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The Customer Service Problem at McDonald's Is a Symptom of a Much Bigger Problem
1. Create shared emotion around delivering a great customer experience.
2. Keep simplifying work processes and rules
3. Invest more in tools and training.
4. Reward and recognize great service.
What DeRose doesn't suggest? Paying the employees a living wage. Instead, he spends his time blathering about bullshit PowerPoint terms like "wow stories" and "customer mania" and "creating memories." If you treat your employees like garbage, they're going to treat your customers like garbage. McDonald's shitty pay doesn't even get a mention in DeRose's article, but a program where "employees nominate each other for a series of pins" is suggested as a fix. Fucking unbelievable.
http://slog.thestranger.com/slog/archives/2013/05/08/the-customer-service-problem-at-mcdonalds-is-a-symptom-of-a-much-bigger-problem
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irisblue
(36,871 posts)and insurance at an affordable cost for workers.
Marie Marie
(10,921 posts)They are probably made in China at slave wages.
KansDem
(28,498 posts)
"Believe in America"
tanyev
(48,703 posts)whereas your salary just gets wasted buying stuff you need.
SirRevolutionary
(579 posts)The 1%ers just don't get why their employees are less than enthused to "create memories".
Maraya1969
(23,421 posts)NEW YORK (AP) — McDonald's more than tripled the pay packages last year for its new CEO Don Thompson and the man he replaced, Jim Skinner.
The pay increases from the world's biggest hamburger chain comes during a challenging time for the industry.
McDonald's, based in Oak Brook, Ill., gave Thompson a package worth $13.8 million, up from the $4.1 million he received in 2011, according to a regulatory filing Friday.
Thompson had been serving as chief operating officer and took over for Skinner in July. The 50-year-old inherited the top post at a time when McDonald's is facing intensifying competition at home and difficult economic conditions around the world.
================================================
If I was making minimum wage working for this guy I'd probably not be in a good mood either.
louis-t
(24,575 posts)to "attract quality people" but the same doesn't apply to their workers?
Flatulo
(5,005 posts)
forthemiddle
(1,459 posts)In 1985 I was "Window Person of the Year", along with multiple Employee of the Month rewards at our local McDonald's. That was while making $3.15 an hour while in high school. I still have the plaques to prove it.
I didn't do it for the huge salary, although extra pay would have been appreciated, I did it because I have always been taught that taking pride in doing the best damn job you could would take you places.
This isn't a "boot straps" post. It is a post to remind each and every person that you don't need to be paid a "living wage" to be courteous of others. For God sakes, the customer does not set the wage scale, but they are the ones that will suffer, and not come back if they get lousy service.
The attitude on this thread does not endear me to the future of this country, because if I ever had some punk kid server at McDonald's treat me like crap, and turn around and say "Well if they paid me more, I would be nicer", I would be calling the owner of that franchise and demand the firing of that employee.
Have a decent work ethic, and you will have a more fulfilling life. Money would make it easier, but I don't know if it would make it better.
Flame away.............................
heaven05
(18,124 posts)figures. no understanding. If you were in high school, you were living at home. In my area, not a lot of high school kids in fast food restaurants, just people struggling to live. Yeah, you fire them instead of offering living wage, health care and respect. You'll make a great CEO one day.
by this reasoning, highly paid employees treat people better? Not in my expereince. The little snot at the McDonalds window is the future CEO. And yeah, minimum wage should be higher.
Having worked at McDonalds and in retail, part (not all) or the problem is that these people are treated quite badly by customers. My manager at McDonalds was a really nice guy. The customers? Not so much. I tried to be nice to everybody, but it was hard sometimes. With young, untrained kids at the windows you get attitude.
do understand working with the public. Did it most of my working life, took eight years off to drive 18wheeler. Fund raising for high schools , bands and teams, post office, sears, men's clothes and hard lines. I have run into that attitude of which you speak. They still are a lot older now, the workers, and if treated with respect and esteem, most people will give it back. A living wage would help out immensely. By the way, you did misunderstand my post. Sorry if I wasn't clear.
SammyWinstonJack
(44,313 posts)
Aristus
(71,714 posts)We live in a market economy. If you want employees who take pride in their work, and constantly strive to do a better job, employee pins won't do it. You have to pay them a living wage.
When an employer pays his people minimum wage, what he is saying to them is: "I"m only paying you this because the law prohibits me from paying you less"
Sooner or later, a minimum wage employee is going to realize: "Hey, my boss doesn't value the work I do; why should I?"
And you're left with this: "welcometogreaseburgerhowcanihelpyoutoday?"
There is an economic system where the workers are expected to give 100% without thought of a living wage, incentive pay, benefits or medical insurance. It's called 'Communism'.
In a capitalist economy, if you want high-quality labor, you have to pay for it.
KentuckyWoman
(7,374 posts)"In a capitalist economy if you want high quality labor you have to pay for it."
Aristus
(71,714 posts)
Welcome to DU.
Where in Kentucky are you? I used to live on Fort Knox...
KentuckyWoman
(7,374 posts)Fort Knox....... so what was it like to guard the gold. haha
I'm about 150 miles southeast of Lexington in the mountains. Closest town is one nobody ever heard of and the biggest economy is yard sales. None of us has much but most of us have enough (just) and we wake up in the mountains every day.
I left when I was 20 and went to Cincinnati thinking the grass would be greener. Now that I'm 50 I realized I can water my own grass so I've come back.
Aristus
(71,714 posts)
I've been in your area a few times. Mostly on funeral details to bury a veteran from the region. It was a quiet place, from what I remember.
jeff47
(26,549 posts)The idea is if McDonalds paid more, they would hire better employees. Not that their current employees would magically improve - some would, some wouldn't. Those that wouldn't would be replaced, since their hiring pool would contain better workers.
