What did it take me 3 minutes to do this morning?
A. Run 1/2 a mile.
B. Take a shower.
C. The Intimacy Thing
D. Stand in Line to pay for a soda.
On my way to detail 3 cars I stopped for a 59 cent soft drink. My choice of places was a grocery store gas station. As usual there was only one person working and there was a line. Why does 3 minutes feel like 10 when you are just standing and watching poor customer service at it's best? In reality the 3 minutes was a small part of the day, but it causes my anxiety level to increase. (If you've seen Quick Change with Bill Murray, think about him trying to get change at an Asian convenience mart.)
I worked for Lowes Sony Theatres from 1997 to 1999 and one of their policies was if someone stood in line for longer than 3 minutes we gave them a coupon for a free drink. Good in theory. We had a concession stand in the shape of a long hexagonal island with 13 stations. Great design IF it was used properly. We rarely went more than 10 stations and that was when Titanic was at it's peak. We even had concessions in the hallway and rarely opened them.
So my question is: Why have 2 registers at this gas station if only one is being used DURING PEAK TIMES? Same question for the movie theatre. Why put in remote concessions if they won't be used properly?
The free drink coupon: It was given IF a customer complained. The problem is maybe 1 out of 10 will actually complain therefore you don't really know the real depth unhappiness.
Today I held my comments to myself, thought happy thoughts, got my 59 cent drink and went on my way. It was truly just a small portion of my day.
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3 comments:
Customer service just isn't what it used to be. I've found that since I moved south, there is a very laxidasical way of service here. I have to call someone 4-5 times before something gets done, and even at fast food places, I wait quite a while in line while the cashiers talk about their social lives. It's very weird.
This weekend my partner and I went to buy some clothes, and we waited in line behind this woman who clearly didn't read the sale signs correctly, and the line continued to pile up until there were easily 10 people in line. Did the store get cashiers to open the other 5 lanes? No. Finally after about 20 minutes a manager came over. Crazy stuff I tell you.
Reply to Wiccachicky:
I taught a lesson on peace and we definitely can control how we react. Relaxing techniques or just leave without a purchase. I don't think it will do any good to contact management. Customers are dime a dozen.
Exactly! It didn't really bother us - we are pretty laid back people, and we were trying to enjoy our Saturday...but three or four people behind us FREAKED out and went looking for another line. When we finally got up to pay, we were nice to the cashier and she was so happy that we weren't yelling at her that she gave us an extra discount! Turns out she was a manager called to help out. Sometimes karma really does come around.
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