(What happened to the ‘good old days’)

Growing up, I can’t tell you how many times my Grandparents would tell me about “how things used to be”.  I knew what they were going to talk about when they would say “I sure do miss the good old days”.  I would hear these grand stories about how people actually appreciated your business.  You could go to a gas station, or walk into a store, and they would treat you like you were the only customer they had seen all day.  I was told about the service attendant at the local gas station.  He would greet you as you pulled in.  He would smile at you like he was so happy to see you, like he had been waiting for you to come there.  If you had been there before, he would call you by name.  My Grandpa would repeat to me the attendant’s words with a huge smile on his face “Thanks for comin’ Dan.  Say hi to the Mrs.  Hope to see you tomorrow.”  Grandpa would tell me from as long as I could remember that “people nowadays look forward to seeing your wallet more than your face.  It sure wasn’t like that in The Good Old Days!!”

As a kid, and well into adulthood, I always wondered where the good old days went.  Where did that attendant go with the big smile that remembered your name?  Where did the local butcher go that remembered you’re ordered every week, and how you liked your steaks cut.  Or, how about the pharmacist who asks you if the cold you saw him about last week was gone.  Were they all wiped off the planet like the dinosaurs from long ago?  Well, they sure do seem to be extinct in this day & age.  In the fast paced life we all live today, is it possible to get that kind of service?  As consumers, we have had so much experience with poor to horrible customer service that we are complacent in getting just mediocre service.  We no longer look forward to the smile from the cashier at the grocery store.  We feel like as long as the cashier didn’t get rude or give us an attitude, then we have had an ok shopping experience.

Those good old days & the people who used to appreciate our business are not extinct.  They aren’t gone for good.  They just moved to San Felipe, Baja California, Mexico.

My experience with the town and the locals has been unparalleled by any other thus far.  I have been to other resort towns.  I have been to the popular spots that people talk about where you get the little trinkets to remind you of your stay.  I have experienced a lot in my life, but nothing like San Felipe.  On the way to dinner on our first night, my wife & I stopped at a gas station (a Pemex Station).  A man came up and greeted us at the car.  He had that smile I had heard so much about, the one that says “I’m really glad you stopped by”.    I noticed that while he was talking to us, there was an attendant filling the tank, and another washing the windows.  Keep in mind that this wasn’t just a little compact car, but a Suburban, which has a lot of windows to clean.  As the attendant was working away, I heard him whistle a tune.  They all seemed so happy just to see us and to be working.

When they finished up, my wife and I kind of stared at each other.  As if to say “Why were they treating us so well?”  We started to leave, discussing where we should go to eat.  A man pulled up to the pump on the other side of the station.  Not a fancy looking man, but someone who looked like a regular hard working guy just stopping in to get gas.  The attendant rushed over to the man saying “Hola Senor Frank.”  Almost before the man could get out of his car, the attendants were rushing over to him as if a celebrity had just walked into their gas station.  While some attendants were washing the windows, and others were checking the tire pressure, another was shaking this customers hand and asking him how his wife was doing.  I heard the man ask the customer if he had found time to work on his boat.  He said “It’s almost done.  Maybe you could come fishing when it’s finished?”  This didn’t just seem like a gas station, but more like the drinking establishment on the TV show Cheers.  It sure seems like everyone knows your name here.   The service was great here, but it couldn’t be this good all over town.  Could it?

The second day in San Felipe was a pretty busy one.  Most of the time was spent at the Malecon (the local shopping area).  The town seemed so alive.  There were store workers & vendors all about.  All of them seemed to be competing for your attention.  The funny thing was, it didn’t seem like it was a competition to see who could sell you more of their trinkets.  It seemed like it was more about who could get the most compliments on the hand made things he had been showing.  I’m not great on my Spanish.  But, as we walked away I could hear them saying “See, I told you they would think my wooden eagle statue was nice.” 

I have to tell you, life in San Felipe was really hectic.  Deciding where to eat, shopping up and down the Malecon, feeling the warmth of the sun on your face.  A gentle breeze would blow across you, just light enough to remind you that it wasn’t a dream.  We decided to stop at a little restaurant to get sodas for the kids. We ordered our drinks and went outside to a table to relax for a bit.  As we sat down and kicked our feet up, the waiter brought us chips & salsa and taquitos.  I thought maybe my wife had paid for them.  She nodded at me to say “I didn’t order them.”  When I tried to let the waiter know, he said “For you, it’s no problema senor.”  I was thinking, this waiter must somehow be related to the attendants at the gas station we were at last night.  I would have been wrong.  This is the same kind of service we received throughout our entire stay in San Felipe.  Whether it was at a nice restaurant like the Baja Mar, or at a little market, they all treated us like we were famous people coming into their small town.

At breakfast the next day, we couldn’t help but notice a man at table near the window.  His cell phone would ring periodically.  I heard him say “I have a 2 o’clock, a 3 o’clock, then marketing & sale meetings back to back, but I can fit you in some time in between.”  He seemed like such a busy man.   A woman pulled up in front of the restaurant with a few kids in the car.  You could see steam coming from under the hood of her car.  The man told the person he was on the phone with that he would have to call them back.  He went outside, shook her hand, and then I saw him looking under the hood.  It didn’t even look like he was worried about getting his nice suit dirty.  I had to wonder, was he naturally this helpful, or did the town of San Felipe rub off on everyone like this.  It was then that I realized that this was the service and consideration my Grandfather had told me about.

So, to sum it all up, the good times are not over.  The service we used to expect is a regular occurrence.  You just might have to travel a bit to find it.  It doesn’t matter if you bring the family & stay at one of the local resorts, or make the decision to buy that dream home on the Sea of Cortez.  You will find the service and way of life you have heard so much about.  Come to San Felipe.  Relax, enjoy, unwind, and be treated like the VIP of the good old days.

In my opinion, the well known arches in the town center should have a huge banner for all locals and visitors to see.  It would just simply say “Welcome to the Good Old Days.  We think your going to love it here.”