Poor Service These Days???

[Waxman]

Complaint #1; called dept of employment and training to help a friend find info about a job; specifically, whom to address a cover leter to. Was met with an unhelpful and rude employee. Major bummer.

Complaint #2; Encountered 2 filthy dirty rest rooms while on the road a couple days. Yuck.

In my business I'm trying harder at everything, namely service and value. It is disheartening to experience places where the folks involved/staff seem to just not care one bit.

 

[mac]

Try visiting the wonderful gas stations in central Florida if you think you found some dirty places. I swear they mop the floors with urinal disinfectant. You need a biohazard suit to use the restrooms.

 

[MEP001]

The biggest problem I have is with the Wendy's near home. They always manage to screw up my order, no matter how carefully I check it at the drive thru. They used to just leave something off or forget the sauce, it's like now that they know I'm on to them they sneak something wrong into whatever's wrapped up and too much trouble to check. I had no problems with them until after Dave Thomas died.

 

[I.B. Washincars]

We have a KFC like that here. They've been in three different locations over the 35 or so years, but one constant is that your order will be screwed up or they will have to substitute something.

Regarding gas station rest rooms. My dad ran a gas station for 20 years. You may have used some modeled from our station. After years of cleaning up many disgusting things, many left there maliciously, he pretty much said "f*%k it, the public doesn't deserve a place to pi$$!" He made me or some of the other hired help clean them once in a while, but he didn't lose much sleep over their cleanliness. This station had outside entrances to them which made abuse a lot easier to get away with and probably why you don't see them that way any more. He's 83 years old now and hasn't had the station for 33 years, but you can still get him riled by mentioning nasty rest rooms somewhere. First thing out of his mouth is "The g@% d&@% owner didn't get them that way, the f#&!@?# customers do!!!"

 

[Reds]

I can't say much about Wendy's because I am not a Wendy's customer. But I can tell you a few things about Burger King since I was a franchisee for 27 years. When I started (1980) all but one franchisee was an owner-operator. Over the years everyone opened more and more stores. Pretty soon the former operator was no longer in his stores. I had another owner tell me the he made sure that he visited each store at least once a year ! The owners are totally disconnected and they managed the biz by the numbers - control labor, food costs, etc. to 1/10th of 1%. Consequently the people on the front line are more concerned with $ than customer satisfaction. It's one of the main reasons that I sold my 5 BK's. The situation was getting worse all the time, and I feel that eventually it will kill them. The guy who visits at least once a year bought my stores, bringing his total to 17 stores. He gets there once a year - I was in each store no less than 5 days a week, working 70-80 hour weeks and driving 65,000 miles per year to do it (L'm not not complaining). The bottom line is that the owners are out to lunch - no pun intended. Most of them couldn't even make a whopper. The other side of the coin is the large segment of customers who are pigs. We see it in the carwash biz (mud, trash, etc.). Next time you use a fast food restroom remember this - people crap in the sinks, on the floor, outside the front doors during the night. They pee on the floors, throw tampons in the corners, etc. If you were making $8 an hour you would probably avoid cleaning the bathrooms too. That's no excuse for dirty facilities, but it sure does affect the mentality of the employees.

 

[Reds]

The edit button is not showing so I will make one other comment. I had some employees who were very fine people - outstanding. But the majority were losers. The kids didn't want to be there because it wasn't a cool place to work. Most of the adults were working for minimum wage for a reason. The managers were only concerned with saving pennies. So labor got cut, training was skipped, and operations went down the drain. Turnover was in the 80% range. When you got a decent employee who was hard working they would leave after a short while because they were one of the few who was trying. And almost everyone is just passing thru - not looking to make a career working at fast food. All this adds up to not giving a damn about your order. It's frustrating no matter which side of the counter you are on.

 

[MEP001]

We have a KFC like that here.

I forgot all about KFC. You couldn't pay me to eat there.

When you got a decent employee who was hard working they would leave after a short while because they were one of the few who was trying.

The Wendy's near me has had the same order-taker for at least two years, even knows my usual order, and still manages to get it wrong. Before that was a woman who was there at least three years and seemed like she was taking someone else's order instead of mine. I would have to correct her five or six times and make her read it back, and something would still end up wrong. The Taco Bell near me isn't like that at all - in the ten years I've been going there (probably 3 or 4 times a month) they've messed up my order only once. Why can't Wendy's do that?

