find it very helpful to have an 'outsider's' view. You can imagine that this is difficult to get sometimes because when something goes wrong oftentimes we find out about it in a highly emotional way. By reviewing with us in your detailed manner exactly what you experienced you have given us much insight into how we can improve.

Thanks and I hope you have a lovely day!