tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7603499.post109064179464896246..comments2023-11-30T03:44:34.585-05:00Comments on Opinions Nobody Asked For: Column 7: Service With A SmileJeffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11683622475941901572noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7603499.post-1091077420067386202004-07-29T01:03:00.000-04:002004-07-29T01:03:00.000-04:00Jeff: the "bad apples getting weeded out" is exact...Jeff: the "bad apples getting weeded out" is exactly what I advocate, except that I think I give the store management more of the onus of defining a "bad apple" than you would. The reason is that (in a "good" capitalist society) the stores that can't define their goals appropriately should suffer financially, and more employee-friendly stores should take over.<br /><br />Don't get me wrong... I'm not defending rude customers <I>or</I> rude staff. Actually, I think rude customers are worse; I can easily understand being in a bad mood because of a cruddy retail job and taking it out on a customer, whereas I can't understand getting pissed at someone who is trying to help you get something you want.<br /><br />Oh, and in practice I agree with you about retail job wages... they're nowhere near what they should be for what employees have to put up with. But I see that as an opportunity for retail employee labor organization, or for stores that recognize the increased revenue they get by having happy, well-paid employees. Kind of the reason I get a warm fuzzy feeling from shopping at Costco instead of Wal-Mart, or eating at In-N-Out Burger versus McDonalds (if only they'd expand the chain to the East coast!!!).<br /><br />- PierceAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7603499.post-1091048510627409102004-07-28T17:01:00.000-04:002004-07-28T17:01:00.000-04:00Pierce - I can't say I've run into many lazy, scow...Pierce - I can't say I've run into many lazy, scowling employees in my years as a consumer. Since managers recognize that a friendly staff is what keeps people coming back (people want willing servants, not reluctant ones), the truly bad apples tend to get weeded out quickly. Especially now that demand for retail jobs is skyrocketing due to our shifting economy.<br /><br />I would agree with you that the inconvenience of the employee is offset by the salary if service employees were paid reasonably. As it is, $7.50/hr isn't exactly a survivable wage. Add to that the fact that the employee is getting yelled at, insulted, and disrespected almost daily by ridiculous customers - I don't think the wages offset that. (The issue of raising wages, of course, initiates a whole new series of economic/social arguments that are for a different column.)<br /><br />I do concede, however, that the servant culture is here and, like it or not, it ain't going away anytime soon. All I argue for is that we recognize that it's not good form to disrespect your servants, just as you would not want to have them disrespect you. As we express disdain for the lazy, scowling employee, perhaps we should also express disdain for the lazy, scowling customer.Jeffhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11683622475941901572noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7603499.post-1091044215021448792004-07-28T15:50:00.000-04:002004-07-28T15:50:00.000-04:00I can't say I agree with you, Jeff. For every hel...I can't say I agree with you, Jeff. For every helpful employee who has to deal with a demanding, insatiable customer, there's an innocent customer who can't get what they want from a lazy, scowling employee.<br /><br />As the owner of a store, your objective is to convince people to spend as much as they can, and return again in the future to do the same. Mandating that your employees present an amicable facade is in keeping with that goal.<br /><br />Obviously, the customer is not <I>always</I> right. If a customer came in and said the Earth was flat, it wouldn't make it so. But setting a blanket policy of obeying the customer in all but the most extreme cases is better (for the customer and store owner, at least) than the alternative: leaving that decision up to an employee whose motives may not be in the financial interest of the store. In other words, the irritation to an employee of having to deal with a shite customer is (ostensibly) offset by their salary. But the irritation to a customer for having a bad experience translates into irreparable damage to the reputation and success of the store.<br /><br />Of course, store management should be pragmatic about whether an employee tried, to the best of their abilities, to help the customer but was unable to do so. Which is why I think that at least the lowest layer of management, to whom the staff reports, should always be directly promoted from the staff itself... it's the only way to get people who truly understand and sympathize with what it's like to be in a service role.<br /><br />Now, in the situations where an unreasonably customercentric management dismisses an employee who was doing their best, I have to say that thems the breaks. The employee can get another service job if they so desire, hopefully at a more reasonable employer. Meanwhile, the original employer is losing enough money to turnover and low morale as to make them less competitive, and therefore the natural evolutionary forces of the market will weed out their poor management style.<br /><br />- PierceAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7603499.post-1090728790429100832004-07-25T00:13:00.000-04:002004-07-25T00:13:00.000-04:00Or you can just go straight to it here. I was remi...Or you can just go straight to it <A HREF="http://www.blogger.com/r?http%3A%2F%2Fwww.theslant.net%2Findex.php%3Fpage%3Dstory%26story_id%3D447%26date%3D20020130">here</A>. I was reminded while reading this post of people who leave shopping carts sitting in parking lots. I think laziness plays a significant role in this phenomenon.Mikehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06383789548221247888noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7603499.post-1090642083227903982004-07-24T00:08:00.000-04:002004-07-24T00:08:00.000-04:00To get to Ben's article, go to the Slant website ...To get to Ben's article, go to <A HREF="http://www.blogger.com/r?http%3A%2F%2Fwww.theslant.net"> the Slant website </A>, click on Archives, then click on the January 30, 2002 issue. "Magical Services at Vanderbilt?" is under the "News and Features" heading.Jeffhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11683622475941901572noreply@blogger.com