You get what you pay for applies to employees too.
gollygee
(22,336 posts)I worked at McDonald's a bit while in college, making $3.35 an hour, the minimum wage at that time. Still remember that the temperature the fry machine was at was the same - "335, the same amount you're getting paid."
But I worked for extra money to spend for fun. I wasn't raising a family on that pay. I can understand people having trouble keeping a smile on their face when they're working that hard and not making enough to even begin to make ends meet.
SomeGuyInEagan
(1,515 posts)Of course, for us, it was the fries & shakes station.
Good job with flexible hours for a kid in high school and later in college.
However, I was not raising a family and my college tuition was state-subsidized to a much, much higher degree than today's college students. But I do remember when guys from one of the local manufacturers were coming in to apply after their jobs (with very good wages and benefits) were eliminated during that great Reagan economy we hear so much about. It was rare then to see someone that age working nights and weekends at McDonalds but is commonplace today.
Iggo
(49,677 posts) Egalitarian Thug
(12,448 posts)
zipplewrath
(16,698 posts)Mill work ain't easy, millwork ain't hard
Millwork most often is a god damn awful boring job....
'Cause it's me and my machine for the rest of the morning
For the rest of the afternoon
And the rest of my life.
Working jobs in high school, or summers in college is to know you're getting out.
I worked a factory job in college. It was hard, boring, mind numbing work.
I worked with "Zombies", people who had been working the lines as long as I had been alive. They were going to be working there long after I was gone.
My nickname was "college boy", it wasn't a compliment. They knew I was getting out. I knew I was. They knew they weren't.
It's easy to be critical, when you're the one getting out. Empathy made me see things a tad differently. When I first hear this James Taylor song, I knew the person singing, I had seen their face.
Yes, but my life has been wasted
And I have been the fool
To let this manufacturer
Use my body for a tool
I can ride home in the evening
Staring at my hands
Swearing by my sorrow that a young girl
Ought to stand a better chance
If MacDonald's wants better employees, I suspect they ought to instill them with the belief that they'll have a "better chance". That probably starts with a better wage.
HangOnKids
(4,291 posts)Rex
(65,616 posts)You miss the point...not the first person that has happened to.
Shrike47
(6,913 posts)They probably know they wouldn't like the answer.
Chan790
(20,176 posts)then when we asked to be paid like actual coffee professionals instead of fast-food workers they ignored it and kept going like we hadn't said it.
CreekDog
(46,192 posts)pay them minimum wage and they'll resent the company and sometimes even the customers at a place where they can't afford to eat the food they serve.
BillyRibs
(787 posts)or something livable.
lunatica
(53,410 posts)Does it boggle your mind that people deserve to get paid enough to live?
Ikonoklast
(23,973 posts)Pay crap for wages, get crap attitude from workers, pretty simple actually.
Employees don't want "Attaboys!" from management, "Attaboys!" can't buy a pair of shoes or pay the rent.
otherone
(973 posts)in Newburgh the workers have all been nice in my limited experience.
WeekendWarrior
(1,437 posts)how I can go to Costco and get wonderful customer service, where the people at the checkout are always very friendly and efficient.
Oh, and Costco somehow manages to do BETTER than a living wage and actually cares about its employees. Imagine that.
Stewland
(163 posts)I was at the Costco in Brainerd yesterday and as I sat eating my pizza and yogurt I watched the cashiers and thought to myself,"These people are so friendly and thoughtful towards their customers that I prefer to,shop there for much of my needs. Any company that treats it workers with a living wage and benefits deserves success. I am glad to contribute to their success and feel glad to do so.
snappyturtle
(14,656 posts)given for a Costco just 60 miles away. Had to go to Fargo or Duluth for a Sam's....not my favorite
but better than other choices. Yes, I have since had Costco in Minneapolis and
Houston...employees always very nice...patient.
Hey, Welcome to DU! Hope you love it here as much as I do. I got hooked in 2005
after some heavy lurking!
NickB79
(20,254 posts)I'm amazed you guys have one too all the way up there! We used to drive up there from Little Falls every year when Paul Bunyan Land was still open (loved hearing Paul welcome me by name when I was a little kid 
)
cui bono
(19,926 posts)lunasun
(21,646 posts)Imagine that.
Everywhere
SammyWinstonJack
(44,313 posts)
LooseWilly
(4,477 posts)Working for McDonald's is really just charity work after all... right?
Scout
(8,625 posts)could they pay more? yes. but one accepts the crappy job for the crappy wage, and it's not that hard to be polite to your customers. and yes, i worked at McD's as a teen. it wasn't my first job, but i did not have to be taught to be courteous for fuck sake. "how may i help you? please, thank you, come again, have a good day" wow, how difficult, how stressful!!
and it's not as it if it's a sweat shop.
jesus h. fucking christ.
hobbit709
(41,694 posts)I can remember first starting to work way back, even a low end new employee got a lot more respect from his bosses than they get now.
It's hard to have a positive attitude when all you get is shit from above.
mountain grammy
(28,712 posts)and they pay most employees minimum wage. McDonald's jobs aren't second jobs, or part time work for teens anymore. They are the second largest employer in the US. When this is your job, and there's no way you're gonna pay the rent, much less eat on this pay, your attitude takes a beating. I don't think you've thought out what you're trying to say.
Every job should pay a living wage. The minimum wage should be around $12/hour, at the very least! These are billion dollar corporations and their full time employees qualify for food stamps and medicaid.
AAO
(3,300 posts)mountain grammy
(28,712 posts)obxhead
(8,434 posts)and replace it with a maximum wage.
