Bessie Diggins wasn’t looking for work during the pandemic, but dammit if she isn’t taking her new job seriously.
Nearly every Sunday for the past two years, Diggins has made a 9:30 a.m. appearance at Edmonton’s Destination Doughnuts on 124 Street and 106 Avenue where owner Arlyn Sturwold has reserved her the lone table between the coffee machine and the till as the company’s brand ambassador.
“We can literally set our clock by her arrival,” Sturwold said. “She likes the doughnuts and she’ll talk to anybody about them.”
To be fair, Sturwold wasn’t in the market for a new employee either, but when the COVID-19 pandemic struck he saw an opportunity to treat one of his regulars as more than just a customer.
Diggins, who’s “more toward senior than middle-aged,” said she’s been visiting the shop since it opened about five years ago, often dropping by with family and friends to enjoy the coffee and treats. That all changed when the pandemic struck and Sturwold pulled the shop’s seating, turning it into a takeout joint.
Concerned that the isolating effects of public health restrictions would disrupt her routine and social life, Sturwold appointed Diggins an honorary (but unpaid) employee responsible for nothing more than enjoying her coffee, doughnuts and the company of staff and customers.
“She seems to feel like family here, and we treat her like family,” he said. “I’ll never tell anybody to get back to work if they’re sitting with Bessie.”
From Diggins’s side of the table, however, the pandemic didn’t cause much social disruption. With several nieces and nephews living nearby, she said she’s never at a loss for something to do.
“As a matter of fact, sometimes it’s overwhelming,” she said.
But that’s what makes her time at the doughnut shop that much sweeter.
“I look forward to Sundays — put it that way,” she said. “It’s totally different to what I do on the weekdays, so I’m very grateful to Arlyn for allowing me to have this.”
For Diggins, the Sunday morning stretch, which usually runs until noon, is more than just a social call. It’s a shift of sorts, and she spends it greeting customers, wishing them a lovely day and helping the undecided choose from among the two dozen or so doughnut varieties beaming in the display case.
Over time, some of those customers have come to expect her and even stop by to visit, she said, but as an employee (in spirit at least) she’s always mindful of her time on the clock.
“I don’t encourage it too much because I don’t want to be distracted,” she said.
With experience moving women’s wear at the former Woodward’s department store in Westmount, Diggins said she’s no stranger to sales. But it’s not closing that motivates her so much as the feeling she gets from meeting people and helping them find their perfect fit — whether it’s a doughnut or a dress.
“I’m very good at reading people,” she said. “When I feel like they want help, then I approach them, and they’re usually very grateful for that.”
To watch her interact with her employer, however, it can be hard to tell who’s the boss. As business starts to pick up Sunday morning, Sturwold playfully instructs his brand ambassador on how to make her own coffee — something Diggins said she very well knows how to do her self.
“You don’t get a discount just because you made it,” Sturwold said with a grin.
But Diggins gives it as good as she gets.
“What would you do without me?” she fires back with a chuckle.
They’ve only known each other a few years, but they already sound like lifelong friends.
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