My good friend Betsy offered to come to our company to do training on goal setting and planning. She performs professional training at her company (a large recruiting firm), and is a top performer there, so I figured it would be great for my account managers to hear from a high achiever.
My training budget was a little tight, so I asked Betsy if I could pay her in fruit. She agreed and the training went great!
And now – here comes the fruit payoff. As we discussed her fruit options, Betsy had many questions and concerns. Frieda’s sells exotic and unusual fruits and veggies, many of which she had never heard of.
“How about some Cherimoyas?”
“I don’t know what that is.”
“We have some lovely Moro Blood Oranges…”
“My husband doesn’t like citrus fruit.”
“How about a case of Fragrant Pears?”
“There are only 3 of us at home–we could never use a whole case.”
Does this sound familiar to you? You want to introduce a new fruit or veggie to your family and all you get is “No.”
So, I confronted Betsy head on. I sent her an email. “Betsy, I have figured out your problem: You have a fear of fruit.”
She had to laugh. I said, “Trust me. Even though you’ve never tried what I am going to bring to you, I bet you’ll love it. And, after you try it, I want you to ‘pass it forward’ and share it with your co-workers and friends.”
And so, I delivered a big heavy box of 18 Ugli Fruits.
Ugli Fruit is from Jamaica and is a grapefruit-tangelo cross. It comes by boat from Jamaica to Miami, and then we truck it to Southern California. It looks like a greenish-yellow scratched-up grapefruit, and its thick skin is easy to peel. Inside the fruit is a light golden-pink, refreshingly sweet, and very juicy flesh. This weeks’ shipment of Ugli Fruit had just arrived at our office and every piece looked great to me.
So what did Betsy think? “I have seen ‘uglier’ fruit in my life,” she said, “But I do love the name.” Betsy said she found the Ugli Fruit to be very juicy and refreshing. “It was fun to try a new fruit!”
So, go to your favorite supermarket and ask for some Ugli Fruit (also known as Uniq Fruit). They are only in season for a short time.
And now. . .what new fruit will I introduce next to Betsy’s family? Kiwano? Passion Fruit? Or maybe the sweet and soft Mamay Sapote? I’ll have to think about that one for a while.
Karen
