slamboard

I was living in Eastern Canada when terrorists attacked buildings and people in the United States on September 11th, 2001. Almost every airplane that was in the air over North America at that time had to land wherever they could ASAP. The USA closed its airspace, forcing planes that where had US destinations to land in Canada.

Many passenger jets landed in Atlantic Canada. I was just reading excerpts from a book that detailed the experience of a small town of 10,000 Newfoundlanders that played host to 6,000 passengers for several days. Newfoundlanders pride themselves on their hospitality.

Many people who had every reason to be very upset about being stranded in Gander as the result of that horrible incident left there with a lot of warm feeling for the residents. Many of them have returned in the intervening years.

VAT19.com is one of my favorite online stores. The site seems to have a two pronged approach to marketing. They select quirky and entertaining products and they make entertaining demonstration videos about those products. It’s not surprising that video production is one of their strengths, because some of their best products are instructional videos like this waitstaff training DVD. I was just watching the trailer for the video, and I have actually gotten a little tense watching the bad server.

My impression is that the video would be a very useful compliment to on the job training for waiters and waitresses. I would add that the expectations of dinner guest varies by region, culture, and even type of restaurant. Giving the customers what they want really trumps every standard of practice. I am a cheapskate, so I winced a bit when I watched the good server perform a flawless upsell. If I owned the restaurant, I guess it would have given me joy. As a restaurant patron, I enjoy good service and I reward it.

A product that may be of interest to restaurants and cooking enthusiasts is the Kapoosh Knife Block. This is a UNIVERSAL knife block. There is an entertaining video to show you how this smart and elegant idea works. I like the idea that knives stay sharp longer when you use this storage method.