State of Service

I am officially on the band-wagon of commenting on the state of service in my blog. It's an interesting topic really. I have read two such entries so far. The first on Darwin's blog, followed by comments on Ryan's blog. I commented on Darwin's entry, saying basically that I agree that teens stereotypically have no concept of work ethic anymore (granted this is a generalization and does not apply to everyone, there are some who take a genuine interest in doing the best they can at work).

Ryan made some interesting points on his blog, however, I don't agree with him. Well, not entirely anyway.

His main point seemed to be that if you treat the workers with respect and pleasantness you will, in turn be treated better. I can personally vouch for the fact that doesn't seem to make a shred of difference with the majority of the teen employees in the workforce. Each and every time I go to a restaurant, store, or fast food place I smile and am happy. Even if I'm having a terrible day, I always smile at the very least. I don't expect people to always be outgoing, but I do expect a smile and a pleasant demeanor. I have a problem when I am met with a bored expression, or, even worse, a scowl. I don't appreciate being resented simply for the fact that I am asking someone to do their job.

In the event that someone is a trainee, I am extremely tollerant. It's hard enough to deal with learning a new job, nevermind in a fast paced workplace where people becoming snippy if they aren't served at light-speed. Extra patience is simply considerate, and if it takes a few minutes more to get my coffee, that's fine by me. I have a problem, however, when I wait nearly 20 minutes for a sandwich while orders pile up and 5 employees are laughing and playing slip-and-slide on the freshly washed floor and the sandwich-girl is handling food with her bare hands and utterly unfocused on her work, talking and socializing. I understand the need to have conversations with co-workers and to slow down the pace at times, but when you have a lineup of food waiting to be served with a number of people waiting in the drive through wasting gas while you goof off, THEN I have a problem. It does come down to having no work ethic, learning that slacking off has no consequences, and the feeling that you are so in demand you can do what you like. And no ammount of smiling and pleasantries is going to make those people have any respect for their work. Only at that point will I say something to management. It's utterly disrespectful.

All that being said, it does definately depend on the place. I have had excellent service at several restaurants in town...it's just sad when good service and smiling teenagers is an unexpected surprise.

I think it comes down to what you were taught. I, for one, was taught to leave my problems at the door. Leave life behind when you come into work. Granted, it's not always possible to put on a shining smile if you had an hour of sleep and spilled scalding coffee on your shirt, or if something stressful is happening at home, but for the most part at least give it a go. I was also taught that when things are busy in one area of your place of employment, do what you can to help those employees out, even if that's not your task. Or, if you are told NOT to sidle from department to department, make sure that EVERYTHING is done in your own. There is ALWAYS something that needs to be done. And, for crying out loud, if you're going to slack off, don't do it in the view of the customers! It just looks sloppy and disorganized and disrespectful. And, lastly, I was also taught to treat all customers with respect and courtesy, even if they are being an asshole. It's fine to stick up for yourself if someone is treating you badly, but there is a very very broad space between telling someone that their behavior is unacceptable and scowling at someone simply for talking to you.

There. That's my two cents...or 97 cents judging from the length of this entry.