Interview with MILENA and XAVI, by N.Pascual de Sant Pere de Ribes
How are you? How are you?
MILENA: Very good!
How long have you had this place?
XAVI: It’s been two years since we opened.
What surprises me the most is the decoration…
M: It’s my business.
How about that?
M: Well, because I like to decorate. It is a style of French pastry, with very flirtatious and cozy things. People like it.
You talk about France, but you Milena where you did live was in Italy, right?
M: Yes, I lived there for a long time. But there they have another style of decoration.
Have you always been involved in the hospitality sector?
M: Not really. I have a degree in labour relations, but I have worked in many sectors. I had already touched the hospitality industry when I was young and it is a sector that I like, because you have a lot of contact with the public.
And you, Xavi, what did you do before starting this business?
X: I am the son of the Pascual pastry shop. I’ve been a pastry chef all my life.
How did you meet?
X: We met ten years ago and this business has brought us together in the town. I’ve been from Ribes all my life and she came when she was 9 years old. Now we have a child in common and a more practical and better way to educate him is to work in the same place where you live.
Were you always clear that you wanted to settle in Sant Pere de Ribes?
M: No! We are people who like to move around a lot. In fact, before having the child we went to live in Barcelona and we set up some very nice hotels that were very good for us. But when we had a child, the work was too absorbing to be able to enjoy quality of life with our child.
And you decided to bring both your professional and personal life here.
M: Yes. We had already detected a demand for the opening of a pastry shop a little further away from the center.
Perhaps one of the great distinguishing features of your business is customer service. Not?
Yes, but this form of service will be expanded more and more. It is true that first thing in the morning we like quick coffee, but the day has many hours and people also want to have an experience.
What is the consumer profile in Sant Pere de Ribes?
X: As we are very close to the entrance to Sitges, we have people from the village but also residents of Sitges and nearby urbanizations.
M: The people here are a bit special. They like things done well. They know what they want and they don’t go anywhere. And this is important, because when you make an effort and customers sell you, it rewards you.
You’re even very much on top of what kind of coffee and sugar customers want.
M: Yes, yes.
Buf. It is a very sacrificial type of business.
M: You can do things right or wrong. It’s sacrificed, but you don’t have to be tired either.
X: It’s demanding, because you need to innovate, to be very careful with the product,… But our job is to combine this requirement within a schedule that is compatible with the family life of all workers. If you want to provide a good
service, people have to feel comfortable working.
Tell me what products we can find at N.Pascual Café Degustació.
M: We make all kinds of bread. We also have pastries and cakes that we change every season. And we have canapés, we have made a croissant of five cereals…. There is a lot of variety. In addition, with good bread you can do so many good things! Some products we have are customer demands.
Synergy with the customer is very important, isn’t it?
M: It’s very important. If it’s not there, people don’t come. He prefers to go to other places where they can meet his demands.
MORE CUSTOMER INTERVIEWS: https://www.gestingral.com/category/entrevistes-socials-a-vilanova-i-la-geltru/
