“If you are always trying to be like everyone else, you will never know how amazing YOU can be”- Maya Angelou
I have always wanted to go against the grain. When everyone was going right, I couldn’t resist the urge to go left, when I saw that the rest of the group zigging, I would zag. I have had this independent streak and originality for as long as I remember where I would rather be authentic and classified as an outsider than unoriginal and “fit in” any day of the week. I avoided the cool kids in school, rooted for the underdog and was always drawn to the free spirits and the creative geniuses. Don’t get me wrong, I had plenty of great friends growing up and was actually voted homecoming queen my senior year, but I think everyone would agree, I always went my own way even when it made no sense at all.
I love that our work at Dutton Farm Market is no different, we are always authentic and original in everything we do, from the way we structured our business model to the way we greet our customers and make each and every product that is sold. We just don’t do things the way everyone else does, maybe its crazy and too risky, but I think just maybe its brilliant and bound to touch the hearts of millions. It was important from the beginning for all of our hard work to be used to change the world around us for good, that is why we are defined as a social enterprise and not just a for profit business.
We hire people on the spot that other companies won’t even interview and we have found that our hiring plan has created a unique workforce that has heart, hidden talents and dedication to their work. Everything we create for our customers is carefully and lovingly handcrafted with only the best natural ingredients. We don’t strive for perfection in exactness between products, but we strive for perfection in hand making each product to be unique and, just like a fingerprint, not another one to be found that is just like it. You will find each product not at all like a product that just got pulled off of a conveyor belt, instead you will find our products each have a little personality of its own imparted from its maker, it really is a beautiful thing.
Our customer service is an experience you will not find anywhere else either, believe me, I have looked. Rather than enforce a strict training policy on customer service, we embrace the different approaches each of us has to greeting our customer and we value the unique connection we find with our customer according to our own special approaches. For example, Jimmy Smith will probably be enthusiastic and a shameless salesman diving right into the meat of the deal, while Rose will take careful note of each detail about her customer and show genuine interest in the other person’s life. Sure, Rose would be thrilled to make the sale, but she is even more excited to have found another friend in her customer. Or Sally will have more of a deeply respectful and soft approach, she will barely make herself known until spoken to so as not to disturb the customer’s interaction with the products, but when spoken to, you will find that she has immense knowledge on a variety of topics and is the most entrepreneurial of all of us. Each of us embraces the originality we carry and we encourage each other in our differences, because our differences in perspective, experience, personality and skill set that makes us strong.
We are so proud of all we have accomplished and believe that we have only scratched the service of the heights that Dutton Farm Market will reach. We celebrate our successes and then immediately look forward setting new goals and dreaming bigger dreams. We are passionate, clear eyed and focused because we know that the work we are doing is pure and important and we are ready for what is around the next corner waiting for us!