Written quite simply: Your most well paid employee, consultant, etc etc etc, may not be compensated more than 25 times the lowest paid employee. Compensation defined as any form of cash, stocks, medical care, housing, auto etc etc etc.
HiPointDem
(20,729 posts)lunasun
(21,646 posts)If these fastfoodworkers' wages are not stopped and made fair then it has nowhere to grow but unto other sectors as you show.
So folks can say the fast food retail worker is not their problem now but wait a while
gollygee
(22,336 posts)It's not bad money for a teen, but fast food and other low wage service jobs are very often held by people who have greater responsibilities than that now. Adults with children and rent and grocery and heat/electric expenses.
Hassin Bin Sober
(27,392 posts)I live in the city of Chicago. All the McDonald's employees I see are in their 30s and up. Maybe late 20s.
Leave it to DU's bootstraps brigade to chime in. Ever notice how the older they are, the better they WERE?
dem in texas
(2,681 posts)yes, I have noticed that, most of the people working in fast food places are not teens anymore. These are the working poor you read so much about.
iamthebandfanman
(8,127 posts)in a bad manner ( why anyone would do that and hope to keep their job, ill never know.. )..
BUT for a lot of places, fast food and restaurant work is frankly all the work there is to be found ...
we are service industry based economy now 
as I said to someone else down below..
my city of 10k people had 8 factories just within the last 10-15 years ... we are down to one now.
sometimes you take a job because you have to... because you want to eat and live. lol. its not always a choice as it was for you.
LooseWilly
(4,477 posts)Once you get down toward the minimum wage jobs, there's always another somewhere and there's no way to get a cut in pay in the process.
So, who gives a shit if you lose the job?
The only reason to care is if the people you're working with don't suck. The sad part is, whenever one hits a patch like that, it's bound to be short lived... and it doesn't take all that crappy of a boss to make a crappy job crappy, rather the opposite- it takes a pretty spectacular boss to make the place somewhere that you might give a shit about being fired from.
Ironically, those bosses are usually the ones driven out by their own bosses.
SunSeeker
(57,625 posts)Calculated in real 2012 dollars, the 1968 minimum wage was $10.51.
http://oregonstate.edu/instruct/anth484/minwage.html
tblue
(16,350 posts)Do you remember the "7 Window Steps"? It was clearly outlined what we were supposed to say and do and Customer was the Boss.
I learned to give and to expect great customer service by working at McDonald's.
But McD's must not train their employees the same way they used to. They sure don't treat customers the way we used to. (I'm a veg and don't EVER eat there now, but simetimes I get a coffee or an iced tea.) Of course they should pay them more. The minimum wage should be higher. But there's no excuse for crappy customer service, and few business understand that.
Because nothing outside of work ever affects what you're thinking, or doing, or how you are behaving at work right?
How hard is it to be polite, when you're going home to a stack of bills that are unpaid, you can't buy the things you need, or you're about to be evicted for the second time because you don't make a living wage.
By all means though, be polite and don't let anything in your life affect your burger experience.
Worked at Hardee's for a few years--they are messed up, barely have enough payroll, don't pay anything, you work more hours as a manager, yet when you calculate it you're still making minimum with time and a half, except they give you half-time.
And they feed you and employees brainwashing BS, that no one buys, because anyone with an IQ over 75 knows it's BS. And no, you can't motivate them with money.
And we had a few attending school, but most of the people that worked there were wives, first, or second income families, not kids. So that myth is busted, used, and stinking.
caseymoz
(5,763 posts)Rather than middle aged and embittered. If you were looking forward to being at McD's or another fast food place for the rest of your life and knew your wages would never rise above 130% of minimum wage, let's see what happens to your disposition, and how much you appreciate the customers.
Fact is, if people had been surlier about fast food in the '70s we probably wouldn't be in the mess we're in now. As it is, they indoctrinated people like yourself to appreciate rolling over for the man. (Wasn't the first expression I was going to use) and thanking him for all the virtues and lessons learned. The only thing fast food teaches people is to obey. That's the only thing they taught back to the '70s. Now multiply that by an entire generation on indoctrinated habits, and here we are.
liberalmike27
(2,479 posts)That it isn't just the right-wingers that are indoctrinated by our media.
Besides, everything the corporate media puts out there is right-wing, well to the right of the first Bush anyway. And that includes the corporate left. The corporate right, well, let's just say Hitler would be proud--they really are full of poop.
It is true, which is one reason I'd like to stick to older politicians, as most people under 40 haven't even seen a better way, grew up during that nut Reagan, and in truth, Reagan and the ideas ushered in by incipient "Think Tanks," developed in the 1970s, financed by the Coors and Scaife families, is directly responsible for the destruction of America, the America that still included a dream for us all, and not just a myth-full America, that has a small class of the uber-wealthy, and the rest of us subservient pawns, to be sacrificed on a whim.
HangOnKids
(4,291 posts)And it is stressful. But thank the stars that you have this all figured out, what would we do without you? Would you want your children to work at McDonalds today?
L0oniX
(31,493 posts)with mommy and daddy anymore or god forbid have to share an apartment with 3 others ...like I did. Mean while they spend everything they get for the scene and have no food in the frig. They haven't learned that if you accept the terms of the job you have no right to complain about it later. I guess I was just stupid for starting at minimum wage of $1.35 an hour as a dish washer and worked my way up to wheel cook in 1 1/2 years. Of course ...I didn't have mommy and daddy to fall back on when I was 18.
Warren DeMontague
(80,708 posts)It's still poop.
JDPriestly
(57,936 posts)Pay well and expect loyalty and good work including friendly service from your employees.
Trader Joe's employees are the greatest. They are also paid well. It shows on their faces when you go in the stores.
