The Tents Have Ears

By the third week of filling in at the OB Wednesday market we found our permanent spot.  It was narrow, squeezed in next to a bush, but we used the bush & the adjacent palm tree to display our menu.  And, we faced a jewelry store that shared walls with a bar on each side.  Over the next six years, we set up there & learned how well drinks paired with grilled cheese.

Jackie's Jams held the booth to our left & Mexican Food were on our right.  When we first set up there I overheard someone in the Mexican Food tent call us, "Chuck E. Cheese."  It really pissed me off, but I bit my tongue.  Kate couldn't understand why their little comment enraged me.

Now, I think back & laugh about it.  We traded our grilled cheese for their fish tacos & burritos nearly every week for years.     

One of the five Sundays that we did the Point Loma market, a woman who worked the jewelry booth ordered a sandwich from us.  I think it was a Sleepy Pedro (Guacamole, Cheddar, Monterey Jack & crushed Taco Chips on Sourdough).

"You can just put it on my chair," she told Kate after she paid & then strutted away in her high heels.  Kate got real hot about that, while I only found it mildly annoying.

"It was her tone about it," Kate told me as I made her sandwich.  "It's like she thinks I'm below her."  I ended up taking the sandwich over & handed it to her.  She didn't even say, "thank you."  

Entitlement is something that has no place anywhere, in my opinion.  Especially when you spend a large part of your Sunday hoping for customers & don't even break $100 in sales.   

We told Brian that day that we were quitting the Point Loma market.

"Why?  You guys are one of my best vendors people ask about." he said.

"We're just not making enough money out here.  I think were gonna try a different market on Sundays."