Who's Behind the Counter: Joanne Ditto at Santoni's

Throughout her working career, whether it was as a travel agent, kindergarten teacher or assistant manager at Hallmark, Joanne Ditto has loved interacting with others.

Since 2005, she's continued that passion at

A Reisterstown resident since 1966, Ditto relishes the opportunity to catch up with old friends at work , all while being a part of a respected, family owned business.

Ditto sat down with Patch to talk about why she loves coming into work, the keys to dealing with customers and more.

Patch: What do you like about living in Reisterstown and the community as a whole?

Ditto: I like the friendliness of the people. I like the school system. When my kids were in school they went to Timber Grove Elementary and it was the second rated elementary school in the county. I like the small town atmosphere where you can shop at independent owners' small businesses rather than in the big malls. I like the small town, small business atmosphere. I think it’s very nice to shop where people know you when you come in, can recognize you, call you by name—which is special about Santoni’s.

What do you like about working here in particular?

I like that it’s close to home and I just like the fact that it’s a family atmosphere. It’s a family owned business and I think they take special care of their employees and I think they’re very conscientious with their customers. Customer service is number one here.

What else makes Santoni’s special in terms of the food you guys are dishing out to people?

I think it’s an excellent quality. It’s presented well when we send it out. Our upscale catering is done really nicely, and even the things that go out that are everyday, like Circle Subs, the presentation of the product is very nice and the quality is great. I think that’s why people keep coming back. They feel like they are getting a good value for their money.

Tell me some things you like to eat, say on your lunch break, from the store. What are some of your favorites?

I like the paninis. We have a lot of different paninis. I love cream of crab soup—it’s really good. I’m a big fried chicken person so a lot of times I’ll get the fried chicken special. Crabcakes are excellent, really, really good. Steamed shrimp are good. And the salads are very fresh and really good. I love the field green salad.

You’re on the phone a lot. What are some keys you’ve learned over the years to deal with customers and make sure they have a positive experience?

You have to listen to them. Really listen to what they want. Sometimes they want something just a little different than what’s exactly printed on the menu. You have to be able to respond to that, which we can do, for the most part. A lot of our customers will call in and either forget to order something or we’ll get a doctor’s office that will call and say last minute, "we have an opening if you’d like to come in," and we have been able to respond to that and turn it around in an hour or two hours and get the food to them. You have to be able to multitask and be able to meet that customer’s needs.

Do you like the fact that you get to interact with a lot of people?

I love sitting here, because I get to see a lot of Reisterstown and Glyndon and Owings Mills pass in front of me. I get to catch up on seeing some people that I hadn’t seen for years that I maybe worked with in schools, and I lost track of them. I’ve been able to reconnect with a lot of people.

When you get off work after a long day and you walk in the door, what’s the first thing you do to relax?

Usually kick off my shoes, put my feet up and read. I’m an avid reader so I like to read and just relax.