mindgraffiti

While working fast food I learned a lot about good service - what it meant to provide good service and how much it is valued. The average customer at a fast food restaurant expects poor service and so they treat the employees with little respect from the very beginning. After a few rounds of rude customers the average employee will in turn become rude to other customers in return, starting a vicious cycle. The best way to guarantee good service is to start being polite. Simple respect and politeness will go a long way - I don’t care what business you are in.

On a particularly stressful day (lots of orders, shorthanded on staff, little sleep), I encountered an unusual customer. We were out of chicken sandwiches and I had the terrible task of delivering the bad news. Instead of receiving the usual grimace and under-the-breath complaints, this particular woman flashed me a smile and said, “That’s ok. Can I get the chicken strip dinner instead?” Not only did I get to sigh in relief, but I also comped her meal. Although she did not ask for compensation (and many less deserving do), I was more than happy to see to it that what was delivered was above and beyond expectation. Why? Because my customer was polite. While most servers have the power to comp. meals under certain circumstances, it doesn’t happen often because the customer was rude. Asking me “How hard can your job be?!” will get you nowhere. Asking me “Can I get the chicken dinner for the price of the chicken sandwhich?” will yield much better results. Help solve the problem, not be a part of it. It will make both parties happier, since everybody wins.

This holds true for most anywhere. My boyfriend and I were flying United West and it was a long enough flight it served a snack and dinner. Near the first class seats, a frequent flyer stopped the harried flight attendant and complained about his drink. She muttered sorry and went on her way. When she stopped by to pick up our trash she sighed and mechanically said, “can I get you anything else?” Scott said, “You know, that was kind of a small sandwich, but I’d love to have another if you have any to spare?” She brightened a little and said, “sure, I’ll be back in a little bit.” I am not saying people live to serve. But if you have an alternative answer for a problem, you make their jobs easier and you get something in return too.

The most recent experience I have come across occured at work. My co-worker and I were signed up to attend a 2 day CSS workshop for next week, when the bad news hit my e-mail:

Hi Thuy and Tim,

Thanks for your registration. Sorry to inform you, but our HTML class for next week is cancelled due to low enrollment (and the slower Thanksgiving season). Please check our website for future dates and we have NOT charged the credit card.

Also, another option besides our public class is for our local trainer to visit your office for one-on-one training. You can choose the training date, customize the class and even use your files. We usually can cover two days of material from our public class into one day of 2on1. The price is usually $900/day, 2on1 or 1350 for a group, but I can lower the 2on1 rate to $800 and $700 for day 2 if you want another day since we cancelled on you.

If this is the route you would like to go, please let me know and I’ll check our trainers’ schedules to call you to further assess the training and pick out a date that works for you.

Regards,

M.

It occured to me to stomp and whine and cry and be annoying. I wanted to ask “what kind of company just up and cancels?!” I had been looking forward to this workshop for nearly a month! I wanted to give M. a piece of my mind. Instead, I remembered what it was like to be the messenger. I took a break, came back and wrote:

Hi M,

Thank you for not charging the company card. I must admit Tim and I were really disappointed to see the HTML & CSS class has been canceled. However, we are very interested in your on-site training.

Because the Angus beef industry is seasonal, we have a very short window of opportunity for training sessions - would it be possible to receive the 2on1 at $600 for two days? Since our current training budget was already approved, we could move forward on this very quickly.

Cheers,
Thuy Nguyen

Although we were already offered a discount, it never hurts to ask. I thought it fair, since we originally planned on attending the public class and expected to pay $1200. And the worst that could happen would be an answer of “no.” Here was M.’s reply:

Hi Thuy,

Thanks for your quick reply. If our trainer came to your office, it would be 1200 (1190 to be exact) for two days, is that correct? The same price as the public class for two. That would be ok on our side. If ok with you, then I’ll check the trainers schedule.

Regards,

M.

Huh. Looks like fast food taught me more than just “do you want fries with that?” after all.