I am not related to any Trader Joe's employees or owners. Don't know any of them personally. But I appreciate their courtesy, kindness and consideration. They are the very best.
SunSeeker
(57,625 posts)Which just shows that you can keep prices low without having to pay slave wages.
JI7
(93,260 posts)usually large franchise type places always getting the order wrong.
but when i go somewhere like in and out which is said to treat employees well i never have a problem and so maybe there is something there.
AAO
(3,300 posts)
Sorry to laugh, but it's a franchise here in CA. In-n-Out Burger.
In high school the kids used to get the bumper stickers and cut off the "B" and the last "r" in burger so it said "In-n-Out urge". It's funny when you're 15-17.
olddots
(10,237 posts)The initial cost of robotics is high but pays for itself in a corporate hell sci fi movie plot.
Corporations are not people ,they get to a point where they loose sight of reality ,their goal of turning customers into robots isn't working .
iamthebandfanman
(8,127 posts)or we will truly have no jobs to be found 
DotGone
(182 posts)
Matariki
(18,775 posts)
MrScorpio
(73,761 posts)Spitfire of ATJ
(32,723 posts)
And they comply with wage and vacation laws there and manage to suck out a profit.
But American workers are seen as STUPID and accepting of less and less to stop that nasty "anti-freedom socialism".
iamthebandfanman
(8,127 posts)its either take it or just don't have a job.
in my town of around 10k people, its literally the only work to be found now (with the occasional government or office work)...
we have one factory left in town now (there were 8 just 10-15 years ago)...
its no wonder its tolerated by workers... they are just happy to have work..
Spitfire of ATJ
(32,723 posts)If you got fired at the mine you might as well leave town because nobody else wanted you.
JVS
(61,935 posts)Did you know that Germany does not have a minimum wage?
Spitfire of ATJ
(32,723 posts)KamaAina
(78,249 posts)
Spitfire of ATJ
(32,723 posts)
marmar
(79,305 posts)...... during his presentation at City Lights bookstore in San Francisco.
Here's a link to the podcast: http://www.citylightspodcast.com/chris-hedges-discussing-days-of-destruction-days-of-revolt/
The Kinko's bit is just after the 1:08 (1 hour 8 minute) mark.
PADemD
(4,482 posts)marmar
(79,305 posts) marmar
(79,305 posts)
iamthebandfanman
(8,127 posts)ive never had TERRIBLE service from a mcdonalds.. atleast not our local one. usually they are very quick to remedy any complaint you have (about food or service) from my previous encounters...
BUT
that being said..
of course they deserve a higher wage.
all fast food, restaurant, and any low wage earner service provider...
its mostly what our economy is about these days... so itd only make sense to life those folks up (would be regardless tho lol)....
I still say its time to start cracking down on whod rather outsource than pay a decent wage...
there should be laws that state a corporation cant sale its good in the united states without having an operating manufacturing plant of said product within the united states...
that way maybe some of these people can move on to more/different/better work instead of being stuck in the food industry for the rest of their lives (which is a demanding industry for workers.. they are definitely over worked and under appreciated)...
tclambert
(11,187 posts)What about wearing "flair?" Can we do the "flair" thing? And I would burn the place down for a red stapler.
(That's a reference to the classic movie Office Space. )
Apophis
(1,407 posts)tclambert
(11,187 posts)Could I paint tiger stripes on my face? Now, THAT would be expressing myself.
backscatter712
(26,357 posts)
kimmylavin
(2,296 posts)“I used to work at McDonald's making minimum wage. You know what that means when someone pays you minimum wage? You know what your boos was trying to say? 'Hey, if I could pay you less, I would, but it's against the law.'”
How much effort would you give to help those who feel that way about you?
SammyWinstonJack
(44,313 posts)Exactly what Chris Rock says, if they could pay you less and get away with it, they certainly would. 
bucolic_frolic
(54,126 posts)Whenever you leave the drive up window at a fast food joint,
CHECK CHECK CHECK the merchandise you've been given.
At two different national chains, I was shorted, once very
embarrassingly.
Seems when the burgers or buns or fries or patties aren't ready -
and there is a line of cars - MOVING THE LINE ALONG is more important
than filling your order in its entirety.
CHECK WHAT YOU ARE HANDED. Many are shorted!
brett_jv
(1,245 posts)I can't tell you how many times I've heard Joe Pesci's voice screaming that in my ear as I went through the bag I rec'd and found it lacking in the ONE THING that I'd really went to the place for ...
Sage words. I always pull into the parking lot to check my order nowadays, unless it's just a couple things in my order such that I can look through it before I even drive away from teh Window.
Of all fast-food places, I've found In-And-Out to have the best customer service, and the most consistency in making my order 'right' ... but then again, apart from drinks, their menu consists of roughly 2 items (e.g. Burgers and Fries), so it's probably easier to not screw up an order at that place vs. a place with tons of options like Jacks.
And although In-and-Out offers my favorite fast-food burger (and fries too ... the only place that offers FRESH potatoes that I'm aware of), overall Jacks is my favorite fast food chain due to their variety of offerings. I wish they still had their Supreme Nachos though, those things were pretty bomb when you had the munchies. Also miss their old Chicken Supreme, served on the wheat bun, with a slice of swiss and slice of jack (processed cheese, but still pretty tasty .
XanaDUer
(12,939 posts)Worked tons of places where a stupid piece of paper declaring an employee this month's special person or somesuch nonsense is standard. Google the Corporate Bullshit Generator for more corporo-speak terms like "paradigm shifts" etc. yup. Living wages and decent bennies fo more towards better service but those cost $$$
uppityperson
(115,997 posts)Came up with the idea to give nurses a pin saying "we appreciate our nurses" rather than adding staff of increasing wages. We were not impressed and told management what to do with the pins. Politely of course, but they knew what we meant. I think unionization was starting there then also. Those stupid pins and high paid Consultant got the union a lot of nurses joining.
