I know exactly what you mean. It's funny, working at Starbucks...which, in
a way, you can consider to be fast food...we have company policies about
things like that. We are trained to be wrong, basically.
However, we get reports every week into the store of stories of
dissatisfied customers (in their own words), with things that make me just
raise an eyebrow. Why would you say something like that? Why wouldn't you
do a simple thing like that? Why don't you learn up on your facts more? Why
don't you treat someone like a human being?
It's strange to work in customer service and hear stories like
this...knowing full well situations like yours could be avoided with just a
simple gesture.
Served With Marinara Sauce
11.29.7
Well, here we are at the end of day 6.
So far we've done fairly well in our attempt to quit smoking. I haven't smoked at all, and have easily avoided the temptation to do so. Autumn has been doing great as well (which is good, because I still think my odds of success are somewhat dependent on her outcome).
While the stress has continued, my mood has only been slightly more irritable than usual. I do think that it may have contributed a little to my recent angry encounter at a Sonic Drive-In, though.
I wasn't altogether too pleased with fast food restaurants in general on Tuesday. That morning I had gone to McDonald's for breakfast, only to realize later that they had messed up my entire order. My McMuffin was missing its egg but did include a hard, dried piece of cheese. Also, my drink had ice in it, contrary to the way I had ordered it.
At lunch, when I returned to request a refund, they complied. They were very rude, didn't apologize for the error, gave me cash instead of returning the funds to my debit card (I haven't carried cash in so long that I almost don't know what to do with it), and decided to give me $2.98 instead of just rounding it to three bucks...but they did give me my money back without question.
Having solved that problem, I headed over to the Sonic that recently opened up. I ordered a ton of food totaling around 10 dollars. Having spent half of my lunch break already, I hurried back to work to eat my meal. As I laid out the various food products on my desk, I realized that something very important was missing: The marinara sauce.
Let's face it...mozzarella sticks are practically worthless without something to dip them in. Being given cheese sticks without marinara sauce is like receiving a shrimp cocktail without the cocktail sauce. In both examples, the two things are made for each other. Having initially thought that I had already reached my daily quota of fast food fuck-ups, I was caught off-guard by this disappointing discovery. My frustration was only magnified by the fact that earlier I had almost specifically requested marinara sauce...but had changed my mind when I remembered that the menu itself specifically mentions that it's included.
So, I decided to return to Sonic after work to get the cheese sticks and sauce that I so rightly deserved. It should have been simple.
It wasn't...
I arrived and pressed the button below the menu. When someone answered I explained the situation to them. Naturally, they had to get a manager, so I was forced to re-explain myself to him. This was when he should have simply apologized and told me that a new order of cheese sticks was on its way.
Instead...this fucker chose to start arguing with me. "Actually, sir, the mozzarella sticks don't automatically come with marinara sauce."
I couldn't believe what I was hearing. "Actually, they do," I retorted.
Suddenly, he adopted a high-pitched sarcastic tone, and said to me, "Oh! They do?"
"Yes. They do. That's why it says right here, 'Served. With. Marinara sauce.'"
The logic of the statement crushed his argument. The sarcastic tone melted away instantly. I'm unsure if he had found himself caught in a blatant lie, or if he actually didn't know this basic fact about the business he was running. In any case, he wasn't done trying to fuck me over yet. "Alright. Well, what I can do...I can give you half off another order."
"What's the reasoning behind that?!" I had raised my voice a bit now. "You're the ones who didn't give me my entire order! Why should I have to pay extra to get it fixed?!"
He was about to give in now...but he had one more question to try and slip me up with, "Alright...well, do you have the first order with you?"
I did.
"Yeah...I do actually! They're right here!" I was practically yelling now. I grabbed the bag of fried cheese, held it out the window, and threw it straight down at the ground. Sounding discouraged, the son-of-a-bitch finally decided to do the right thing. He informed me that they would be out shortly with my new order.
As I waited, I wrote a short, concise letter, which I later asked the carhop to give to the manager. It read as follows:
Sonic Management,
It is absolutely ridiculous that you would attempt to charge a customer to rectify your mistake. Rest assured, I'll not bother you with my desire to receive what I've ordered ever again.
