A couple of weeks ago, one of our field agents reported that this conversation actually happened to a friend of his as he patronized a local restaurant in hopes of having a cup of coffee and an enjoyable morning. That didn’t happen.
As if out of the pages of a Seinfeld episode, this did:
Waitress: You want more coffee?
Paying Customer: No, I’m good. Thanks.
Waitress: Why not? Your cup is empty.
Paying Customer: I’m okay. I’m done.
Waitress: if you’re done, then you should go pay instead of sitting there taking up a seat. (Pours coffee in his empty cup)
Paying Customer: Okay… I was just leaving.
Waitress: Well… It would have been nice if you would have said that before I poured more coffee.
Isolated incident?
I’m afraid not. Recently one of my I-am-woman-strong friends was reduced to tears by a photo studio owner actually grumbled gutturally and went all Charles Saatchi on her (fortunately she grabbed her own throat, and not the throat of my friend). Her offense? My friend asked for a short extension with the proofs of her lovely daughter’s senior portraits so Dad and Grandma could weigh in on the selection. “What am I going to do with you?” the owner growled. Restraining order, anyone?
Why? Why, Mr. Car Wash Man, do you give me a mean look when you are the one who told me which bay to pull into? How about a sheepish smile?
Why? Why, Mr. Grocery Store Clerk, do you overlook me as if I wasn’t there to complain to a co-worker in the next aisle about how your manager isn’t fair with the break schedule? How about some eye-contact?
Why? Why, Ms. Photo Studio Owner, do you use harsh words and gestures that make me sad and afraid and make my spouse angry enough to never do business with you again? How about a little kindness and flexibility?
Why? Ms. Waitress in a Coffee Shop, are you so grouchy about whether or not I want more coffee? How about a little patience? After all your restaurant is near empty.
We want to do business with you. Really we do. But you make it hard with your grouchy, angry, rude, and poopfacey approach to customer service.
Get it together, people. We want you to thrive, but you’ve got to step up your game. Reward good customer service. Make Shareworthy Service the standard in your place of business. Treat your employees like your most important customers so that they are so full of I-love-my-job that it can’t help but spill over.
And if you are wondering what to do about employees who won’t get on board with shareworthy service, well, we can help you with that too.
What I find interesting is how much less we’ll tolerate poor attitudes at a local business than we will at a chain store. It is almost as if we expect grouchy poopy face people at those big stores.
The bar is definitely set higher at the indie businesses. All the more reason we need to be ever more vigilant that we have happy, friendly faces on the frontlines.
Lynn, you are catching up with Brother Tim in the making up words department. I especially like poopfacey and think it should be submitted to Websters.
Big compliments to be compared with Tim. He actually coined poopface; I just added the “y.” Thanks so much!
So true, Phil. Thankful for owners who love their employees and set the bar much higher.