The Soapbox Archives:
It was clear there wasn't any adult supervision in the store.
On the way home we stopped off at McDonald's (just down the street from the Dunkin' Donuts). All we wanted were a couple of coffees (they have good coffee) and a couple of medium fries. We ended up with a couple of cheeseburgers and the fries (we got the coffees separately in the drive thru) and had to redo the entire order.
At least the coffee was good.
What annoys me about Dunkin' Donuts (and other places like that) is that they will have a tip cup at the counter. What for? "Exceptional" service? There's no room for exceptional service but plenty of room for *poor* service. There is just *one* level of service that can be expected from places like that. Anything below that one level of service is "bad service"; I don't think we should be tipping for "good enough" service, especially when all they do is the minimally expected service.
Considering that these are fast-food venues, my expectations are already very low for minimally-acceptable service and it's really disappointing when those businesses can't even achieve that level of service.
I would like to suggest that part of your employee training include knowing the difference between "no problem" and "you're welcome".
"You're welcome" suggests that it was a complete pleasure and privilege to be of help to someone; there were absolutely no reservations about taking the time out of your day to being of help to someone.
"No problem" makes one think "But what if it *was* a problem? What would you have done then?". Were we just lucky it wasn't a problem that time?"
We *did* have a problem at one of your stores and we left somewhat annoyed and frustrated. As we left, I said "Thank you" because my mom taught me some manners and I got back "No problem". Hallo? Do we look like we're leaving happy? At most of the company's other venues, everyone goes out of their way to making sure we leave with a smile, even if they couldn't help us.
I just realized that I could have been talking about a Bob Evans Restaurant, but I wasn't. They have an unbroken track record of great customer service.
It was a sad moment.
I was at JC Penny in Wilmington the other weekend and I noted that they were piping in a pop version of "Blue Christmas" over the store speakers. I commented to Denyce and the store cashier that I liked the Elvis version much better.
The cashier had *no* idea who Elvis was.
:-(
I don't mind it if you say "Happy Holidays".You know, I've never met anyone who insisted that we say "Happy Holidays" instead of "Merry Christmas". If those people exist, they're idiots because they spend way too much time worrying what other people are doing instead of worrying about their own lives. Those who seek to start a cultural war by creating the fiction of a war against Christmas need to consider whether their reservation for a seat in Heaven is really a sure thing. Christ and God are not about anger and hatred; that's the domain of Satan. Those who call themselves Christians need to think about that.I don't mind if you say "Merry Christmas".
I don't mind if you'd rather say "Happy Hanukkah" (sp?).
I wouldn't even mind it if you said "Happy Festivus" to me.
I wouldn't mind it at all if you'd rather say "Happy [insert your favorite holiday]"; I read somewhere that there were 39+ holidays celebrated by various ethnic and religious groups in the world in December and January.
I just appreciate the fact that you took time out of your busy day to wish me well. Thanks. :-)