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Real reason Chillin' Cafe was closed


Just Chillin'

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Chillin' Cafe at LCS was not closed because we were not able to handle it.

The reason was because the Director was VERY DISRESPECTFUL to us. We are not hypocrite neither liars. It is a shame that the President os LCS handles things with a lie. Because if that's the way they do, we cannot imagine how important things are been manage.

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I guess I can not comment on your personal experiences with the Director

However I am sure that most people who have tried to make the LCS Cafe a success believe that the tooth fairy will supplement their merger incomes . Many have tried but all have failed

I have no idea what the LCS franchise fee would be for that space , if indeed the LCS make a charge.

What is evident from the past history the wannabees do not have the magic formula.

If the dis satisfied members came up to me I would offer them a do it yourself kit and say go try it.

Maybe a cup of coffee or hot chocolate and muffin from a stand alone steel box is the answer.

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I think that the Café owners should have an opportunity to respond to any LCS officials statements regarding why they left. I see no reason to give them a hard time about it. I have not tried to open a café there, so what do I know. Lakeside7: Have you tried to open or operate such a franchise?

PS: I never ate there or at the other place, but I hear great things about the Just Chillin' people and their service. Maybe there is no "bad guy" here, but just a difference in opinion.

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It would be difficult to make much money there with a nice little cafe right across the street and several other places nearby. However, the social aspect of the LCS patio is enhanced when people can have a cuppa and a bite to eat. Maybe it would be possible for LCS to have a volunteer setup where coffee and some simple treats (like Costco goodies) could be dispensed?

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Really, lakeside7. There have been lots of times when it was just a coffee pot and some muffins and volunteers. Just because other attempts have failed financially is no reason to presume that all attempts will fail for the same reason. "Wannabees"? What does that even mean?

And as an aside, these kids from Just Chillin' are some of the smartest, nicest, hardest-working people I've met around here in my time. And they're good at what they do. Their prime restaurant is an excellent example. After they came back from an insane break-in and hooliganism, and took a vacatiion to broaden their horizons, they opened up Chillin' again with a new menu, new fun for guests, and even went out and hired extra part-time staff who are students trying to supplement their income to get through school. I mean, really.

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Well what ever you say or think, the LCS location has been a challenge for many, and all have quit.

Frankly I am not one of the "The Chillin' kids" fan club and found their music intrusive.I know nada of their education qualifications etc.

You do not have to be a brain surgeon to count the number people visiting the cafe and to recall past history of those who have gone before to realize that maybe the alternative way it could work is to donate your time as a volunteer .

If it makes a "profit" donate the monies back into the LCS just like any other fund raiser the LCS runs.

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Just Chillin you may feel like you had the right to do what you did because of what LCS management said but you did break your contract and left us customers hanging so don't play the we are innocent routine. You were involved and things could have been handled in a better way instead of everybody following egos and personalities. It takes two to tango and when both decide to dance the dance we customers lost. Its also about the customers right?

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Chillin' Cafe at LCS was not closed because we were not able to handle it.

The reason was because the Director was VERY DISRESPECTFUL to us. We are not hypocrite neither liars. It is a shame that the President os LCS handles things with a lie. Because if that's the way they do, we cannot imagine how important things are been manage.

Thank you for giving us your side of the story. I find this both sad and and believable.

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Well what ever you say or think, the LCS location has been a challenge for many, and all have quit.

Frankly I am not one of the "The Chillin' kids" fan club and found their music intrusive.I know nada of their education qualifications etc.

You do not have to be a brain surgeon to count the number people visiting the cafe and to recall past history of those who have gone before to realize that maybe the alternative way it could work is to donate your time as a volunteer .

If it makes a "profit" donate the monies back into the LCS just like any other fund raiser the LCS runs.

I have mixed feelings about the volunteer approach. I believe that the LCS tries not to compete with local businesses. Would a volunteer cafe, which could charge lower prices, compete fairly with local cafes? I assume that at some time the LCS will get out of the medical services business because we now have many more doctors and labs available than when they first offered blood pressure, eye exams, and other medical services.

