Customer Service As Cold As Fries
Wednesday night we had a late night at church, so on the way home we stopped at a fast food joint for dinner. Emily was already asleep so I decided to drive through and just take it home to eat. We were in the drive through and proceeded to wait there a good 15 to 20 minutes after placing our order before getting to the first window. The money taker was very friendly and replied when I said hello. She carried on conversation with me and was very well-mannered and polite.
As I moved on to the pick up window I did NOT have the same experience. I always say "Hello" when I am in the drive through. I was raised to respect everyone and use my manners and greet people when I see them. She did not even acknowledge my existence. She never looked me in the eyes. She proceeded to hand me my drinks. At least she did have all 5 of them in a cup holder. Of course after waiting 15 minutes in the drive through line I waited another 3 or 4 there while they figured out which food was mine. Then she shoved it at me and turned her back away from me. She not once even said a word to me. I was nothing but nice to her and in return got horrible customer service.
To top it off, as I was pulling out, I grabbed a french fry out of the sack and they were as cold as ice and had obviously been sitting a while. I don't know why in the world we would have been served cold fries if the place was that busy that we'd be sitting in a line full of people for so long. But, I was not about to go back, unload all of the kids and go in to complain.
When we got home, the only thing warm was Brien's sandwich. Everything else looked (and tasted) like it had been sitting there for hours. Thankfully we were all so tired and hungry we didn't complain too much. But it really got me to thinking a lot about customer service. It seems like anymore, especially at eating establishments it's just overlooked. More important than the food being prepared correctly, I care about customer service. If I have someone who is nice and caring waiting on me then I am most likely not going to complain about something. But, if they are already being a jerk or acting like they don't care, why should I?
I posted this on my Facebook and got a lot of input on the subject. Apparently it's something that others struggle with as well. Someone mentioned that if I worked there would I not be cranky and the answer is simple, "NO"! It shouldn't matter where you work or what you do, you should always take pride in yourself and your work. Never treat people with disrespect and handle yourself with class...even in a fast food drive through! You never know, you could be serving your future boss some day.
I think that businesses should stand back and take a long hard look at their customer service and see how they can strive to improve it. In today's down turned economy, it could potentially increase their business! Wouldn't you rather go somewhere you knew you were going to be treated well over some place where you aren't?!
1 comments, add yours here:
This has been a pet peeve of mine for quite some time now. I keep wondering where good customer service went and why it's now acceptable to snarl at people as you take their money and practically throw their order at them! I worked at Burger King once and McDonald's once and both times I realized that it just wasn't the job for me so rather than be surly with people, I moved on. If you hate your job that much - go find something else or make the best of the one you have!
I'm afraid that the old adage of "treat people like you yourself would like to be treated" has gone right out the proverbial window and that's just really, really sad.
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