DeSwiss
(27,137 posts)
- Precisely.
K&R
retired rooster
(114 posts)Employee's are like anythings else in this country, you get what you pay for.
LarryNM
(495 posts)
rurallib
(64,567 posts)Whether it be the checkout at a grocery or the MickeyD or the retail sales floor or the nurse in a hospital. And each and every one has several little Napoleans above them making their life miserable.
vanlassie
(6,221 posts)is go to In N Out (here in Cali-not sure where else). Employees are Well Trained and paid more than minimum wages. I have one near my home and have been to many others. They are UNFAILINGLY cheerful and NEVER get the order wrong. They double check it, out loud with the customer. Good Training and better wages is an excellent recipe for success. Those other places can cry me a river.
formercia
(18,479 posts)Want to know who comes up with these shitty ideas? These fuckwad Bean-Counters who try to justify their existence on the backs of the lowest-paid workers.
xtraxritical
(3,576 posts)present them to "management". Bookkeepers (commonly called bean counters) are usually, also, minimum wage people. The marketing department comes up with the stupid promotions and gimmicks.
onpatrol98
(1,989 posts)Not to mention, if they're eating at McDonalds they probably have a crappy wage, too. Why should we be rude to each other. It's the owners screwing them. Customers are how you keep your job. This seems a bit short sighted.
Unfortunately the 99% spend more time fighting each other than we do the 1%. And we wonder why things are the way they are.
WHEN CRABS ROAR
(3,813 posts)I can hear it now, "aren't we having fun now, how many pins do you have?"
RB TexLa
(17,003 posts)icarusxat
(403 posts)Only the fools who claim to believe in God deny his/her ability to provide for all of us. Opium for the masses anyone?
jeff47
(26,549 posts)Hopefully, some management might pull their heads out of their asses long enough to realize shitty wages are actually costing them more.
laundry_queen
(8,646 posts)though it's no doubt part of it.
I live/lived in several areas with the same issues - a serious shortage of people who wanted to work at minimum wage. McDonalds HAD to offer much more than minimum wage in order to attract any employees at all (generally retirees and 14 yo kids). The service still sucked, even at $15/hr for starting wage.
I'm more inclined to think it's the corporate culture (and yes, low wages - even relatively low wages that are high in some other parts of North America are part of that) and the entire prevailing attitude of senior management. Of course they aren't going to point at themselves as the culprits - but that's a lot of it. When you treat your employees as nothing more than peons, expect them to take shortcuts.
And there is the theory also, that when employees don't get what they perceive as a fair wage, they will act in ways to 'make up' for that difference. They will put in minimal effort, they will curb rules (example - eating 'wrong orders', taking home TP from the janitor's closet), they will shirk their duties - whatever it takes to level the playing field. It can have a large effect on productivity in a company with mostly low-wage workers, especially if the senior management is perceived as rich/detached/indifferent to the plight of the workers in the company. I think that is likely a large part of the problem with McDonalds. It's not necessarily the wages but the GAP between workers and management that is important. (I really like the idea of chaining minimum wage to CEO compensation - bonuses and stock options included of course...)
Corporations and their bean counters all too often neglect to take into account the costs of low wages. Initially it looks great on the financials, but then you get costs that aren't accounted for that pop up - 'silent' costs. The cost of upset customers, the cost of loss of 'goodwill', the cost of loss of productivity, the added costs of high turnover and continuous training, the costs of loss of highly qualified franchise owners...and so on. Unfortunately business schools neglect to teach 'big picture' thinking. And also, in this day and age of trust fund babies taking over mommy and daddy's corporations, you see a lot of mismanagement. Anyhow...that's getting off topic....
curlyred
(1,879 posts)laundry_queen
(8,646 posts)
RagAss
(13,832 posts)L0oniX
(31,493 posts)tables were dirty ...carpet was filthy ...asshole punk who tried to seat us said "I didn't do that". Great ...stupid fuck! You'd think the idiot would be accommodating and quickly apologize and seat us at another clean table. Some how they don't get it ...I'm the one with the money! It's not a damned privilege to eat at your dirty fucked up restaurant.
Fearless
(18,458 posts)Try asking excuse me I know you're busy but could I have my table wiped. Funny thing is people do actually get busy and that attitude does not solve problems. How would you like it if people acted that way to you?
cui bono
(19,926 posts)Fearless
(18,458 posts)The self entitlement is staggering.
L0oniX
(31,493 posts)and good food ...that I pay for. I am glad you are not waiting on my table cause I'd have to lower my expectations. I worked from dishwasher to bus boy to backup up to wheel cook at a 4 star steak restaurant. I started out at minimum wage. I know what I am talking about. You obviously don't.
Fearless
(18,458 posts)I know exactly what I'm talking about. These people are your fellow human beings and they are ENTITLED to some respect and dignity. A dirty table isn't a big deal. It gets cleaned. They are not servants beneath you. They deserve your respect.
L0oniX
(31,493 posts)Obviously you manage a dignified respectable 5 star slime pit. Good luck with that!
Fearless
(18,458 posts)I would happily clean it myself if requested. That is if they ask nicely. If they insult my staff they can take a long walk right out my door and I'm perfectly fine with that person or those people never spending a cent in my restaurant again.
L0oniX
(31,493 posts)Fearless
(18,458 posts)olddots
(10,237 posts) L0oniX
(31,493 posts)we were at another restaurant last night and my wife asked if the good cook was on duty because he does a great job with fish ...so I say ..."hey maybe he should go work for Red Lobster" ...and the couple next to us started laughing and said "yea they need a good cook". We talked a bit and they said the food was not very good at that that same location Red Lobster. I wasn't surprised about that.
