I've been working in the fast food industry for four years now, and during that time I've met all sorts of customers. These have been ranging from some of the nicest of people to the rudest people. And, as such, I've heard similar stories from my co-workers and friends about things they've encountered in their time in the such a field of work.
But if there is one thing I've started to notice is that, the negativity overwhelmingly shadows over any positive customer interactions, for everyone one nice customer I can recall, I can recall five other ones that aren't so nice. There are tons of things on the internet ranging from the subject matter. Memes, stories on Tumblr, and pretty much and even a few entire websites dedicated to the subject matter.
Notably, the website notalwaysright.com is perhaps my personal favorite to reading stories from people and things they encounter while in the workforce. There are a few instances which highlight sweeter stories from customers, but more often than not there is always that of an instance showcasing the customer being rude and brainless.The website always has links to similar things showcasing examples of employees being rude and lazy, as well as other things like school and family.
Getting back to a more personal note, at my job we have specific rules and regulations on things we are allowed to do and things we aren't allowed to do. If there is one thing I've noticed among myself and my coworkers, is something I'm chalking up to human nature. Be nice to me, and I'll be nice to you. Be rude to me, and I'll still be nice to you since I'm supposed to, but don't expect me to go out of my way for you. I can think of one instance where a customer who order I was taking, asked for a senior discount. The meal he was getting at the time, was already a discounted product that corporate, themselves, said is not to have the discount because it's already has a big reduction in price. Minutes later, aggressive curse words and a conversation with my manager later he stormed out. Now, how much money was he really saving at this point? Around 27 cents. Is that much money really worth such an outrage?
Now, there are times when the customer should rightly get anger with the workforce, such as getting insulted by employees or in other cases the place of business not wanting to serve them for whatever reason. But there are some things I think people don't always realize when it comes to customer service.
1. We don't always have the product you're looking for.
More likely due to supply problems, the shipment of a product might be late, might not have ordered enough, or perhaps they were more popular than we thought they would be.
2. Is this how you want to be treated?
No one wants to get yelled at, they don't. If you were working their job, would you want a customer to yell at you for something that's more likely than out of their control?
3. It's OK to be displeased with the service.
Nothing's ever going to go the right way, sometimes when you go to get food or a video game that's been released they don't always have it. Sometimes the employee you're dealing with just doesn't care about their job. Terrible service or simply not having what I want isn't good. Which to be fair, I would be annoyed too. It's the reaction that's the center point of this article. Either ask what they can do instead or simply take your business elsewhere. Don't let your emotions control your actions.
4. People don't forget something like that.
As I mentioned earlier in this article, for every good customer I can recall, I know about five more bad ones. Most of my friends and family have spent time in retail or in the fast food industry, and as such know what's it's like to deal with both good and problem customers. If a reaction like that comes out of your mouth and they see? They won't forget. The staff of where you are shopping won't either, they'll tell their coworkers and they'll recognize you instantly once you come in again, remembering you for an outburst.
Now, nobody's perfect. Sometimes people snap in the heat of the moment. Sometimes you really have your heart set on a product and it's just not there that day. Is it really the end of the world if you have to wait one more day to get the fancy dress, that is out of your price range? Or that McDonald's milkshake you can't get because the machine is broken again? It's OK to be annoyed with this issue, either go somewhere else or if it's bothering you so much, try talking directly to the manager to get to a solution. But please, don't have an angry outburst, even if you think it's warranted. It's not worth it in the end.
