Todays Specials Serving until 3pm • Mon-Sat

As of November 17, 2011

SOUP beet and red onion with sour cream garnish (vegan if not garnished)served with toasted whole grain bread $5 Also serving butternut squash soup(chicken stock)!

Dottie’s Homemade Granola with lo-fat yogurt and fresh berries - $6

Surf and Turf Bagel  Garlic Dill Cream cheese with Dottie’s lox, bacon, red onion, caper pesto  and a scrambled FREE RANGE egg $7.75

Vegan Bagel Special: Tofu Scallion Cream Cheese, spinach, cucumber, red onion, tomato $6.5


 

Hummus Sandwich with spinach, cucumber, tomato, caper pesto, cheddar cheese $5.75 add bacon, $6.75

Tuna CLUB Our lemon zest tuna salad with spinach tomato, bacon and cheddar cheese on toasted whole grain bread$7.50

Juice Special: green cabbage, lemon, apple, ginger $4 add fire cider  $5.5

Try a delicious Seasonal Beverages

• Eggnog Latte! rich- decadent- absolutely seasonal!

• gingerbread or pumpkin spice latte- (Katie’s Favorite!)

• Hill Top Orchard Cider- hot or not! Try it with caramel! YUM!

Our Blog...

Customer Service

It’s no secret. Dottie’s customer service is somewhat unpredictable. I know it’s the most important part of a successful business but for some reason my energies are always being put into to training, food and coffee related proceedures and preparation. Customer service is also one of the hardest things to train people to do well…you either get it, or you don’t… but not any more, not after what I found today.

It was just like any other day,I was on facebook; Hunting around, exploring the ever changing tabs and items in the sidebar when I noticed a section called HIDDEN posts. I found a pretty disappointing wall post, from a customer that pretty much said,, “I really want to and have tried to love Dottie’s, but I’m continuously let down by their customer service and Im giving up.” At that moment my hard working heart broke a little bit and I couldn’t help but think of all of the people who have had that same thought and haven’t been back since.

Being a person who has always earned money through waitressing or barista-ing, I wouldn’t consider myself a stickler for excellent customer service but I do appreciate it when I experience it. And when I stop and think about it, I may not make a decision to go to a place because I love their customer service but I will avoid ones that left a bad taste in my mouth last time I was there. Great customer service is what warms our hearts and makes us hungry to visit a place again.In my opinion, you can overlook a less satisfactory product if the customer service is amazing– and that says a lot! And not to beat the dead horse but, in this economy, we can’t afford to spend our money at places where the customer service makes us feel under appreciated. So this year, Im committed to changing and improving the customer service at Dottie’s– for you and for me and for our community.

I want to make 2012 all about customer service. Improving it. Making it stronger. Making it more consistent. Educating about it. Training for it. Benefiting from it. But mostly, creating really memorable, awesome and possitive experiences for everyone who comes to Dottie’s. I mean less face it, life is hard enough, getting your morning coffee should be a great time! To get myself inspired, I’ve been drowning myself in customer service articles and blogs. All of which have similar suggestions and different ways to apply them. And in an industry where surly baristas are partially expected, I want our Dottie’s Hotties to shine.

One of the most resonating things Ive read about customer service is a trickle down theory. They say that the customer service team reflects how and by who they are managed. This made a lot of sense to me and hit home pretty heavily, since I AM the management and I DO struggle with it.

My whole life I was told I was a leader… but what they should have told me is that Im bossy, stubborn and need things done my way. And once you factor in my life “experiences” you could add impatient, moody and passive aggressive. Needless to say, I’ve been climbing a slippery slope since opening day. I am proud to say that in the past year, I have made a very vigorous attempt at strengthening my weaknesses so I can lead my team at Dottie’s better.

That being said, running a business, managing people and serving the general public is freakin’ HARD! And when you’re staffing for a coffee shop, it’s hard to find passionate people who are SOLELY dedicated to coffee, especially in a community as small as The Berkshires. At Dottie’s, we have managed to find many great employees and through lots of training, turned them into passionate baristas. Like a lot of baristas though, they are dedicated to 2 or more jobs, because it is hard to survive on a baristas salary– especially when most customers are more hesitant to tip a barista than a bartender (but that’s another blog post). I say this, because I appreciate how hard my staff works at all of their jobs and Im sincerely motivated to make their jobs more financially fruitful– but to do so we need to provide consistent exceptional customer service!

So, this is where we start— with YOU! Please send us an email with your suggestions for Dottie’s. What do you like? What don’t you like? What would you like to see more of? What would you like to see less of? Let me know of poor experiences you’ve had at Dottie’s and let me know of the ones that really impressed you! I have a couple of months, so keep the thoughtful and helpful emails coming! And many thanks for helping us help YOU better! This is the first step of many, so thanks for helping us get the ball rolling!

Sip n’ Knit at Dottie’s!


It’s official! Dottie’s has a knitting group! We decided that once a week, just wasn’t enough! Join us up to three times a week for Sip n’ Knit!

11am on Tuesdays with Teri Trufant. This group will sit for one hour and is encouraged to stay longer for lunch! This is the group you want to join if you are looking to work on a project. Teri will offer projects and patterns for those who want them but all levels and personal projects are fine to work on as well. Teri works at Twin Hearts (Wednesdays & Thursdays),  where you can find her super hip and creative children’s design line, Skullabye. 

3pm Thursdays with Kay. This group will meet for approximately 2 hours. Please note that  Dottie’s Kitchen does close at three so if you want full lunch or one of our breakfast sandwiches, you will have to come before the group starts. The rest of our delicious lattes, baked goods and hot cozy tea are always available. All levels and projects are welcome. Kay has a farm and spins her own wool. She will have some for you to purchase if you fall in love with it! She also has some other knitting odds and ends, including straight needles and balls of yarn for you to learn with!

5pm Thursdays with Caitin Porter Loverin. This group will meet for approximately 2 hours. Dottie’s will stay open late Sip n Knit on Thursdays! The soup will be on, but the rest of our kitchen will be closed. All pastries and beverages will be availabel too! Caitlin has been building a knitting group of Moms and Kids for a while now, and their home is going to be Dottie’s! This is a great group to join for people who are just learning to knit, as Caitlin will be teaching the fundamentals to others.

Fire Cider

Fall got you down? Come swig some magic FIRE CIDER!

$1.50 for a shot in any beverage of your choice or $12 for a 8oz bottle.

ginger/cider/pepper spicy goodness!

Photos around the lounge!