L0oniX
(31,493 posts)do the job. WTF I am the one with the money paying for service and food. Nice that you can go make excuses for them to not do a good job. Maybe they just had a bad momma or a bad day. ...and BTW the place was not busy ...but go on with your assumptions ...and you are welcome to eat at a dirty table and be all polite and not upset the employee. Seem like people with your attitude are the reason why these bad employees keep being bad ...cause no one speaks up about it to them or the manager. pfffft
Fearless
(18,458 posts)Frequently the door person is NOT the person who cleans tables. Frequently you can't see from the door if a table is clean. Frequently they are told the table is empty and assume it's clean. The server or a busboy/girl usually clean tables. Additionally, you could very well have come into the restaurant right after a large rush. Tables weren't necessarily just sitting there dirty, but rather the staff is beginning to clean up after a very large number of guests who came in at approximately the same time. Someone may have called out and it was short staffed.
And I AM the manager of a restaurant. And 99 times out of a hundred when someone comes to complain about something like this there is a very valid reason. I'll tell you a secret about the manager. They stand there and act all concerned and genuine. While really the only thing they're doing is getting you out of the restaurant before you make a scene. The fact is you don't know. You jump to conclusions and act self-righteous.
People who work these jobs are people too. And they work harder than most people.
L0oniX
(31,493 posts)I'd gladly never patronize your establishment. I'm the one who is spending the money which is why your in business and have a damn job. You obviously have no clue.
Fearless
(18,458 posts)Just the same as I would happily help any staff member who needs help. I do wash dishes. I do cook. I do serve drinks, take orders, talk to guests, solve problems, manage budget, and solve staffing problems and concerns. I am very good at this and very successful at it as well because I RESPECT everyone in my restaurant. From the guest to the lowest paid employee. Every person deserves basic human dignity. The people who spend money in my restaurant are decent respectful people who understand that we aren't there to SERVE them as an obligation but as a courtesy. I have a job because people like the way I run my restaurant. I am honest and kind and treat everyone with the respect they deserve. I do have a clue about how to respect people and how to run a successful business. Thanks.
snooper2
(30,151 posts) L0oniX
(31,493 posts)ZRT2209
(1,357 posts)Apophis
(1,407 posts)because I was getting minimum wage and didn't give a shit. Giving low-wage employees pins or other stupid little rewards isn't going to help an employee give a damn. Better wages will.
xtraxritical
(3,576 posts)
bluedigger
(17,402 posts)
bhikkhu
(10,789 posts)and believe that they are good people. I've worked in various fields, but the one common denominator is that people who hate people give lousy customer service, and people who like people give good customer service (assuming the tools to do so are in place).
Oddly, this is also the general definition of "liberal vs conservative", where conservatives think people in general are not much good, lazy, unintelligent, dishonest, and undeserving. The liberal viewpoint is most simply defined as a worldview where people are generally good, hard-working, thoughtful, and honest. And deserving of more than they get, usually.
The corporate culture at the top does tend to trickle down, so you can often tell what kind of politics the owners have by how the lowly treat you.
And there's nothing worse than shopping at or working for a company full of people who hate their customers. Pay the front guys more is a good start, but the whole thing can be like a cancer that's pretty tough to get over.
I agree...I always try my best to give excellent customer no matter where I've worked. And, sometimes, it's been to really nasty customers. But, it makes my day, when a really nasty customer recognizes that they've been out of order and straightens themselves out. In fact, the worse their behavior, the bigger my smile. By the end of some encounters, we emerge on better ground. Sucky wages does not equal right to mistreat people.
Yes, I've gone to work worried about bills, marriage, kids, health...but in every circumstance it wasn't my client or customer who caused the problem. Plus there's a difference between one bad day and a chronic nasty attitude. When a place just generally has poor customer service, I tend to blame management.
WinkyDink
(51,311 posts)bhikkhu
(10,789 posts)I know a bunch of them, and most of them are pretty good people. The job can make it difficult, peer pressure can make it difficult, and employer attitudes can either reinforce or discourage customer-directed misanthropy.
nikto
(3,284 posts)Is what currently controls and guides Public School "Reform"---- all over the US.
There are no students or teachers, only "Stakeholders".
Blah blah blah
KKKorporate Bullshit.
Fearless
(18,458 posts)Do is work for about thirty minutes to make an employee feel valued. After that wears off it is replaced by numbness. It isn't that employees are being rude they are being numb. Its a sense of hopelessness. A form of depression. Like wanting to curl up in a ball and not get out of bed in the morning but realizing that you can't eat and won't have a bed if you don't. If you don't know the feeling consider yourself lucky. If you do I'm so sorry.
cui bono
(19,926 posts)a good employee.
Rise Rebel Resist
(88 posts)maybe if these wacky zany bastards where on the pay of the staff, that get crap from the public and the jobsworths just above them. things may change?
Hugin
(37,475 posts)As a cure, I suggest that the elite try living on the common wage they provide for a year and see if their employees don't seem more human at the end of that time.
I personally have eaten at many different McDs in many places over many years and I can't say I've ever met up with poor customer service. Harried, yes, but, nothing shocking.
I have to wonder if this current crisis isn't due to some parties wanting to temporarily drive the stock price down so they can get some of that action.
