Testimonials
To whom it may concern. I worked for Shashi for approximately 5yr. Beginning from our first meeting at my second interview for the position of a manager at Love Koffee Metro Centre, I warmed to him straight away and felt very at ease even though it took some persuading him I was the right one for the job. I was offered the position in Dalton Park. When I started working I had previous staff members and other people telling me how much of a strict and hard man Shashi was to work for,oh no I felt a bit scared, I thought what have I done. Shashi would visit quite often to check on me and make sure i was doing what i was supposed to be doing but as time went on i didn't see much of him to which i felt quite proud in a way as i knew he must of had some trust in me to look after his store. I soon realised they were wrong. One week I hadn't got my paper work done right and I can remember him ringing me and saying Michelle grab your mobile and paperwork go sit in the corner and ill ring you and he calmly talked me through everything. Shashi was always working hard to improve the products in his stores to delicious muffins or better crispy baguettes and of course the coffee. Perfecting muffins to Shashi's standards was the hardest job i found i had to do. He would always enter the shop Happy with a smile on his face and stand infront of the display cabinet which was a big thing to have perfect in Love koffee stores. He would say all the time if your production looks good and tastes good people will buy. If I had any problems or wanted to try new products he would always listen and advise me and say Michelle you know your shop better than anyone so if you think it will work let's give it a try. Whenever him or mina visited they would always lend a helping hand on whatever it was serving customers, making coffees, taking orders to customers etc.. Shashi liked a phone call at the end of my shift to hear about my sales or any problems I might of had and I would always worry about telling him if It had been a bad day in sales but he would always know the reasons whether it was the weather or some big event happening somewhere and would say tomorrow will be better just keep pushing and doing what you do best. A member of my staff who became a close friend of mine passed away while Shashi was on holiday, I was heartbroken but Shashi and Mina called me to make sure I was ok (how many bosses would do that) and on their return home they made a visit to see me and i then recieved a big hug and he told me i was a warrior and ill get through this difficult time. Made my day. Shashi was a hard working man always trying to do better for his stores and their customers, you could always have a joke and a laugh with him. He was never angry if he had anything to say it was always said in a calm manner. I found that if you worked hard for Shashi he would return the favour back. Its down to him i now have more confidence in me to do what I do best. I have worked since the age of 14 and I'm 50 + now and I can honestly say Mr Shashi Patel was an absolute pleasure to work for and I wish him and mina a very happy long and healthy retirement.
I cannot tell you how honoured I felt when I was asked to write a testimonial for Shashi Patel. I had worked for Shashi for a long time 15 years or there abouts, and even though he has sold the company, I still manage two of the stores he built up, so a part of me hopes I am still looking after his babies. Don't get me wrong it hasn't always been easy, but one thing I know for a FACT of you treat shashi with respect he will treat you with respect. The first time I met shashi he was interviewing me for a supervisor role in what he called his first blue chip store, I was offered the role, but one thing's sticks in my mind he told me that day if he hadn't already appointed a store manager he would have offered me that role,and within two months I was manager. The thing is shashi had a knack of reading people, being able to suss out who does and doesn't have strong work ethics. You know growing up and your parents have you a look and you knew you was in trouble, well shashi as that look I used to say to my team don't let shashi give us the look. He had two looks the what the hell you playing at look, or the I am very proud of you look we strived for that look.I did once see him spying on all of us working in the shop hiding g behind a fake palm tree that was in the centre I waved at him we had a proper giggle about it but happily he had the proud look. Shashi is quick to praise but just as quick to give you a roasting, I remember my first roasting of many but the first was over something so simple LOCKING A BOX I had no idea what he was talking about but trust me I know how to lock a box now. Things went quite smoothly for a while, but fast forward couple of years and Sheffield/Meadowhall suffered floods, I had called shashi to say the centre and given close down permission but I needed shashi,s permission, he asked if the water was going to come into the centre and at the time I said not! But I was wrong. I told him the roads was flooded and public transport was cancelled, I like to think he was joking but he said if I was stuck could sleep in the store room! Well anyone who knows the history of the floods will tell you it was terrible and the store room I was offered as a resting place was easy 3/4 metres deep in water with floating chest freezers and fridges.