We’ve talked about who we are – Kitchen Kettle’s vision to be “Simply…World Famous”. We’ve talked about what we do – the Village’s mission to deliver a fun and unique experience while shopping. The final building block to our foundation is corporate values.

Values are beliefs that drive behavior. They form the boundary lines that make some behavior “in bounds” and some other behavior “out of bounds.” For instance, the number one value at Kitchen Kettle Village is safety. If you see a safety hazard while you’re working here, you are not only permitted to but expected to stop what you’re doing and clear the hazard. Safety is one of those things people take for granted until they’re hurt. And what ruins a vacation or getaway faster than being hurt?

The second value at Kitchen Kettle is Integrity. To us that means being real – if you see someone in Amish dress, they are Amish. The jelly that we sell is made in our kitchen. Integrity is also being honest. We don’t pretend to be a Village where everything is made on premise or even locally. But when it is made locally, we tell you it is. And if it isn’t local, we’ll tell you that too. Integrity means everything fits together – it is in integrity. So the experience at the Kling House Restaurant, for instance, is in integrity. The hostess greets you upon arrival; you get a table quickly; the servers greet you with your complimentary hors’ doevur and take your order; the food is presented beautifully on your plate and in good time; the dishes are cleared quickly; the table is re-set for the next guest; the dishes are cleaned so the kitchen cooks will have plenty of new ones for the next meal. That’s a well-oiled machine; it’s in integrity.

I’m going to save our other three values for the next post. They really do drive our behavior here at Kitchen Kettle Village. It’s what makes that experience I talked about in the mission “Simply…World Famous”. Has that been your experience when you’ve visited us? It’s important that we deliver it safely and in integrity. Let me know if we didn’t – or if we did. It’s always good to hear when you’ve done something well.