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I hear what you're saying, ajijiccharlie, but let's look at that idea from a different direction. Suppose someone opened a small school for kids who want to learn to be artists, and paint. And they charged a weekly fee. Would that make the LCS's program unfair competition? A litte bit ago, the VHS lending library was popular at the LCS, but there were also several stores where you could rent same. To me, the LCS cafe or whatever they have called it in the past has never attempted to be a full-fledged restaurant anyway.

The whole thing is really a club for members, and while anyone can wander in off the street for a cuppa joe, and on special days "meet the doctors", it's usually a pretty low-key crowd that drinks the coffee, and most of the doctors are there to both provide services and help promote their own private practices. Back home, all the drugstores are getting heavily into side-services such as exams and vaccinations... I don't think they detract from the professionals.

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I hear what you're saying, ajijiccharlie, but let's look at that idea from a different direction. Suppose someone opened a small school for kids who want to learn to be artists, and paint. And they charged a weekly fee. Would that make the LCS's program unfair competition? A litte bit ago, the VHS lending library was popular at the LCS, but there were also several stores where you could rent same. To me, the LCS cafe or whatever they have called it in the past has never attempted to be a full-fledged restaurant anyway.

The whole thing is really a club for members, and while anyone can wander in off the street for a cuppa joe, and on special days "meet the doctors", it's usually a pretty low-key crowd that drinks the coffee, and most of the doctors are there to both provide services and help promote their own private practices. Back home, all the drugstores are getting heavily into side-services such as exams and vaccinations... I don't think they detract from the professionals.

Your point about art lessons is a good one. I started thinking about this when lakeside7 suggested that the cafe be run by a volunteer with the profits given back to the LCS. I think the cafe has been run as a business in the past. I assume that Peter from the Secret Garden kept the profits, but I might be wrong.

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Lol, I can't imagine Peter doing it as a labor or love. I'm not a member, so I'm just offering observations here, but I am curious as to whether it's even viable to do anything more than have a coffee pot, with a sign on it that says (like in my old office) "Last person please refill pot"... Considering the general makeup of the membership. When I was a member, some years back, the answer would have been "no" to anything fancier, because I wasn't going there to spend money. I'd be curious to hear from Just Chillin' if it was worth their while, considering they were offering much more upscale facilities and food than I've ever seen there.

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I see no reason why LCS couldn't charge market price for drinks and goodies and thus, not be competing at a lower price with local restaurants.

It's all set up and people like to sit around there, so all that's lacking is a volunteer or even a modestly paid employee (OMG!) to make it at least break even or even produce a profit for LCS. I can't see it as a profitable stand alone business for anyone from the outside. There's just not enough traffic.

I was sorry to see Chillin' go because the quality of the food was better than it had been in the past and they're nice folks. However, none of us were there when the conflict occurred, so we're in no position to judge the reason they decided to walk.

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To answer several questions and there is no doubt about it.

Computerguy if you are asking if it is a good business and you can have a profit from there, yes it is a good business because we could have 2 employees very well played, pay rent and we still had profit.

If anyone wants to see the numbers you are invited to the restaurant and we can show you.

And if it is a good business why did we left? Very simple because like lcscats says if you are going g to dance tango you need 2. The difference is that we don't dance with disrepectuf people. That is something my dad taught me before business, money or anything Else is the most important thing is respect.

And last lakeside7 we took the cafe because when lcs told us that they wanted quality and that any volunteer wanted to had the responsablity just like it used to be just before we got the consesion.

Just remember music is happiness, music is life.

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I have mixed feelings about the volunteer approach. I believe that the LCS tries not to compete with local businesses. Would a volunteer cafe, which could charge lower prices, compete fairly with local cafes? I assume that at some time the LCS will get out of the medical services business because we now have many more doctors and labs available than when they first offered blood pressure, eye exams, and other medical services.

