A Cariad Life

When we first started the B&B, we had all kinds of ideas about what our guests would love and what they would appreciate–we planned with those conceptions. Many of those dreams were based on our experiences with American B&Bs–particularly when it came to breakfast. If you have visited B&B’s in the States you know that breakfast in those places is more like brunch–there is usually bacon, a baked egg dish of some sort, maybe cinnamon rolls, fruit, coffee and a myriad of other items. It is usually quite decadent.

We knew in France that breakfasts are usually not that large. In Paris, one is often just offered a croissant and coffee. However, we knew that we would host visitors from all over Europe, and so we would do a bit more. But how much more? In addition to croissants, pastries, baguette, fresh fruit, jam/butter, coffee, and juice, I started by making egg souffles and baked french toast on the weekends. I would also fry bacon to accompany it. It was often eaten, guests thanked us, and said it was delicious, but little did I know I was missing the mark a bit. My additional American B&B offerings were not totally resonating.

You know how some say that all feedback is a gift? I don’t know that I have ever totally believed that. As a former HR professional, I got tons of feedback–I would not say it was all a gift. Sometimes I think feedback is just mean and not constructive. Back in March, we had one review (our only only that has been lower than an 8), and the person wrote some pretty scathing things. It stung and was not entirely truthful, but there was a nugget in there that at first I overlooked because my feelings were hurt. She mentioned that at breakfast we served bacon and there wasn’t even an egg. I had actually served baked french toast that day as well (she ate her entire serving), and the dish is made with 6 eggs. The thing is the egg did not come the way she was used to it. (Her one positive comment was that our coffee was really good–you should know that we serve Italian coffee, not French, and that as former Seattleites if we can’t do good coffee we should pack up and go home!) As I mentioned though, I overlooked the comment about the egg and stewed for a bit in the negative.

There have been other times that eggs have been mentioned in person to us–though in much nicer ways. Early on, we had a sweet couple from Eastern Europe who visited and were so complimentary–they mentioned our guests might like an egg (with shaved truffles on top:) Not long after our difficult guest review, I had a guest ask for an egg–we happily obliged. It then began to click: what if I was overcomplicating things? (not too hard for me.) I began to offer a cooked egg to guests with their breakfast–no more French toast, bacon, egg souffles–just an egg, cooked the way they would like it. Sometimes they want it fried; sometimes boiled, sometimes poached; and sometimes scrambled. Not everyone wants one, but when we offer it is always appreciated. I’ve perfected the fried one and Darrell’s scrambled are always a favorite. I even introduced one of our French guests to a poached egg (the very best way to eat eggs in my humble opinion), and she loved it! Imagine, I taught a French person a new way to eat eggs!

I learned a few things…

First, I was overcomplicating breakfast for where I live. The French (and most Europeans I have found) like simple and delicious; a well-cooked egg with the traditional French breakfast hit the perfect chord. It is a step-up from traditional, but not unfamiliar and complicated. My prep time making the other dishes, although appreciated in an American B&B, was not in line with that simplicity. It’s also relatively cost effective (compared to the other items I was serving) and takes much less time to cook an egg; the timing of getting my more complicated dishes out hot to a table was also very tedious.

Two, no other B&Bs around us, that I know of, offer eggs to order–that is special to Repos. It is now a part of our identity. Travelers who stay in other B&Bs regularly have made this distinction, even claiming on our reviews that we “serve real breakfast.” Also, providing our guests with a limited choice of how they would like their egg cooked shows our American roots–you can have what you want (within reason:) I’ve always heard that you can really tell a lot about a person by how they take their eggs–maybe we learn more about each of our guests by asking them, “how would like your egg cooked?” Often, they let us know that we can choose for them. Wow, that is trust:)

Finally and most importantly, I’ve learned the value of feedback. I’m not sure that it was that guest’s intention to help us when she wrote her review, but regardless, I chose to let it help me. Once I could take a step back and listen, “not even an egg” kept resonating. Instead of arguing, “you did get eggs–6 of them in that dish”, I chose to hear–I would have liked an egg. Once I could put my armour down, my defensiveness, I could hear what what would have been appreciated, and her comment has proven to be helpful. I would say that Repos is even better today after that review.

So…if you come to visit us, be sure to let us know how you would like your egg cooked. The good thing is we get better at cooking them every day (and by the way French eggs are amazing!)