Showing posts with label customers. Show all posts
Showing posts with label customers. Show all posts

March 8, 2011

Customers Are Not Stupid

Businesses really need to understand that customers are not stupid. And arguing them will get you nowhere. Recently, I had an experience with this firsthand at a local fast food restaurant. I had ordered a kid’s meal that automatically came with a drink. One of the kids wanted a different drink that was not included in the meal options. The cashier explains that they would have to charge full price for the different drink. Since it was not a part of the options that was fine with me. However, here’s where I got really irritated.

She said because we ordered the different drink, she would remove the drink that came with the kid’s meal. I asked if that would mean the meal would ring up cheaper. Her response was, no. So I said, then we’ll just keep the drink since it’s a part of the kid’s meal and we would just order the additional drink. She started arguing, saying again, that she would remove the drink that comes with the meal.

I said, there’s no point since were paying for both drinks. The cashier continued to argue and insisted she would remove the drink. I finally said nevermind, we won’t be ordering the additional drink. I could have talked to the manager on-duty however, she was standing right next to the cashier during the entire conversation, so I would assume it would have been pointless.

I’m not really sure why the cashier was so insistent that we couldn’t have both drinks since we would be paying for them both in the first place. I can only guess that her register was short and she was looking for a way to make up for the money or, she thought she could win brownie points with the business if she saved them product inventory, but made them extra money at the same time. I know the owner of the business, if he saw the situation, the cashier would have been in really hot water, as well as the manager, who by the way, was snappy with her employees.

This is not a way to run a business, folks. Customers are not stupid, and even if you know you’re in the right as a business and your customer has made a mistake, you don’t act like they’re stupid. You lose customers that way and you lose money! And if you want happy customers, treat your employees with respect!

Managers may be higher ranking, but that doesn’t give them the right to treat their employees like they are the scum of the earth or children. A good business knows this, does yours?

Joy Smith also known as The Insane Writer, is the author of the Sci-Fi novel, The Generation. You can email her at silent_beautie@yahoo.com She can also be found on Twitter @theinsanewriter.


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February 29, 2008

Fast Food. Slow Lines

After a busy day and no time to go home and cook dinner, my husband and I decided to drop by Arby's Fast Food for dinner. After we placed out order, we waited and watched as other customers placed their orders and then waited, just like us.

It took almost 20 minutes for us to get our order. There were maybe a total of 5 families waiting as we did. Yet, Arby's employees were scrambling like mad, responding to orders incorrectly and with missing food, and we noticed... standing around doing nothing. Not every employee, just a select few.

It's also not the first time we've experienced a problem with fast food taking forever. Another favorite, Taco Tico, we tend to avoid, nowadays. The last time we visited the fast food establishment for a quick meal, it took over an hour for us to get our food and.. get this... There were only three customers! One customer was angry enough that he got up and just walked out after paying and about 20 minutes of waiting on no food.

McDonald's is another fast food business that has slowed down on service. At one point the owner even had to come in to correct the employees mistakes.

So I wonder, is it a growing trend or just my imagination that fast food establishments are no longer fast? One theory I have is that employee just don't have the desire to work there. Even teenagers. Most are only paid a minimum wage and even that is not enough in today's insane world.