Marty (my business partner) and his wife Jo have been in Europe for five weeks. Marty is the boss and he runs the whole show these days, looking after all our stores and he is doing a great job. While he has been away our sales have been up quite a bit over all the six stores. I believe that this shows that Marty has put together a really great team at all our bakeries. 

I don t have a management position these days and I am just known as the founder, which suits me. I love to see how they are all going so well, Marty is so proud of our business but it's not easy being the big boss and he'll soon  have grey hair like me!!

Tom

Me, Christine, Jo and Marty

Every year Beechworth holds a re-enactment of the trial of Ned Kelly in the first weekend in August. Ned was originally tried in Beechworth before he was finally tried and hung in Melbourne. I just recently purchased a replica Ned Kelly armour to use for such weekends, promotions etc.

It's bloody heavy, you wonder how Ned could moved in it. Several of our staff took turns in wearing it while serving in the shop or collecting the dishes. It really caught the attention of our customers, they loved it and it really added to the whole weekend.

Our Ned Kelly pies are quite famous and are very popular all year round,. When we have weekends like the Ned Kelly Trial we make some other special products to fit in with the theme. So we made Dan Kelly Damper and Ned Kelly shortbread biscuits for the kids. It is a great weekend and now that we have our own Ned Kelly armour you may see Ned  any time in our shop.

Tom

Here's a few of our recent customer comments. All the staff love to read them and we write back to all of them. We get heaps of them every week and most of them tell us we're doing a great job. But it's the ones that point out problems that really help us to lift our game.

9/07/08 Beechworth

Service was excellent, especially Georgia who greeted us with a smile.

Nice cakes, good coffee and friendly people.

Morgan,  Albury NSW

It’s not rocket science. This customer comment says it all, we just have to do it every minute of every day. Just stick to the basics

1/7/08 Lunchtime Bendigo

You need better quality or at least more choice of toys in the play area. Please!

Suzanne, Bendigo Vic

I have to agree, we need to lift our quality of toys, just like our food, we need to listen to our customers.

9/6/08 Beechworth

Thanx for a delicious tea and coffee!! I also love how you are very happy all the time! (This goes for all or you)

Hope to see you all again soon!!!

Bethany,  Kerang Vic

Thank you, Thank you, Thank you. We love seeing people like Bethany!

7/6/08 Beechworth

It’s nice, but it is a bit over hyped. It wasn’t sensational … Australia’s Best Bakery-That’s Very Subjective.

Perhaps one of Australia’s Best would be more accurate.

Samuel S. Canterbury Vic

Yes we have stuck our neck out on this one; we made this statement many years ago. There are many fantastic bakeries out there and if they like they can say they are Australia’s Greatest Bakery, it is not a concern of mine. I am out there saying you have to have a belief in your selves, plus who wants to stay in their comfort zone and not stick their neck out…most of us!!

3/7/08 Bendigo

We have just returned to Australia after 4 years living in the Middle East. We have spent 20 hours flying and another 2 driving so far….this was our first stop.

WOW – This is great quality & great customer service. Thanks

This customer comment was from our Bendigo store. It is terrific that we can make a difference in peoples lives. About 95% of our customers are very positive, which I must admit don’t help us much to make improvements…but they sure make us feel great…so please keep writing.

Tom

I'm doing a talk at our Ballarat Bakery for “Commerce Ballarat” at the end of August. This will really get me out of my comfort zone; having to speak in my own shop where the people will able see me and hear me "warts and all". It's  so much easier speaking in Sydney, Darwin or Fiji.

Our manager of the Ballarat store, Belinda, is very community minded and has put a great deal of effort into this, so I had better do a good job. It is so easy to talk the talk… But to walk it; I have to get into action.

The talks on Thursday 28 August 5.30pm. Details are on Commerce Ballarat's website www.commerceballarat.com.au 

Tom

Tom at the Ballarat Bakery last year

Our Healesville bakery beat Beechworth with its sales last Sunday (Aug 3^rd). Matt and his team in Healesville are doing really well. We'll be celebrating their 2^nd Birthday on the weekend of the 4^th & 5^th of October with lots of fun activities, promotions, clowns and my mate Keith will be there sampling. I'll be in Tasmania on the Saturday, but will get there on the Sunday to join in the festivities.

At the moment there is a brewery being built right next door to the bakery. They have the walls up and hope to have it open by Christmas, which I am sure will make our end of Healesville busier than ever.

I dropped into Healesville on my way home from Melbourne the other week just to say G’day and have a coffee. I was standing at the coffee counter when this lady came up to me and asked if I was Tom O’Toole. I thought “Oh no What have I done”!!. But the next minute she is telling me how great our staff are and that it is the best place in Healesville!.

They are making me look good.

Tom

Brewery construction next to the Healesville Beechworth Bakery

Our youngest son Matthew has recently got his drivers licence, so good old Mum & Dad have bought him a secondhand 2001 Corolla. Well the first week he had his licence he managed to put a dent in it. I didn’t say anything, thank God. Then  2 weeks later, another dent, a decent one!

I was just about to tell him about being careful etc etc, when I had a flashback from my first year of driving. I  ran my Volkswagen into the back of 2 cars at intersections, one in Wangaratta and one in Melbourne. Plus I had also crashed into an old 2 storey warehouse. I remember having to pull the front guards off the wheels so that I could drive home!!

So really Matthew is doing way better than me. Thank God I just kept my mouth shut. Who am I to judge anyone’s driving?? Matthew is really quite a skilled driver.

Tom