Guys!  Hello!  It has been some time since I've been inspired to write but there's a topic I've been wrestling with and I would love your feedback.  

Today's world has become so strange and unfamiliar to many of us. As a business owner, it's especially true and deciding how to move with the changing tide is a real dilemma.  One of the things we all love about small business is the warm and friendly feel of good, old-fashioned customer service.  When I was starting my career, that's what it was all about everywhere I worked and it's what I made sure I built my business around.  

In the last 3-5 years, we've all noticed the obvious shift of going into many places and settling for "ok" service. For a long time, I refused to accept that shift and vowed it would never happen at my bakery.  But...here's where I find myself struggling:

If the next generation entering the workforce has grown up with a completely different understanding of customer service, how does a business built on traditional hospitality sustain itself when that foundation isn't necessarily familiar to the people we're hiring?

Think about it. Self-checkouts, ordering kiosks, online shopping, and automated everything have become the norm. For many young people entering the workforce, that's simply the world they've always known. They haven't necessarily experienced the same emphasis on personal interaction and hospitality that was ingrained in me when I started working.

I don't believe this means they're lazy or unwilling to work. I think we've created a world where efficiency and convenience are valued more than human connection, and now we're surprised when they reflect those values.

But here's the hard part: How do I teach someone to value something they've rarely been taught to experience?

I've spent years trying to bridge that gap through training, expectations, and a whole lot of personal effort and I'm exhausted. Not because I don't care anymore, but because I'm wondering if I'm trying to preserve a business model that the world around me is no longer equipped to support.

I'm finally ready to admit that it isn't working.

This brings me to an impasse and I have to change something. But what?

Our customer base is mostly people who love our bakery, not just for the delicious sweets, but also for the atmosphere.  We've always greeted everyone in pretty pink aprons with smiles and good service.  The challenge is finding and retaining people who genuinely enjoy that kind of hospitality and are willing to embrace everything that comes with delivering it. That has become increasingly difficult, and if I'm being totally honest, feels very hopeless and impossible.  

Many companies are selling out to corporations or moving everything to AI and robots for this very reason. If you can't find people to do the job, there's a robot/kiosk/system for that.  

If I move with that and try to eliminate the need for customer interaction as much as possible, I would probably lose half of my customer base and have to completely re-train the ones who do keep coming.  It would be an entire uprooting and overhaul of every system we've built.  I worry the soul of my bakery wouldn't be felt as much and I don't know how to do that or if I even want to.  Would you keep coming if you had to order on a kiosk and your choices were more a bit more narrow and preselected than what you're used to? Honest question. (Example: instead of getting to pick your flavors and build your own box when you come in, your choices would be more curated and pre-packaged.)

The second option is not changing anything.  But that means A. I would have to live at work and would most definitely reach burnout, (As a mom of young kids, that's obviously not something I can or want to do either) or B. Shrink our menu so I don't require as much staff. But that leads to more questions: what should I cut and what should stay? This would also most likely lead to loss of sales, and in a small market like Amarillo, probably couldn't sustain the overhead.

What angles am I missing here?  I'm throwing this out there because I honestly don't know the way forward and I'm hoping you will help me get there! I would truly value your feedback if you want to email me: info@sweetbycaralinn.com

Thank you for reading, for letting me be vulnerable and for supporting my bakery! It really does mean the world and I love and appreciate you all!