 

[bigleo48]

Recently I went into Home Depot looking for some Butane. The 3 people at the service desk at the time didn't know what butane was and directed me to Wal-Mart!

I informed them that Butane was a staple of the hardware biz and if they didn't carry it they might as well not carry drywall! So I walked over to the plumbing dept and picked up a refill bottle. I walked by the service desk and waved it to them.

Now if that was my store and the first thing the customer service rep did was send me to the competition, I would fire them on the spot!

Yet I smile...because we bend over backwards for customers and have seen our wash prosper and have accumulated many regulars over the years. It doesn't take much...like handing out dash wipes when customers are in the IBA lineup, or giving two items when the vending machine doesn't dispense the item. Or offering to spot free off any left over soap/3xfoam that might get caught in a crevice after an IBA wash or help remove tar or tree sap stuck on a car. Nobody else around me does that. Sometimes when I've finished helping the customer I will say in a laugh..."now try to get someone at my competition to do that!"..."oh, that's true...it's either a cashier or unmanned...so that's not gonna happen".

Big

 

[rph9168]

The term "fast food" is becoming synonymous with poor service and wrong orders. I go to several different ones here and I would say it is 50-50 as to whether they get the order right or the food is prepared properly. I think the attitude of most of the employees is the major problem as several have pointed out. Most of them would rather be working somewhere else and see no future in what they are doing.

Seems to me the same goes in our industry. Some of the larger washes that promote from within, maintain good working conditions and have good employee training and advancement possibilities seem to get and keep the better employees. Those that keep the pay low with lousy working conditions with no chance for advancement get what they pay for - employees that don't give a damn.

 

[pitzerwm]

IMO the first issue is lack of respect. Lack of respect for themselves and lack of respect for the customer or the business from the customer. An attitude that its not their money/business and "you owe me" is what creates this. In the case of the Government employees, most of these people are taken from the welfare rolls, so you have a poor starting point and then they know that they can't be fired.

Live in Mexico for awhile, its a lot worse and it will get that way here. The big difference with us, is that we care and we will make more money than the competition, but eventually we will get old and tired and sell out. Get your money at closing.

 

[jfmoran]

I think you guys are eating far too much fast food! LOL

 

[rph9168]

On me it really shows.

 

[Randy]

I can’t believe that you guy’s eat that crap!!! I can’t remember the last time I went a fast food restaurant.
When ever I go to Lowes, Home Depot or God forbid Wal-Mart I make it a point to E-mail the corporate office if they pi$$ me off. On the other side of the coin I’ve E-mailed corporate to tell them about an exceptional employee.

 

[captain cw]

I was hungry, but now....... I guess I'll just go to my washes and see if anybody left any dead animals or tore anything up.

 

[cebo]

I can’t believe that you guy’s eat that crap!!! I can’t remember the last time I went a fast food restaurant.
When ever I go to Lowes, Home Depot or God forbid Wal-Mart I make it a point to E-mail the corporate office if they pi$$ me off. On the other side of the coin I’ve E-mailed corporate to tell them about an exceptional employee.

Randy how did that go for you? When I emailed wally they just directed me to a local contact that was not even the manager. She was symathetic, but blamed corporate. I grew up in retail, a home owned Western Auto (I doubt many will remember), spent many a Christmas morning, Sundays (under blue laws), and every other holiday watching my dad opening up before 7 and staying after 5 just to take care of the customer. This was way before the 24 hr shopping experience at wally that now closes at 11. Employees used to give a $hit and have some common sense but thats all over now. I wonder whats happen to critical thinking and common sense in the masses.

 

[Reds]

"Employees used to give a $hit and have some common sense but thats all over now. I wonder whats happen to critical thinking and common sense in the masses." When I opened my last Burger King in 2001 I had to hire people for managers that I would not have hired for crew positions when I started in 1980. The heart of the issue is that employees really don't give a $hit. I had some exceptionally good people working for me, but they were a small minority. If it were not for the people issues (on both sides of the counter) I would probably still be in that business.

 

[pitzerwm]

Why should the customer give a ****, the government has guaranteed them $8-$10 an hour plus great benefits on Welfare, doing nothing. Why put up with you?