Category Archives: Congratulations

Day 43: A letter to Jesus

Posted on February 12, 2015 | Leave a comment

That's Jesus taking an order for pick up.

That’s Jesús taking an order for pick up.

No, this is not a letter to that Jesus…it’s a letter to Jesús – my favorite taquero. If you are in the DC area you have to try Jesús’ tacos. I lived in Mexico for a year and Tacos El Chilango is the real deal. If you have any doubt, check them out on Yelp.com – I kid you not that this truck has the highest rating of all restaurants in Arlington County. That’s insane – and awesome all in one. I love these guys – they are part responsible for my overall happiness in DC and also part responsible for the 15 pounds I can’t seem to lose.

You can find Jesús at the corner of 14th Street N. and N. Quinn Street every day but Sunday. Jesús’ brother Juan Antonio has opened a brick and mortar shop at 1119 V St NW which is the same, actually it has a bit more expanded menu, but I still prefer the truck.

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day 43(English translation)

Dear Jesús,

I wanted to send you a letter to tell you that you have the best tacos! I think that this month marks 5 years since the first time I visited the truck. The meat is always tasty – cut just the way they do in Mexico. The diced onion and fresh cilantro (and cucumber slices) complete each taco. They’re delicious and authentic. You and your team always are kind and treat your guests like friends. Even my Dad, who lives in Pennsylvania, asks about you guys.

Congratulations and best regards,
Reed

Yelp.es user: Prairie S

Yelp.es user: Prairie S

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Day 33: Chef Janny, Bistro Blanc

Posted on February 2, 2015 | Leave a comment

Wow…what a crazy end to the Super Bowl last night – I still can’t believe it.

Photo: Newsweek.com

Photo: Newsweek.com

Photo: Jen Rynda

Photo: Jen Rynda

Today’s handwritten letter recipient and Super Bowl champion quarterback Tom Brady have something in common. They’re all about texture. When questioned about Deflategate, Brady said that it was all about the texture of the footballs.

Chef Janny Kim of Bistro Blanc in Glenelg, MD agrees, “I’m all about texture.” He was referring to food though, not footballs. The 28-year-old self-taught chef is delighting customers at this Howard County hidden gem. I was with a group of friends at the Chef’s Table that featured a 10 course mouth-watering menu.

Pillows of RIce: fermented sesame leaf, roasted peanut curry, toasted peanut and micro shiso

Pillows of Rice: fermented sesame leaf, roasted peanut curry, toasted peanut and micro shiso

The aerated celery soup, the grouper, suckling pig, the 29 day dry-aged ribeye and spicy dark chocolate ganache were my favorites, but they were all very good. I’ve never written a chef to tell them that I enjoyed there food – but why not?

I even found a postage stamp that featured Edna Lewis – famed James Beard awarded chef known for her southern style culinary creations.

BistroBlanc-2

Chef Janny,

Suckling Pig with nuoc mam pickled vegetables and leek emulsion

Suckling Pig with nuoc mam pickled vegetables and leek emulsion

I had the distinct pleasure of dining at your Chef’s Table Saturday evening. I live in downtown Washington, DC and have dined in wonderful restaurants here as well as in New York, Chicago, Lima, Sao Paulo, Paris, Madrid, Florence, London, etc. The food that you created for us was worthy of the coveted Michelin stars. Your intense flavors, complimenting textures and stunning presentation are a clear result of your passion and commitment to culinary excellence.

Thank you, it was outstanding!
Reed Sandridge

BistroBlanc

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Day 31: Dan Bane, Trader Joe’s

Posted on January 31, 2015 | Leave a comment

The staff at Trader Joe’s is so cheerful and friendly a trip to TJ’s is like free therapy! Well, not free if you buy some of their delicious food. Every business could learn something from how they engage their customers.

Trader Joes

Dear Mr. Bane,

I wanted to send you a letter to tell you that I think Trader Joe’s creates one of the most enjoyable employee-customer experiences of any large-scale retailer. I frequent my local TJ’s – 1101 25th Street in Northwest Washington, DC – often and everyone there is exceptionally pleasant. And while I know your stores are known for this, my local TJ’s does an outstanding job and I wanted you to know.

Crew members are delighted to help find items or make a product suggestion. I once bought the Sublime Ice Cream Sandwiches because an employee told me that they saved her marriage – three times! She might need a little time off by the way. I’m not married, but if I were I would add them to my regular shopping list to keep the relationship strong!

 Keep up the good work. If you ever come to DC – stop in my neighborhood TJ’s and congratulate your team here.

Best regards,
Reed Sandridge

 

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Day 24: Tom

Posted on January 25, 2015 | Leave a comment

Get closer than ever to your customers. So close that you tell them what they need well before they realize it themselves. ~ Steve Jobs

I tried to stealthily snap this photo of Chris hard at work.

I tried to stealthily snap this photo of Chris hard at work.

Customer experience has probably never been as important as it is now. With online marketplaces commoditizing the vast majority of products and services, it’s the customer’s experience – whether face to face or online – that dictates whether they will publicly praise or shame you.

I had some items to ship on Friday and headed to FedEx. They were awkwardly shaped, so I needed to get them boxed up. I’m terrible at these kind of tasks, thankfully Chris, the FedEx team member that helped me, was awesome. It was refreshing to see a young person take his job, and more importantly his responsibility, seriously. I decided to drop his boss a note.

It’s funny – I called back hours later to get the name of the manager and Chris answered – he’d been there all day at that point and still sounded as polite and professional as he did at 9am. I didn’t tell him I was writing this letter to his boss…I just asked for the manager’s name.

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Tom,

Just a note to tell you how impressed I was with a member of your team. I stopped in on Friday with two large items that needed boxed up and shipped and a young man named Day 24 TomChris did a fantastic job – from making sure that I got the right kind of boxes to guiding me through my shipment options. He took care of everything. His badge said that he was a trainee – I’m sure he’ll be moving up in no time. Please let him know that his professionalism and attention to customer service made an impression on me.

Keep up the good work,
Reed Sandridge

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Day 21: Cade

Posted on January 21, 2015 | Leave a comment
Cade Pope's letter to the Carolina Panthers with owner Jerry Richardson's response below. Image courtesy of The Washington Post.

Cade Pope’s letter to the Carolina Panthers with owner Jerry Richardson’s response below. Image courtesy of The Washington Post.

Did you catch my post on Sunday about the 12-year-old from Yukon, Oklahoma who made the news with his handwritten letters to all 32 NFL teams? If not, take a moment to read the story, it’s inspiring. I got to thinking this week, I ought to write young Cade a handwritten letter to tell him how cool I think it was that he wrote each team – and he wrote them all by hand. It would have been so much easier to write the letter once and do a mail merge and send it out.

YoL-5
YoL-6

Dear Cade,

I’m a big fan of handwritten letters and I love that you took the time to write all 32 NFL teams. You’re awesome! It just goes to show you that you never know who might write you back if you send them a letter – especially a handwritten letter.

YoL-7-2I can’t join you as a fan of the Panthers (I’m a Pittsburgh Steelers fan), but I am your number one fan!

Keep writing letters,
Reed Sandridge

 

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