I lost my sommelier badge.
This is the second time.
Oh no, I did it.
The first time was when we were setting up a stall at an outdoor event.
We called it an "Open-Air Wine Bar" and we poured wine in the park in the middle of the day, invited musicians to perform live for the customers, and had a lot of fun.
It was getting dark and we were starting to pack up.
Oh, the badge on my chest is missing...
Where is it? Where did I drop it? That day, I walked around the venue to say hello to the exhibitors I knew. I also helped carry in and out the live equipment. I also went to the toilet a little ways away. I also ran out of ice to cool the wine, so I went back to the store to get some.
I have no idea when or where the pin came loose and fell.
I searched everywhere in the park at dusk, but I couldn't find it.
Oh no, I messed up. The reissue fee is 20,000 yen. That's expensive!
But then I remembered what my brother had said.
My brother is a wine-loving businessman living in Tokyo. He is very knowledgeable about wine bars and often gives me advice.
My brother had been saying this for a long time.
"Just because a sommelier wears a badge doesn't mean he's a good sommelier. There are plenty of people who provide good service without wearing a badge."
I see. You're right. It's not the appearance that counts, it's the attitude. It's not the wrapping, it's the contents.
"Okay, I'll go without a badge starting tomorrow," I thought, and I continued without one for about six months.
However, during that time, I ran into some problems.
The percentage of customers who "listened carefully" when explaining wines to me went down a little.
Bokumo has a relatively casual atmosphere, so some people don't think that we have a sommelier on hand.
In such situations, when I was wearing the badge, there were cases where the customers would think, "Oh, I should ask this person about wine," and listen carefully to the wine introduction.
(Of course, there are many people who don't know what a badge is.)
However, without the badge, it sometimes feels like it's hard to have an interesting conversation about wine, and I often think that a grape badge is just as important for a horse driver as it is for a costume, and even for an old man like me.
Just as I was thinking that, the Japan Sommelier Association announced that the first reissue would cost just 5,000 yen! That's a discount of 15,000 yen!
I decided I wanted to wear it after all, so I paid 5,000 yen and got a new badge.
Last time I made it a tie tack style badge, but the fastener came undone and it fell off without me noticing, so this time I tried a magnetic badge.
The size is slightly smaller and lighter, so it's definitely less likely to be dropped.
With that in mind, I've been wearing a 5,000 yen magnetic badge for the past few years. Customers who notice the badge often ask me to explain the wines, and it also spurs on more geeky conversations with wine connoisseurs.
I thought that maybe the badges were a better fit for our store after all.
However, the other day, I made my first mistake.
That was the day that Toshi, whom I met on social media from New Zealand, came to the store. We had a really fun time together, and we were all having a great time, but when I was getting ready to leave, I suddenly realized that I didn't have my badge.
Mao-chan happened to be off duty that day and had come to eat with a friend, and she explained to her friends that "the manager's grape badge is a sommelier badge."
So, I'm sure he had the badge on at that point (first half of the show). In the second half, he was talking in unfamiliar English with gestures and taking commemorative photos with the audience, and then he disappeared somewhere.
With that in mind, I searched everywhere.
And the next day. And the next day.
It must be in the store. I searched the floor thoroughly. But I couldn't find it.
I panicked. I checked the website of the Sommelier Association with trepidation, and it clearly stated that the second reissue would cost 20,000 yen. Oh no!
What should I do? I'm in trouble.
Just as I was thinking that, on the third day after it went missing, I heard Yuri-chan, a staff member who was preparing to open the store, call out, "Iwasu-san!"
I was told it was this way, so I went to the warehouse and was surprised.
there was!
It was stuck perfectly to the steel wine rack, like an insect resting on a tree!
Nice find, Yuri-chan. Thank you.
I guess I was in a hurry, because when I reached for a bottle of wine from the back, the badge on my jacket got stuck to the magnet.
Still, I'm glad I had it. I suddenly felt a sense of attachment to the badge.
It is often said that people who are good at their jobs take good care of their tools.
When dealing with New Zealand wines, 99% of which use screw caps, I rarely have the opportunity to use a sommelier knife.
The badge is one of the few professional tools I have left. This incident reminded me that I need to take better care of it.
