A little advice to make that business purr

Slice-meister Paul Turner is taking some time off this month, but don’t despair: In his absence, we’re rerunning some of the tastier tidbits from this date in Slice history. Today’s sampling:

FROM 2004:

Customer feedback: One good thing about walking home from work is it gives me the opportunity to patronize kids’ lemonade stands.

But I’ve yet to encounter one that displayed comment cards or otherwise sought constructive criticism. So I’m taking it upon myself to offer a few general observations:

1. It might be a good idea to actually taste what you are selling.

2. When filling a cup, don’t hold it in such as way as to have your fingers down inside it.

3. Saying “Thank you” might seem perfunctory, but it does in fact encourage repeat business.

4. It is always wise to be cautious around strangers. But sometimes a customer’s smile just means, “You guys are impossibly cute and I hope you have healthy, happy lives full of surprise, achievement and compassion.”

5. The Health Department might frown on it, but holding a kitten is pretty good marketing.

FROM 2002:

There’s a reason people who moved to the Spokane area from elsewhere often seem more relaxed than those who grew up here. Transplants don’t run into members of the high school reunion committee at Safeway.

FROM 1995:

They could be your co-workers or even your neighbors. But their smiles give them away. They are the grown men who, decades into adulthood, still silently revel in not having to dread the start of high school football practice.