So I have taken a few days off after a long school year and traveled to Kauai...and once again been exposed to that unique delicacy known as "shave ice"...now before you go get your panties in a bunch that shave ice is in many other locales please understand that is not the point of this post...only that it does seem to be very popular here in the islands and that I never really think about it back home...and really I am not as impressed as everyone else seems to be about it...I mean it is very good but not earth shattering...like Silva brand linguica or Summeripe peaches are...but anyway...
Everyone here raves about shave ice and there are fans of various locations and lines everywhere...so I decided to make some observations about three separate vendors in two different towns...two of which I have visited and enjoyed their products...and they all seem to break the entrepreneur rules that I teach...
...the first is in Hanalei as is known as the "Wishing Well"...and the picture below really does more justice to the location than it deserves...shall we say it has a certain rustic ambience...earthy...with a hint of palm trees...and syrup and ice cream...and yet all day long people line up for this particular delicacy...but the most interesting thing is that the owner...a lovely elderly lady...serves customers in a unique way...somewhere between Attila the Hun and the soup Nazi from Seinfeld days...so don't you dare hesitate when you stand in line and finally get to the window to order...do it quick and precise and know what you want...or you are going to get yelled at...all for the privlege of some shave ice...perhaps part of the enjoyment is to watch how she talks to everyone in line...but the produce really is very good..
...And in seat #2 of the entrepreneurial puzzle we have Jo-Jo's Shave Ice in Waimea...and one can certainly not criticize it for inadequate signage...and they are on the main road...so all should be going well...right?...well my dear daughter Rachel desires the Jo-Jo's product...having heard so much about it...and so we stop and what do we find?...that they are all out of the Haupio sweet cream that they pour over the top...right after lunch time...on a weekday...in summer...so go figure...I guess the 60 flavors they advertise must not include the famous topping that makes it unique...
...but to make it really interesting Jo-Jo's is not really Jo-Jo's since Jo-Jo actually sold her Jo-Jo's shave ice shop a few years ago and the new owner kept the name Jo-Jo's since Jo-Jo the person had retired and Jo-Jo's had quite a following...got it?...but guess what happened when Jo-Jo didn't like the way the new owner's were running Jo-Jo's?...so Jo-Jo decided to open another shave ice store...not just in the same town but no more than 50 yards away...and Jo-Jo decided to name it Jo-Jo's Anuenue Shaved Ice...
...so now we have two Jo-Jo's almost next to each other...each with the same products...competing for the same customers...at the same price...how does that make any sense?...thus all the rules are being broken...and especially very slow lines, poor customer service, waiting in the sun, out of products, etc. etc. etc...
Does this make sense?
Not to me it does...at least at first glance...because I always teach that regardless of the business you must always treat customers well, provide for their comfort, have adequate products in stock, clean restrooms, etc....and none of these businesses have that...in fact they have just the opposite...So how do they survive? Why do people line up?
Just to tantalize you, here is a review from a website of one of the sites (does it really matter which one?)...
"The reviews of this place MADE me wait for an hour, in the sun and then in the hell hole that it is.... waited while ONE guy...ONE...waited on about 35 people, at once. Here's the story....you wait...give your order to this moron...he takes about 15 orders at a time...writes them down on post it notes...then...when his notepad is full, he walks over to the otherside of the 100+ degree shop and makes your shave ice treat. He makes about 20....and hands them out to the melted, crancky people...and then goes back to take more orders. Guess what? After practically dying of heat stroke....ANYTHING cold would have gotten 4 stars. This is really over rated, over hyped and extremely poorly run. The shaved ice is simply that. Shave ice with the same old syrup poured over the top. Nothing spectacular...nothing to rave about except that by the time you get it, condensation would have been great. I rate it a negative 5."
...So I must admit I am a bit perplexed about the who Shave Ice thing...a good product delivered in a poor way...and have concluded that these places break all the entrepreneurial rules...and therefore they fascinate me...and require further thought...and comment...over a #3 with mac nut on the bottom...and of course the Haupio Sweet Cream on it...if they are not out of it..Aloha!
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