Saturday, Jul 28, 2007
I've been thinking a lot lately about service and "the public". This came after a number of particularly odd occurances. Recently I saw a sign on an establishment, "starting next week we'll be closed on Saturdays - to serve you better." I remember having one of those "huh?" moments. They're closing on Saturdays to serve you better. How exactly does that work?? There was no notice of staying open later to make up the difference, nor was there any indication anything was changing except they had another day off from work. Now, far be it for me to mind anyone time off from work, but in what way is this serving "me" better?? Were they promising to work ever harder once they are there?? Are they promising to be nicer, more efficient, or are they intending to lower their prices??? Not that I saw. Just makes you wonder sometimes. It harkens back to one of my favorite moments from the movie, "Back to the Future". The movie was shot in 1985, and by then we were smack in the "self service" craze of all things. In the film, Marty is in the past and sees a car pull into a filling station. Close to 3, emaculately dressed attendants rush out (wearing clean white uniforms with little bow ties firmly in place), to give this car the once over. One was checking tires, one filling the gas and the other was checking under the hood. Even then, this caused the audience I was with to gasp and laugh in unison. It was as foreign to all of us, as if they'd been in walking upside down. The idea of that kind of service is just a long memory away.
Now, to the public.....whoever said they loved working with the public, was either kidding themselves or they were filling out a job application. I can say this, because I've done it for many years. Don't get me wrong.....I like the public, the public are great....but they can be a royal pain in the b***, too. Somewhere (I think it harkens back to the 80's again), people started "looking out for Numero Uno", and it stuck. Boy, did it stick! Now, everyone has road rage, taps their foot in irritation if they have to wait, cut in line, grab, crab and jab! The amount of irritation in the most minor inconvenience and you'd think they had to cross the Grand Canyon down one side and up the other dragging a canoe behind them. Enough with the complaining when you happen to be 3rd in line. Just get over yourself!
I feel better already, thank you very much.
Now, to the public.....whoever said they loved working with the public, was either kidding themselves or they were filling out a job application. I can say this, because I've done it for many years. Don't get me wrong.....I like the public, the public are great....but they can be a royal pain in the b***, too. Somewhere (I think it harkens back to the 80's again), people started "looking out for Numero Uno", and it stuck. Boy, did it stick! Now, everyone has road rage, taps their foot in irritation if they have to wait, cut in line, grab, crab and jab! The amount of irritation in the most minor inconvenience and you'd think they had to cross the Grand Canyon down one side and up the other dragging a canoe behind them. Enough with the complaining when you happen to be 3rd in line. Just get over yourself!
I feel better already, thank you very much.
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Posted Jul 28, 2007 2:51 pm PT
Oh, mercy! That's the best laugh I've had in days. This is the kind of humor that comes from really hitting the nail on the head in a funny but articulate way. The George Carlin "Acute Observer of the Human Condition" award to you, Des!
Posted Jul 28, 2007 4:40 pm PT
Thanks very much to both of you. Opal, you've no doubt raised a thoughtful and respectful child. You are to be commended. As for your daughter, she deserves a pat on the head and a delicious little treat for being such a good girl! :-)
Posted Jul 28, 2007 8:11 pm PT
Thank you for my smile of the day! 
Having just been to an amusement park, where we stood and queued for EVERYTHING, you raise an interesting point. There we all were quite happy to queue for an hour to get on a two minute ride - why? because that's the norm. But in the age of NOW isn't that a rarity! Interestingly when some lads tried to beat the system the staff immediately singled them out and sent them to the back of the line
My only comment on supermarket queues - I always end up in the slowest, so when people stand behind me I sometimes warn them of that - because it is a knack I have!
Having just been to an amusement park, where we stood and queued for EVERYTHING, you raise an interesting point. There we all were quite happy to queue for an hour to get on a two minute ride - why? because that's the norm. But in the age of NOW isn't that a rarity! Interestingly when some lads tried to beat the system the staff immediately singled them out and sent them to the back of the line
My only comment on supermarket queues - I always end up in the slowest, so when people stand behind me I sometimes warn them of that - because it is a knack I have!
Posted Jul 29, 2007 12:31 am PT
Great rant! I know how you feel. I work the front desk at the registrar's office at the local university and boy have I seen some things. People have cussed me out, had hissy fits, cut in line, been totally rude and nasty when talking, degraded my ability to do my job, leaning over the counter totally in my space, students standing beside other students and evesdropping on what we are saying about their situation. People need to remember, we only have one life on this earth and we need to be the kind of people that we ourselves would want to hang out with. Guess I ranted in a rant blog. Sorry! Forgive me?
Posted Jul 29, 2007 8:12 am PT
No, it's perfectly alright, Proudmom. It makes you feel ever so much better.
Thanks, Linsey. Glad to see the staff send the boys to the back of the line.
Thanks, Linsey. Glad to see the staff send the boys to the back of the line.
Posted Jul 29, 2007 8:39 am PT
I can identify too Des. Thing is it also doesn't often take much for people to help themselves and others. When I worked at a supermarket and the lines were long (we'd have every till open but it was just a busy time of day) sometimes customers would get to the till with their £150 shopping and just stand there while I packed it all. Now I am perfectly happy to do that, I always offered to help customers pack, but when there are three thirty-year-olds standing in front of me and I'm the only one packing their food it just makes everyone else queuing have to wait that much longer - so they're hardly being considerate of those behind them, single mums who are happy to pack for themselves!
Posted Jul 30, 2007 8:08 am PT
Oh God I hear you! My first job was at Hallmark. And working at Hallmark during the holidays is an experience, let me tell you! No matter how many of us were working there would be a line of unhappy people to the back of the store. I had a customer throw something at me once and a saw a co-worker get slapped! I try to be patient and at the very least polite and courteous to the people waiting on me!
Posted Jul 31, 2007 10:27 pm PT
Count me in. I have worked a million hours in various retail management jobs, but the among worst was when I ran my own antique refinishing business. First of all, I had to listen to how priceless this item was (usually rather common), and all the tales about how long it had been in the family, yadda, yadda. But when I quoted the price for refinishing, and often repairing the "priceless antique", they always said the SAME thing: HOW MUCH??? I mean, it's either "priceless' or it isn't. Then there were the folks who'd tried stripping the piece themselves, to save a buck, and inevitably created extra work for me. So, I lettered a sign: Hourly Rate: $50.00
Hourly Rate If I Have To Listen to a Story: $75.00
Hourly Rate If You Watch: $100.00
Hourly Rate If You Try To Help: $200.00
(And I just realized I took the opposite side of this debate, as the proprieter and not the customer)...but still, it can just suck on both sides of the fence sometimes.
Hourly Rate If I Have To Listen to a Story: $75.00
Hourly Rate If You Watch: $100.00
Hourly Rate If You Try To Help: $200.00
(And I just realized I took the opposite side of this debate, as the proprieter and not the customer)...but still, it can just suck on both sides of the fence sometimes.
Posted Aug 3, 2007 8:56 am PT
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OpalRisa
Hear, hear! This reminds me of an incident this week at the grocery store. I was there with my girls at a "dead" time. There was only one register open, which is typical for this time of day. The cashiers are always very prompt to open a second register if a line starts forming.
Anyway, I was loading my things onto the conveyor belt when a woman came up behind us. Not even 15 seconds had past when she started commenting, "This is ridiculous. The store is too d*amned cheap to keep a second register open." One of my daughters looked at me with big eyes and said, "But we all have to take turns, don't we?" Bless her heart!
Pretty sad when a 4 year old has more patience than an adult. 