"One
thing I notice that's really different here is the air," Doug says.
"I think both of us don't miss the hustle and bustle of North American
life," she adds. Doug recalls a short trip to Canada after two years.
"What really floored me was how people were moving around," he says. "Here,
you'll be in traffic and people will blink their lights, let you pull out,
the people are very courteous, compared to a big city. You walk down
the street, people say good morning. good afternoon. In Toronto, everything
is so cold, no one says a word to you." Doug and Dianne didn't even
realise how much their pace had changed, until a recent trip through Miami,
when they were sauntering to catch a flight, while being bumped and glared
at by North Americans trying to get to the plane. "After things like that,"
Dianne says, "you just begin to remember why you left.
Everybody
(there) is moving as though every single moment of the day counts. When
you're here for two years, you don't realise how much you've actually slowed
down."
The couple have no regrets about
migrating to the Caribbean, and Doug says he's satisfied with the clothes
and other items he can buy on island. Dianne might have a few more complaints,
as, like most women, she tends to crave a little more variety in terms
of shopping. Nonetheless, she's content to hop on a flight to Puerto Rico
whenever the need arises. Many locals do the same.
"If I want a bigger selection," Doug
adds, "I know I can go back to Toronto and get it, or I can have someone
send it to me." They've adjusted to the supermarket schedules in terms
of the availability of fresh produce, which disappears quickly on weekends.
Doug recalls the shocked reaction by some international students at a medical
school, who frequent one of Franciane's outlets, when they were told there
was no lettuce for their sandwiches. "They were like, 'What do you
mean you don't have lettuce?'" he recounts. "And I asked them, well,
how did you get here? And they go, 'By plane.' And I said, ok, do you see
any roads leading from here to Miami?" "Procurement on the island
is not as easy as it looks," he says.
"And
there are actually a few difficult times of year, like when the tourists
come back in November, when it's hard to get everything, because the hotels
open back up, and so we end up struggling a bit."
They've learned how to develop connections
with the local wholesalers, who will warn them of expected shortages ahead
of time. The couple used to import a 20 ft container of authentic
French bread and pastries once every three months, but the business' popularity
has now changed that to a container every 28 days.
Many people have expressed scepticism
that a fairly young company has branched out so quickly, but Doug says
Franciane's is showing no signs of slowing down, and in fact, they're planning
at least two other stores, including one within the airport. Dianne says,
"Our growth should also be an incentive to other people, to see what they
can do with their businesses."
"I look at one of our main competitors,"
Doug adds, "and he has some really good locations. But I think people
are now looking for neater, brighter, cleaner." "Even during interviews,"
Dianne adds, "when we ask people why they want to work here, most will
say, 'because it's clean.'" The couple insists on full food safety
measures, including gloves and hair coverings for their staff.
They
keep the workers happy with regular outings, including group picnics on
the beach, nights out for dinner, and an annual Christmas party.
"It's a challenge to know where they all are, and what they're thinking,
and how they're treating the customers," Doug says. "Then there's the insurance,
and the health certificates and making sure people are legal to work here.
In Canada, you didn't have that type of problem with hiring, because people
came in the store, and you just knew they were Canadian." Doug wound up
in trouble with the immigration department about two months ago, for hiring
an illegal worker, but has since learned the do's and don'ts. The question
remains: How does a couple trying to have fun on a tropical paradise find
time for fun when they're running five thriving businesses?
"We don't," they easily admit.
"Our friends, and my mother will
argue sometimes that we both look like we're ready to kick the bucket,"
Dianne says. Because of this, the couple is now looking to expand the management
team, to give them a little more free time. "We do feel the need
for at least two weeks off sometimes," Dianne says. "Just to rejuvenate
ourselves. Because it's just the two of us." Doug handles most of
the accounts, while Dianne concentrates on human resources. Some responsibilities
are shared.
And while they live and work together,
they try to separate home business from store business. "We might have
our disagreements," Dianne adds, "but when it comes to the business, once
we step through the doors, it's business, and we've always treated it that
way."
Doug adds, "We really don't talk
about the stores once we leave," which earns him a sideways glance from
Dianne. "We may have a small issue," he clarifies, "and they we'll
talk about it, and that's it." Opportunities to travel for pleasure don't
come easily, but ironically, when the couple found time for such a getaway,
they wound up in London during the terrorist attacks.
"We tried not to think about the
business, and the staff we'd left back here to run it," Dianne says, "and
for the most part, we didn't." They have yet to discover the other
Caribbean islands as a couple, though Doug had visited some of them previously.
"I always said I was going to live in the Caribbean by my early 40s," he
says. "And I said, you know what, if you never do it, you'll never do it.
A good friend of mine in Toronto said, 'you're gonna come back.' But I
might go to another island, I don't know what I'll do, but I like it here.
I really do."
"One
thing I notice that's really different here is the air," Doug says.
"I think both of us don't miss the hustle and bustle of North American
life," she adds. Doug recalls a short trip to Canada after two years.
"What really floored me was how people were moving around," he says. "Here,
you'll be in traffic and people will blink their lights, let you pull out,
the people are very courteous, compared to a big city. You walk down
the street, people say good morning. good afternoon. In Toronto, everything
is so cold, no one says a word to you." Doug and Dianne didn't even
realise how much their pace had changed, until a recent trip through Miami,
when they were sauntering to catch a flight, while being bumped and glared
at by North Americans trying to get to the plane. "After things like that,"
Dianne says, "you just begin to remember why you left.