Hugin
(37,475 posts)
Locut0s
(6,154 posts)I worked in 7-11 for 4+ years as an assistant manager and saw my fair share of people go through the store, hired some myself. My mother has worked in retail for most of her life. I came to realize that hiring a white person was riskier on average that hiring someone of another ethnicity. People of filipino decent were usually the best. And no I'm not talking about hiring people to use them for low wages or working them to the bone. I mean the basic qualities you expect out of people doing their jobs. When assigned to clean the coffee machine for example, you actually clean it, not some 1/2 assed wipe down. And when confronted about something that wasn't done properly you actually say why it wasn't done, perfectly fine with me if it was too busy to get X done, but please don't roll your eyes like I'm your mother asking you to clean your room. Again I know people may not like to hear it but this is my experience from actually hiring and working with people. And I'm not saying that we shouldn't raise the minimum wage or that low pay doesn't lead to bad service. We should and it does. But there's bad services because I've been asked to work 10+ hours for too little. Which DOES happen far to often. We DO need higher pay. But then there's bad service because I have to work this crappy job when I'd rather be out partying.
Moostache
(11,009 posts)I think if someone in St. Louis did that for my order that I might just be compelled to tip them a $100...
harun
(11,380 posts)
AngryOldDem
(14,180 posts)...mainly at the drive-through, where she took more than her share of shit from customers. Her manager was a real piece of work, too. She would most often work to close, which could mean she would get off exactly at midnight, or the boss could keep her there until all hours "cleaning up." A lot of her co-workers were there only when they felt like it, so she often had to multitask.
Every so often, people would offer tips, which employees aren't allowed to accept. But if they're going to be paid shitty wages, then why not let them have the occasional buck or two?
She hated every minute of it and couldn't wait to get out. She had another fast-food job before McDonald's, and that place was much worse. She was hit on, offered drugs, etc...but such is the life of a minimum wage restaurant worker.
vankuria
(963 posts)There is a class action suit against a local franchise owner for "time-shaving". The owner of 13 McDonalds here in Upstate NY is accused of having his supervisors regularly alter the workers hours without their knowledge. Sometimes it was a small as 5min. or as large as an hour. The employee that complained was paid a $1000 to compensate him for lost wages, however the time-shaving continued. When the employee complained again he was fired.
So not only do they pay crap wages, they illegally take away time.
customerserviceguy
(25,406 posts)there is a local chain called "Burgerville USA". They do pay a decent wage to their people, and provide health insurance as well. It really shows in the way that their employees treat customers. Also, they try as much as possible to use locally sourced products, especially when they are in season (love the Walla Walla onion rings!) and they actually have separate bins for customers to put waste on their way out for possible recycling.
I've seen #'s 1-4 used all the time as an excuse not to really do things better.
Auggie
(32,912 posts)Actually, the parent company, called The Holland, is privately-owned. But there's the story -- no shareholders, no quarterly dividends.
annabanana
(52,802 posts)exactly the way the company treats them.
Who is this so hard for those dumb MBA's to understand?
cbdo2007
(9,213 posts)I worked at McDonald's about 15 years ago for 1 year and 95% of my coworkers were great and 5% were assholes. There are going to be assholes in any company no matter how much money they are paying.
WinkyDink
(51,311 posts)cbdo2007
(9,213 posts)you can tell the difference between the good workers who want to be there and get satisfaction out of doing a good job, and those who have to be there and are just putting in their time.
Incentives should be performance based rather than just given out for showing up and doing a shitty job with the *hope* that a bad worker will just snap out of it one day and turn into a good worker.
lunasun
(21,646 posts)this whole industry sucks anyway imo
This is an old movie/book but shows what still goes on with the food and people although it is more about the bad health risks and the making of the food and meat processing by low paid workers
it shows what is done for a profit and the book is much better than the movie like a modern day version of The Jungle by Upton Sinclair
......a little off topic but it came to mind
gollygee
(22,336 posts)McDonald's employees are treated as disposable. They work hard but are not paid enough to make ends meet. They are treated like temp employees, and behave like temp employees. What people give to an employer is often based on what they're getting.
jeff47
(26,549 posts)More money lets you hire better employees, and fire the bad ones. "You get what you pay for" applies to employees too.
cbdo2007
(9,213 posts)are more likely to take chances on people that other companies don't take chances on so that helps them to justify the lower wages. McDonald's, Walmart, etc. employee people I would never hire at my company in a million years, even for no money, but that doesn't mean there isn't a place for them in the work force. I'm glad they are able to find a job and hopefully that job will help them succeed and they can move on to a bigger/better job someplace.
jeff47
(26,549 posts)the "bottom of the barrel" employees figure out they have to do better on the job. Plus, there would still be lower-paid jobs for those who don't.
The point is if you said "My clothes keep falling apart", the answer wouldn't be to ask Cheap Clothes, Inc. to have happy thoughts. The answer would be to buy more expensive clothes. That same logic applies to employees.
cbdo2007
(9,213 posts)with more money because they do a better job, I dont' see how this doesn't prove my point.
jeff47
(26,549 posts)cbdo2007
(9,213 posts)That's what it was like when I worked there. If you did a good job, you got a raise. If you didn't do a good job, you didn't get a raise.
jeff47
(26,549 posts)Wal-Mart, McDonalds and all the other very-low-wage employers typically do not offer significant raises.
A few of them offer a raise after a "probationary" period. After that, you generally don't get a raise, or you get a trivial raise (Oooooo! $0.10 an hour!! Where will I spend my extra $4 a week?!).
cbdo2007
(9,213 posts)you do a good job, you get a raise and you get promoted. I know because I worked there and that's what happened. Within 1.5 years I was promoted twice and received three raises. Other employees with bad attitudes got 10 cent raises and wanted us all to feel sorry for them for doing a shitty job.
jeff47
(26,549 posts)15 years ago was the the dot-com boom. McDonalds was suffering a large worker shortage.
They don't have to be decent to their workers anymore.