I am not suggesting that LCS undercut the "Locals" for the price of coffee and muffins, only that volunteers man the Cafe, much they do in the re sale shops or assist in the garden projects, or teach in the many Social Actives (16 and counting) LCS have.

Again lets remember that LCS is a volunteer group, are regular people like you and I, not perfect but have good intentions.

Lets not be overly critical of LCS. Lets spend more time stroking up people for their efforts. There are only limited hours in the day and I am sure the Cafe project has consumed more than it's fair share of the Boards time

Look around you and see the challenges that other Social Groups, Churches etc., have faced. The LCS is not unique in having challenges. Lastly remember if you want to be a Chief and not and Indian you can get involved when election time comes around.

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lakeside7, looking at the history of LCS just in the 16 years I've known it, you can see a long trail of volunteers in every area, and almost as many different board members. Sometimes things worked, sometimes things didn't. However, my point is, don't think for a second that it hasn't all been tried before: volunteers, paid staff, and every conceivable mix. And they will continue to come up with ideas.

In fact, just about anything you can think of trying, anywhere in Mexico, has all been tried already. (I am reminded of the guy who felt he could easily undercut SuperLake's prices. He refused help from people who know about these things, rented some space at La Huerta event centre on a 20-year lease, and then discovered that all his goods were being held at the border. He didn't know the first thing about Spanish labelling, import licenses, regulations and bureaucracy, aduana Mexico, etc etc etc. And he didn't bother to check if it had been tried before. He evenutally tucked tail and disappeared. It was egomaniacal of him to think he was smarter than everyone else.)

And I have no problem with the "LCS" cafe providing reduced prices on coffee and snacks for members. There has to be more than one reason to entice folks to join up.

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Computer Guy, do you seriously think anyone would pay the current membership fees in order to get a cheaper cuppa or goodie? C'mon. :unsure:

The cafetito is a very minor issue in the overall situation at LCS. The major issue is relevance. Netflix and Kindle books have reduced the patronage of the library and video rental services. The major service LCS provides are the many group activities. That is probably the main Reason to Be.....and that's a good enough reason. Expansion of that function would be the most enticing reason for people to join. It's also a good way for newcomers to get acquainted.

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Can I say HaHaHa! instead of lol? Of course I don't think so. It's just part of the overall package. Just like reduced prices for members on special activities (which is not enough to entice me either).

I believe the newcomer thing is the strongest reason; well, it was for me in the early days of my sojourn here. And you hit on a telling point: here it is, 2015, and without the library and video, their relevance seems to have shrunk even further. I make a lousy volunteer, but one would think they'd spend all their time trying to come up with reasons to join in this era.

But we digress. My point being that offering reduced coffee and snack prices is in no way going to hurt anyone else's business. So with Just Chillin' telling us that business was good, there seems to be a lack of foresight involved in this particular fiasco.

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Can I say HaHaHa! instead of lol? Of course I don't think so. It's just part of the overall package. Just like reduced prices for members on special activities (which is not enough to entice me either).

I believe the newcomer thing is the strongest reason; well, it was for me in the early days of my sojourn here. And you hit on a telling point: here it is, 2015, and without the library and video, their relevance seems to have shrunk even further. I make a lousy volunteer, but one would think they'd spend all their time trying to come up with reasons to join in this era.

But we digress. My point being that offering reduced coffee and snack prices is in no way going to hurt anyone else's business. So with Just Chillin' telling us that business was good, there seems to be a lack of foresight involved in this particular fiasco.

No, I didn't think you were serious about the prices. ^_^

'So with Just Chillin' telling us that business was good, there seems to be a lack of foresight involved in this particular fiasco." (in your last paragraph)

As I pointed out in a previous post, none of us knows the details or probably ever will. I think it's possible that the Chillin' folks were dissed beyond their tolerance level, and each person's level is different. There are ways of handling things and speaking to others in the NOB culture that would be totally unacceptable in the Mexican culture. It's entirely possible that it was that kind of misunderstanding. I do know that financial considerations are not at the top of the list in Mexican culture and that "respect" is extremely important.

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