The Odd Sound of Online Silence

It’s been a while.  I had good intentions. Writing a blog for my friends and customers seemed like an easy thing to do when I started.  And quite frankly, it was fun sharing my thoughts and ideas in the beginning.  But let’s be honest – we all have a feeling that we know why it stopped.

This isn’t one of those easy COVID excuses.  “Sorry, the blog is cancelled.  You know… COVID.”  We’ve all heard these excuses from businesses, companies, and organizations.  “We’d like to help you in a timely and professional manner, but since COVID hit, we’ve realized we don’t have to.”  My favorite is “We are cancelling this program/service because of ‘reasons related to COVID.’”  In other words, “We’re tired of trying.”  And believe me.  I get it.

Many of the changes that have taken place in some businesses have very little to do with COVID. Some just make good business sense. The Atom took advantage of COVID when we changed our business hours.  By March of 2020, it had been almost a year since I was noticing that the afternoon hours were a drain on our profits.  We are a coffee bar that serves food with no drive-thru (yet).  The majority of our daily business is wrapped up at 2pm.  I was paying staff for an additional three hours just for the sake of consistency.  But COVID hit and I no longer had a choice.  Nobody balked at the new hours, our customers accepted the change in stride, and the change actually worked.  We were able to stay in the black through the worst pandemic in a century.  But honestly, we needed to make the change before COVID ever hit.  COVID just gave us a scapegoat.

I could tell you that I stopped writing this blog for COVID-related reasons.  I could say I lacked the motivation or inspiration to write during a very difficult time.  But that’s not true.  This last year brought up so many hot topics that we could have discussed.  I definitely have my opinions on these matters.  I’ve had many discussions with friends and family about the things happening in our country, the division of our people, the over-reach and sometimes (though rarely) under-reach of government.  I’ve felt furious, afraid, confounded, defeated, depressed, anxious, and jaded.  But those conversations took place with people that I’d hand chosen because I love sharing ideas without fear; where differing opinions can be respected.

But if I have learned anything over the last year, it’s that there is very little respect of differing opinions online.  There’s complete agreement, or there’s anger and hostility.  There isn’t much in between. And there is a mask of anonymity people hide behind in order to be cruel. I’m pretty confident and thick-skinned, but opening myself up to that hostility seemed like an exercise in futility.  I felt silence and patience may be better.

But doesn’t that make me a coward?  Yup.

I’m a bit of a coward where business is concerned.  I’ve worked too hard to build a business to have it torn down because of a difference of opinion on political and social issues that have nothing to do with The Atom.  During COVID, this area has gotten a little grey. Restaurants seem to be the brunt of some political joke during this this pandemic.  We seem to shoulder all the responsibility for spreading the virus, and therefore receive more restrictions, more laws, and new rules that are ever changing.  I have no idea how my business is going to operate in one week, three weeks, three months or even next year because I now have a new and very active business partner: our governor.  But, as a business, we try and stay politically neutral.  We obey the laws, change our policies, and even disappoint our customers in an effort to just stay in business.  We don’t have room for opinions. Our role is to serve amazing coffee and delicious food legally. That’s it.

Also, I don’t want a customer with a different opinion than mine to feel uncomfortable in our shop!  There’s room for us all.  Face to face, masked or not, I promise to treat you with respect no matter what your opinion is on the challenges currently facing our nation, state and communities.  And I’m so happy to have those conversations with each and every one of you on your terms. Diversity brings perspective, and I promise to always listen – which is probably why I’ve stayed silent.

But I’ve missed communicating with you, and I’m happy to be back in the saddle. I’m sincerely optimistic about the upcoming year. We have a lot of big things planned for The Atom. You’ve helped us continue to grow against the odds. The outpouring of support has solidified my confidence in choosing Glide as our home. Thank you for standing by our side during these times of uncertainty. You are the reason we do what we do.