Ex-customer,
Brian Cutaia
When I had exchanged the letter for my food, I headed home. As I drove off, I caught a glimpse of the manager reading my note.
As I mentioned...the nicotine withdrawal and my resulting mood may have played a small part in these events, but that's it. The rest of it was driven by my views on customer service. Had I been smoking a pack a day, I still would have gone off on him.
Really, it's relatively easy for a business to keep me happy, and I'm a great customer when they do. There are many services and products which I am very loyal to: Hyundai, Uni-ball, Netflix, the Credit Union of Colorado, Allstate, Second Spin, Conoco and more. It's almost a part of my obsessive-compulsive nature to seek out companies I can consistently rely on.
In spite of this (or perhaps because of it), when I feel that I have been wronged by a company, I refuse to just let it go. I fully expect that they will do whatever is reasonable and within their power to keep me as a customer. They can usually easily satisfy me with a polite apology and a quick resolution. Sometimes the polite apology isn't even required (as in the case of my earlier McDonalds problem).
The second someone refuses to do that simple thing, though...it's over. That's the beauty of the free market. If I don't like the way a business treats me, I have the right and ability to stop giving them my money. I've boycotted plenty of businesses in my time (interestingly, a majority of them were fast food restaurants). I began my boycott of the Del Taco when they refused to replace my drink after giving me sour root beer. The Century 16 Theater lost my business when they tried to make me leave pre-show so they could clean the aisles. Texaco/Shell and Blockbuster Video have proven their unworthiness more times than I can count (for years, I filled my tank only at Texaco/Shell stations...since the last time they pissed me off, however, Conoco/Phillips 66 has received my business).
Some might say that these are all little things that don't matter much...and they may be right. That's not the point, though. To me, this is all about principles...and if we can't stick to our principles, then what else do we have?
Let's face it, though: I'm gonna be hell to be around with when I'm 80.
Woogs [11.30.2007]
Mooney [12.09.2007]
Im kinda in the same situation as woogs, but rather than it being a fast
food place its a service that we provide.
i work as a car valeter(washing, polishing, ect. cars not parking them).
but the guy that i work for skimtps out on what the customers pay for. eg in the gold valet we do for £25 we vac all the interior(inc boot), clean the plastics, wash the oput side redress the tyres and polish the windows inside and outside.
but the majority of the time we dont polish the outside(i know its only a little thing). we still wipe the windows with a cloth and usually they are fine but i feel that the customer is paying to have it done and we should do it even when it doesnt need doing. i wouldnt want to pay £25 for someone to do a job and not do it how promised.
thats not the worst thing sometimes we get people that want the works doing on thier cars(shampooing seats, full polish, the lot) but the car will have a mint exterior that doesnt need polishing, so we dont do it but my boss will still charge the person for it.
i just dont think its moraly (sp?)right. i try to do the jobs as they are told but most of the time i just get grief if i do the stuff that doesnt need doing.
thinging about starting my own company, but they guy i work for is one of my friends, new him for years before i started working for him and it just feels like if i do ill but stabbing him in the back.
End.
xxx
i work as a car valeter(washing, polishing, ect. cars not parking them).
but the guy that i work for skimtps out on what the customers pay for. eg in the gold valet we do for £25 we vac all the interior(inc boot), clean the plastics, wash the oput side redress the tyres and polish the windows inside and outside.
but the majority of the time we dont polish the outside(i know its only a little thing). we still wipe the windows with a cloth and usually they are fine but i feel that the customer is paying to have it done and we should do it even when it doesnt need doing. i wouldnt want to pay £25 for someone to do a job and not do it how promised.
thats not the worst thing sometimes we get people that want the works doing on thier cars(shampooing seats, full polish, the lot) but the car will have a mint exterior that doesnt need polishing, so we dont do it but my boss will still charge the person for it.
i just dont think its moraly (sp?)right. i try to do the jobs as they are told but most of the time i just get grief if i do the stuff that doesnt need doing.
thinging about starting my own company, but they guy i work for is one of my friends, new him for years before i started working for him and it just feels like if i do ill but stabbing him in the back.
End.
xxx