You are bigger than that, Liz . . .

The past week could have easily been called whiplash week for me.  We made the pre-op appointment for Kenneth for next Tuesday and that is weighing on me heavily.  Every day there is a new derogatory little whisper from here or there about Butcher's Bunches.  I know who is saying them.  I know why.  One "friend" went so far as to email me and ask me to take their name & written recommendation off of my website because they now endorse another local jam company.

Beautiful, but deadly.  Lesson Learned

To start the week I opened my email to read this:  "Please kindly remove any endorsement or comment quoted to me on your website as I never granted you permission to do so."  This is the comment and endorsement the email was referring to:

Tart Cherry Jam

"Last night at the Downtown Farmers Market event at Squatters in Salt Lake City, my son tasted your jam and declared "that it tastes like the cherry preserve grandma makes on the fruit farm in Michigan!" The place where I was born and raised.

....thefact that you use fresh fruit with very little sugar is so refreshing when somany jam producers are overpowering the flavors of the fruit with too-sweetsugar. All of the complex flavors are lost in the overpowering sweet!"

It has been posted on my website for almost a year now and I did in fact email and receive permission to post it on my site.  I am not sure what I have done, my product has not changed, the preserve that is being spoken of was my 2nd best selling jam (only to Back in Black and Ramblin Raspberry-dead even tie with sales numbers) and I have not even spoken to this person since July of last year.

I do know that last year this person asked me on several different occasions if they could come and observe me cooking different jams in my kitchen.  My answer was no-on the advice of at least three different people.  The advice/reasons given by them was:  1.  You do not want your recipes to get out.   2.  A new jam company is coming to town utilizing methods mimicing a So**** County Jam Company and they are planning on being the next big "local" jam company (there are now about nine local jam companies-woot hoot!)  He is involved.  Don't let him near your kitchen.  3.  Do not give your recipes to him.

I took heed and this person never came to my kitchen and I decided agains putting my products in his store (again on the advice of other vendors and friends.) 

Because of other things that have happened of late, I know that the reasoning behind this email is due to his backing and support of another local jam proprietor.  They make wonderful sugar added jams and marmalades.  A few of their flavors are identical to flavors that I have made in the past, but for goodness sake, how many jam flavors are there in this world?  Our products are on opposite ends of the spectrum.

Butcher's Bunches & Shepherd's Chevre.. YUM

I always suport other local companies, no matter the product, and in fact have sent multiple companies to a good friend to gain placement on his store shelves.  I am the first one to refer a friend to a store contact, a buying manager, or anyone that a business owner might contact.  I want local businesses to succeed.  NOT one, but ALL.  Even other Jam companies.  I do not appreciate slander, defamation or any other such nastiness however-and this is what is being thrown at me.

I spoke to a friend about this email telling them that I was upset about all of this and she simply said to me, "You are bigger than this, Liz.  You don't need him.  Everyone hates (him) anyway."  (meaning other vendors like myself.)    I realize that she is right, but, why does it bother me still?  Why can't people support each other in their endeavors?  We all want to be successful and happy and to make others happy. 

I am not perfect, and she is right, but dang it still hurts.