I don't usually do this here, or anywhere for that matter, but I am just a little bothered by the standard work ethic out there. Please comment and tell me if I am out of line or crazy...
I went into Starbucks tonight to get a cold snack for Chaya and Jonah, after they helped me out at a shoot. It was almost 9:30...yes, a little late, but they are open till 10. They saw that the kids were looking at frozen drinks, and said matter of factly.."We aren't making Frappucino's any more tonight"....oh.... how about smoothies? "No, we are cleaning the machine out for the night."....oh, are you about to close? "we close at 10, we just want to get out of here." For some reason this just pissed me off. I don't know why it bothered me so much...maybe it was partially the runaround my wife had with a customer service person earlier in the day, dealing with a problem with IKEA(they double charged us, and said they could do nothing about it). Any way, I asked for the manager, because I was wondering if this is regular practice. The manager happened to be right there the whole time, and said that she could not help me or talk to me because she was busy cleaning out the machine so they could get out of there. A guy finally came up to me with a sigh, and said he would make my drinks for me if I really wanted them...but at that point I would not think about it.
So, am I just being crazy. I kind of felt like that crazy irrationally complaining customer....
I would think if I am going to spend $3 on a cup of coffee, or like $5 on an iced drink, that they would actually make them until they close. I would never ever go to work, and stop almost an hour before the evening was over and say "No, I can't take any pictures for you now, I am packing up because I want to get out of here as soon as the party is over". I work my butt off, and will go so far out of my way to do the best job possible, no matter what I am getting paid. I guess that is why seeing such a different attitude just makes my blood boil.
Any comments?
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The personal blog of Jeff Reeder of Jeff Reeder Photography. Sometimes I post personal photos and other times I post my favorites from recent professional shoots.
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10 comments:
I'm with you. Rant away. That was pathetic. Call the regional manager or something. He should give you some free drink passes, which you can then use to go in at 9:45 and redeem. That way they can make the drink AND get no revenue from it.
Totally pathetic! And I think you should spread that little story around a bit...Dennis Snow has a blog that asks for commentary stories like this for major companies. It's dennissnowblog.com.
Well, I can certainly attest that you are there until the shoot is done, no matter what the clock says! I have had similar experiences at Starbucks and sadly many other places. Customer Service is a dead art form, it seems. I try to never got to Starbucks anymore because their service is so pathetic!
I hope you are doing well... Found you had a blog a few weeks ago, when I wondered what you were up to after thinking it's been almost five years since those beautiful shots you took for us, and have been lurking since :-)
I totally agree!!! That is very annoying - and it's like that with so many places unfortunately. I am surprised that the manager also had this attitude! It really does come down to lack of work ethic.
What you said is true - you go above and beyond to do an amazing job.
I agree with your disgust. I have had the same issue with many businesses. My problem with it is mainly that you should operate normal business until closing. If the store is open till 10 then you should be able to order anything you want, even at 9:59. I'm glad you don't follow the mainstream lack of adequate customer service.
I'm right there! I work in a medical laboratory, and am scheduled until 9PM. We've been "advertising" that we answer phones until 8 PM, so that I am able to give callers the help they need (until our advertised close time) as well as close down the lab by 9. This made sense to me. We "close" at 8, but I get off at 9. Everyone wins...customers are taken care of right up until closing time and I'm able to (usually) leave at my scheduled time. Never mind that now the powers that be have decided I must answer until 9 PM...no way to give good customer AND employee care if you "close" right when you are supposed to be getting "off." It doesn't work. You either have the Starbucks situation where you really can't be served until closing OR my situation, where you really can't leave when you are scheduled to. No one wins! GRRR!
I'm with lauraliz - I can understand starting early with cleaning those machines (they can take a very long time to do), but if they do, they should at the very least have a sign up saying those drinks aren't available after a certain time.
I don't normally go to Starbucks, but one of my daughters likes to get their coffee for home. I've always found the service really great. I also find that the quality of customer service often has a direct relation to the attitude of the management (though locally, employers are so desperate for staff, they allow people to get away with stuff they never would normally), and it sounds like these employees are just following their manager's example.
Personally, I never would've thought that closing time and shift end time would be the same! As an employee, I always expected to be working at least half an hour past closing, just to clean up and put things away. Fifteen minutes, if things go really smoothly.
A.
IT'S THE SIGN OF THE TIMES.CAN YOU SPELL BANKRUPTCY ? LAYOFFS ? THERE IS NO COMPANY LOYALTY. THINGS WILL NOT GET BETTER UNLESS....
KEEP ON RANTING
DAD
i could not agree with you more.
this is precisely why a company or service person with fantastic customer service will get my business every time, sometimes in spite of higher prices they may charge. witness nordstrom. they train every single employee to walk out from behind the sales counter, hand your bag/purchase to you, look you in the eye, and say thank you.
starbucks has overdiversified its brand and is a parody of itself. but i still like their coffee!
I sure can understand where you were coming from and I agree that the servers were thinking more of themselves rather than serving. That gets me angry too. You were caught in the web of disappointment and anger that was a theme for the day. I have to wonder what was going on in the store. What was their experience for the day? This is a more redemptive approach that will build a bridge of understanding. They made have needed healing as much as you did. Uncle Frank drfreeder@aol.com
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