The Review

Issue date: 4/24/07 Section: News

Kazi Abdus Samee makes an effort to welcome new and returning customers.

When his customers walk into TCBY on Main Street, they get more than just a cup of frozen yogurt - they are personally greeted by the store's recognizable owner, who enjoys talking with them as much as he does running his business.

Kazi Abdus Samee moved to Delaware from Bangladesh approximately 10 years ago and has worked his way up from a clerk at 7-Eleven to owning his own frozen yogurt franchise in a bustling college town. Customer remember him for his dark hair with red streaks.

According to many of his customers, including Newark resident and regular Charles Molloy, Samee engages everyone who enters his store.

"He takes time to talk to his customers and get to know them," Molloy said.

Samee memorizes the order for Molloy and his wife, who come in every Friday afternoon and has it ready in the freezer by the time they walk through the door.

Samee said Malloy always orders a cookie sandwich with frozen yogurt in the middle, "the Yogwich," which Samee still makes for him despite the fact that it was taken off the menu years ago.

"He is one of my regular customers, so I always take care of him," Samee said.

He said he also tries to go out of his way for his other customers. He recently compensated one who received a ticket while parked in front of his store.

"I went up to his car and gave him a quart and didn't charge anything," he said. "He was happy because the ticket was $5, and I gave him a $4.99 quart. So he's breaking even, right?"

Samee said his view on the situation is that a person will not come back into his store to buy a $3 frozen yogurt if they think they will get a $5 parking ticket.

Samee, who lives by himself in Newark, has a wife and nine-month-old son, both of whom still live in Bangladesh along with Samee's mother. He said they will most likely be able to move to Newark with him in the middle of 2008.

"Now it's very hard for me, you know," he said. "I have to work, take care of my house, the apartment - when they come, they'll be able to help me."

Samee said he does not have a college degree, yet his business continues to prosper alongside the other establishments on Main Street by staying separate from the recent surge of ice cream and gelato stores in the area.

Continued...

Page 1 of 2 next >

Article Tools