I heard about this group of people who travel the country in search of the best eatery. They travel all over checking out every single coffee shop, restaurant, and cafe they can find. From a small, mom & pop seated diner off a highway to a Michelin rated joint in the center of Manhattan. Whenever they enter a new place they do exactly the same thing.
The order a single order of buttered toast and nothing else.
The don’t order the dish they known for or a local special. They order their buttered toast and try a bite. if it doesn’t meet their expectations, they leave immediately.
The vast majority of places don’t serve good toast. The toast was cold by the time they served it. The bread was cut too thin. Another was partially burned. Most places don’t give enough butter. The ones that too serve the butter too cold, it is hard to spread.
One place showed a lot of promise, but they put a giant piece of butter in the middle. The first few bites had no butter at all and the center tasted like pure butter. After a few minutes the bread heated up the butter and it melted, leaving a small mess on the place. The middle of the bread was soggy with too much butter.
It’s just toast. They focus on the main course. But if that is the case, why serve buttered toast at all?
One time, they went to a small coffee shop with a single person at the cash register. They ordered their buttered toast and waited around.
The person behind the counter invited them to take a seat and eat there. It will take awhile.
It was taking longer than expected. Much too long for a piece of simple toast.
Finally, they worker came out from the kitchen with a piece of thick toast on a hot plate. There was fresh butter all over the bread. They had taken the time to butter the toast for them. It was buttered all the way to the edges so that every bite was delicious.
They had already been to so many place over they years and tried so many poor buttered toasts that they forgot all about how long it took and enjoyed their toast.
It was so good. It was exceptionally good. Buttered to the edges good.
The group stayed and ordered an entrée.
You can take some lesson about marketing or business from this if you want. On how few companies provide exceptional focus their most basic service. Or how you should just limit your products to ones you will be amazing at.
I just urge you to recognize things and people in your life that are better than good. They are buttered to the edges good.
Coincidentally, I did find a buttered to the edges good toast at a Hong Kong street vendor in Taipei. They sold one item, a Hong Kong treat called a Pineapple bun. It was a giant gooey warm bun with a huge cold, slightly salted piece of butter in the middle.
The ones I found in Hong Kong itself were good, but sadly not buttered to the edges good.