Customer(s) of the Week!!

Well, this will be a bit different. Some of you may have heard about the explosion of the steam pipe in New York. It shot steam above the Chrysler Building, killed 1 person and sent dozens to the hospital. The interesting part: it happened within blocks of my Starbucks. Crazy right?

My really good friend, Jimmy, was working that evening. He said he heard a boom and then felt a rumbling, like an earthquake. Looking outside he saw hundreds of people sprinting down the street, taking off their shoes and dropping their belongings so they could run faster. At first no one knew what had happened. Many thought it might be another terrorist attack. Jimmy just saw the smoke and thought a building was on fire.

They kicked everyone out of the store and locked the front doors, in the chaos, not being able set the alarm, or lock the back door that opened into the building that our store is in. They evacuated to Bryant Park, a few blocks away, behind the public library.

My other good friend, Diana, went to work right around that time. When she got to Starbucks there were people inside! They had come in through the building's entrance. were taking the retail stuff (like bottled drinks and sandwiches) and leaving money on the counter. I mean, I don't know why they thought it was ok to be in there without any employees present, but the point is, NOTHING WAS STOLEN. In spite of all the confusion and fear, no one took advantage of the store. I'm still blown away by this (absolutely no pun intended).

If anyone wants to read a bit more about what happened, here are a couple of links:
1. http://www.foxnews.com/wires/2007Jul18/0,4670,ManhattanExplosion,00.html
2. http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=a8qzhuUEbXu4&refer=home