Just a quick rant...

So a while back I bought this Füri 9 inch Santoku knife at Broadway Panhandler here in the city. It turned out the knife was faulty - even with gentle use metal shavings came of the edge to the point where the knife looked like it had a serrated edge.
That kinda stuff happens. No problem.
I figured the people at Broadway Panhandler would exchange the knife without much hassle, especially since I had the receipt and original packaging.

Boy was I wrong.

They had the nerve to tell me that I had to ship it back to the manufacturer (in Australia) and "hope to get it back someday".
Obviously the last time I bought anything there let alone recommend the place to friends, family and collegues.
So then I wrote an email outlining the problem to the guys at Füri in Australia.
2 HOURS LATER I got an email from the local sales rep telling me that they have no problem whatsoever exchanging it. Those people were so amazingly helpful it reminded me of how things used to be when customer satisfaction was still something companies prided themselves in.

And just so you all know, those knives are great. This little rant is not about Füri. It is about the kind of retailer that has stopped giving a damn after they made the first million.

I spent the rest of the afternoon at school attending a lecture by the wonderful and awe inspiring Alice Waters of Chez Panisse in Berkeley. She is very involved in the "Slow Food" movement which you can learn about here. http://www.slowfood.com/