(thanks shasie) On the day of clean up there was shashi and Mina in scruffs on there hands and knees scrubbing and sanitizing with the rest of us, we all worked so hard getting the store ready to trade and we was ready the next day, but the centre wouldn't let us we had to wait for everybody else to be ready. Not many business owners prepared to graft the shashi and Mina did that day. I think mutual respect grew from that period. There was a time my washing machine broke beyond repair and I couldn't afford a new one at that time, shashi gave me an interest free loan to buy one he just took £5 a week out of my wage,amazing really when I think about it now,I can't imagine many bosses doing that or even feeling comfortable enough to ask but I didn't feel embarrassed asking shashi. I know shashi as helped a lot of his employees financially and emotionally but they are not my stories to tell. From there I was asked to travel to various places around the country opening new stores I was flattered, excited but also very knackered, but it is a time I enjoyed. To put everything into a nutshell I learned a lot from shashi on how to manage and lead a team as everyone's got there own personality so you need different approaches to the different personalities, something I still do to this day . I will always respect and be thankful to shashi for the chances and support he has given me in my career.
Well that's a story to be told. I started working for Shashi Patel in 2005, around April time, the coffee shop was in the process of being built in the four seasons shopping centre Mansfield, Nottinghamshire. I was quite surprised & to be honest, felt proud but overwhelmed at the same time that Shashi had actually head hunted me to work for him. It was like fate had brought us together, something was telling me "Bev, you have got to go for this or you will be forever kicking yourself if you don't you will always wonder who the manager was & how the coffee shop was going & knowing you missed out on a great opportunity. Anyway, I finally got a message from a previous colleague that Mr Patel had been searching for me, but unfortunately, they didn't have my contact details to pass onto him. I asked them if they knew the name of the company & I could try to find him, obviously it was at that time called BBS Coffee & Muffins. After that moment, I did know more but rush home to find the contact number & rang it, it was quite hard to get his number as no one was giving it away, completely understood why, for one, I could have been just anyone, but it also told me more about the companies loyalty & respect of personal information. Eventually I got his number, (after a battle to get it) WOW, once I introduced & explained myself I had a feeling that I'd already spoke to this guy, as I reckoning his voice. I remember him & his wife, Minard coming into the previous cafe where I worked & he caught my attention as I felt I was being watched, in a good way.he instantly recognised me as the manager. I did know more but ask them if everything was ok, they both replied yes it was thank you, but knowing them almost 10 years later, knowing their expectations & love of coffee, I knew the coffee was awful), they loved the best of the best. Sashi asked me if I enjoyed my job, I said I loved it! just love the catering business, everyday was different, meeting new people, listening to their day, both good & bad days, I felt I helped them to cheer up & make their day feel better with a coffee. So, from there back to our telephone conversation, we agreed to meet at 10.30 on Saturday in Debenham's cafe. As soon as Shashi walked round the corner in his blue,yellow sporty jacket I recognised him instantly, a massive sigh of relief came over me as I knew this was going to be very interesting as I felt like we already knew each other. Upon our meet & greet shashi introduced himself by shaking my hand. The interview was like no other & fantastic it felt like two friends meeting for a coffee & catch up. He made me feel good about myself, it was like he woke me up from a deep sleep, so exciting to what I was going to face for the future. I was a little taken back at first as I thou ue, this guy doesn't know me from adam & he's talking about giving me a business (obviously, after all training completed), this man made Mansfield coffee shop my baby, & it certainly was. Shashi asked me to train at one of his other stores at Cheshire Oaks for 2 weeks, i agreed to this & walked away a very happy lady as we parted company. The feeling of floating away is what I felt going back to my car, thinking about everything that we had discussed.