Waxman
Super Moderator
Great service is something my company consistently works towards, so I take every opportunity to observe the level of service I receive at businesses where I spend my money. I use what I learn; I hold employee meetings and refer to specific experiences I have had, without mentioning the business name.
My first example is a visit to McDonalds. I took my son, who is 5, to the wash on a Sunday morning. He wanted McDonalds. Unfortunately, I had a very poor experience. The teenage staff waiting on customers was horrible; lots of sarcasm flying about and a very bad attitude on one female employee. She obviously didn't want to be at work on Sunday morning. I looked at the manager, working hard at the grill, as if to say 'w.t.f.???" with my eyes. He looked at me for a second, acknowledging my frustration without saying anything and went back to work. We got the food and quickly left to eat in peace at the wash.
Next, I visited the grocery store at about 8pm on a Friday night on my way home. I saw teenage employees hanging around the store, gabbing and using profanity.
Finally, I went two days in a row to Cumberland Farms, a convenience store us New Englanders call 'Cumby's'. It was 7am and the line was long. The clerk rang the bell to signal she needed more counter help. She waited awhile then a woman came out. But then the woman began doing something else, not opening a second register. An argument ensued between the 2 employees, making me uncomfortable and agitated.
The second day (today), I went in the same Cumby's and saw the same employee who was slow to help her co-worker the day before. She was leaning with her butt on the soda fountain counter, TEXTING on her phone.
These situations I encountered signal a problem with service and employee work ethic. I know these aren't the best jobs for folks to have, but do they have to perform them so poorly? As a paying customer, I feel I deserve better. Maybe it's time to begin speaking to managers at these places where service and employee attitude is far below acceptable levels.
Regardless, I bring these circumstances up at company meetings because I require my carwash and detail staff to be better, more polite and attentive than what I recently experienced. Maybe I expect too much from others, but at a time in history where jobs are scarce and money is tight, I feel more employees should display greatness, not shoddy mediocrity.
My first example is a visit to McDonalds. I took my son, who is 5, to the wash on a Sunday morning. He wanted McDonalds. Unfortunately, I had a very poor experience. The teenage staff waiting on customers was horrible; lots of sarcasm flying about and a very bad attitude on one female employee. She obviously didn't want to be at work on Sunday morning. I looked at the manager, working hard at the grill, as if to say 'w.t.f.???" with my eyes. He looked at me for a second, acknowledging my frustration without saying anything and went back to work. We got the food and quickly left to eat in peace at the wash.
Next, I visited the grocery store at about 8pm on a Friday night on my way home. I saw teenage employees hanging around the store, gabbing and using profanity.
Finally, I went two days in a row to Cumberland Farms, a convenience store us New Englanders call 'Cumby's'. It was 7am and the line was long. The clerk rang the bell to signal she needed more counter help. She waited awhile then a woman came out. But then the woman began doing something else, not opening a second register. An argument ensued between the 2 employees, making me uncomfortable and agitated.
The second day (today), I went in the same Cumby's and saw the same employee who was slow to help her co-worker the day before. She was leaning with her butt on the soda fountain counter, TEXTING on her phone.
These situations I encountered signal a problem with service and employee work ethic. I know these aren't the best jobs for folks to have, but do they have to perform them so poorly? As a paying customer, I feel I deserve better. Maybe it's time to begin speaking to managers at these places where service and employee attitude is far below acceptable levels.
Regardless, I bring these circumstances up at company meetings because I require my carwash and detail staff to be better, more polite and attentive than what I recently experienced. Maybe I expect too much from others, but at a time in history where jobs are scarce and money is tight, I feel more employees should display greatness, not shoddy mediocrity.