WinkyDink
(51,311 posts)
Jennicut
(25,415 posts)I got verbally abused a lot on a daily basis. It's almost worse over the phone because it seems less personal to the customers calling. I sort of understood it as these people rarely could get to a manager and just took it out on whoever they could talk to first. Whenever I go to McDonald's , Dunkin Donuts or any restaurant I try to be extra nice. At my local Dunkin Donuts I have gotten to know some of the regulars there and they tell me I am the nicest customer they have had. These people don't make a lot, if they get an order wrong I calmly point it out and it gets resolved.
Vinnie From Indy
(10,820 posts)Somebody should ask this dumbass if he knows any landlords that take "flair" in lieu of timely rent.
Bake
(21,977 posts)Then the employee isn't going to knock himself/herself out for the customer.
It's just that simple.
Bake
Enrique
(27,461 posts)on the other hand, I bet this DeRose character is the biggest asshole anyone ever met.
Clouseau2
(60 posts)In order to motivate the .01%, you must pay them more, a *LOT* more. To motivate people working close to minimum wage, you must pay them less.
It's perfectly logical (in the right wing universe, that is).
OnionPatch
(6,313 posts)Funny how that works, eh?
jmowreader
(52,917 posts)Every fast food joint out there advertises "flexible scheduling." This is supposed to mean the company will try to accommodate the worker's life. In reality it means the employee's schedule will change every day and he/she can't plan ahead, make promises to the family or, if necessary, get a second job. That worker behind the counter with the thousand-yard stare going "welcome to happy burger how may I help you" in a dejected monotone not only makes minimum wage, she opened the store this morning after closing it last night...and last night was the night she had requested off three weeks ago because her husband was coming home from Afghanistan then.
Pay is only part of the problem. Fast food workers and retail workers aren't allowed to.have a life.
Fearless
(18,458 posts)snort
(2,334 posts)"You want fries with that?" The Musical!
Singing and dancing employees sure would enhance the customer experience.
noiretextatique
(27,275 posts)in spite of 1% propaganda to the contrary. companies like to waste money on consultants snd pins, but they will not consider raises for employees.
AndyA
(16,993 posts)That's because the best people will find other jobs that pay them better. Occasionally, you come across someone who gives their all at a job, even though their employer doesn't recognize it or pay them adequately to retain them.
This creates a constant influx of new employees, to replace those who found a better job that pays more. The only consistency of customer service is poor, since constant training slows down service and new employees will make mistakes until they're more seasoned.
Circuit City is one of the best examples of what happens when a company dumps employees who have product knowledge, and can answer customer questions with a degree of authority. Replace them with a team of minimum wage people who don't know about the products being sold, and don't really care because their main focus is on finding a better job with higher pay.
I think executives should work anonymously one day a month at one of their locations, just to see what the jobs are really like. They'd discover in short order that all the "feel good" crap they rain down from above means nothing in the real world. Awards, honors, pins, etc., are great in theory to recognize good performance, but mean little when the employee is worried how they're going to put food on the table when they get home.
I'd predict higher profits with happier, more helpful people taking care of customers. The experience would be more pleasant for the customer, and they'd likely patronize the business more frequently because of it.
Response to phantom power (Original post)
Name removed Message auto-removed
Flatulo
(5,005 posts)60+ hour workweeks with no overtime pay could get a few lucky souls... Wait for it...
Movie tickets!
Scootaloo
(25,699 posts)If I wanted to remember a meal, I wouldn't be ordering it through a box outside my car window.
KennedyBrothers
(70 posts)I admit I eat at McDonald's more than I "should." I probably go to Mickey D's at least once a month, usually through the drive-through window.
At any rate, I started doing a little experiment in late 2011. I started asking for a specific number of ketchup packets rather than just asking for "some ketchup."
My findings? On only one occasion out of at least 20 visits to a McDonald's has the employee given me the exact number of packages I asked for, which is almost always "three." On every other occasion, I have received anywhere from four to 13 packets. Yes, 13. I counted them.
That's very minor in the big Mickey D's picture, but it seems like that is something the company could work on as a whole, both in company stores and those operated by franchisees. If customers say they want three ketchup packets, given them three, not four or more. Some McD's do not even give ketchup unless asked, which is fine, but giving more than requested is just a poor business practice all the way around.
And yes, Mickey D's, I accept gratuities for my suggestions. I estimate my idea will save your company at least $100,000 a year, so I'd be happy with a $50,000 thank-you note. Contact me through DU.
kwassa
(23,340 posts)a perhaps apocryphal story of the text on a note tied to a brick and hurled through the front window of a McDonalds on Waterman Ave, near the Brown University campus in Providence, Rhode Island. Approximately 1972, or so.
Flatulo
(5,005 posts)One thing among others that I didn't note was how many workers earn slightly above the minimum wage but are still hopeless non-self sufficient. If you make a nickel above minimum wage I guess you're set for life.
BainsBane
(57,436 posts)Pay employees crap, treat them like shit, and that's how they treat customers. It's not rocket science, but their greed interferes with common sense.
wickerwoman
(5,662 posts)When you make a job so easy someone with the IQ of a hamster could do it, you're going to have a lot of bored employees looking for ways to act out.
I've always been a pretty straight-edged employee of the month type but the job before my last one was so excruciatingly, mind-numbingly, hideously boring I actually started hallucinating on a few occasions. It was soooo hard to raise even the slightest enthusiasm to greet coworkers. I just slogged through from one tea or bathroom break to the next.
The way to increase morale and pride without increasing wages is to give people more power and control over their work, not less.
olddots
(10,237 posts)is an employee has to feel that they have a stake in their job and that they can learn the trade to improve their life.
This is one reason life sucks then we die.