Rage Against The Assembly Line

I agree. I always smile when people approach me no matter what state they are in. I say this with a big heart because I work in the entertainment business and I see thousands of people per day. Ticket taking is another form of the assembly line and I am always nice and smiling. I guess this could be a reason why more people know my name then I know there's. I have been doing this for a long time and I am rather bored with it and trying to make a career change.

I understand the changing it up. In my writing for PRSA Tech I find myself NOT changing things up and in the end it sounds formatted and dry. I totally get that.

I like how you changed this up from being about an assembly line to creating better content and service for the consumer. Great work!

Chris,

This post, to me, is more than a simple “rant” – It's an example of what I believe to be the most inspiring thing about the '2010 Web'; the continuing shift of power from corporations to consumers.

If I were a Subway franchisee, I'd make sure that every one of my employees was aware of the fact that their next customer might be a guy with 90,000 Twitter followers.

Chris, you are absolutely right. I think people forget that without customers there would be no business and hence no job! Customer service with a smile and with a focus on them is what distinguishes one business from another and keeps a customer coming back! Managers have to be more in tuned to training their employees in this regard.

This is a classic example of why its important to focus on creating a great customer experience – All The Time!
I had a similar experience at MacDonalds some years ago. When I asked politely about the length of time my order was likely to take as I was on my way to catch a train, the surly response I got was, “Its not my fault you came at rush hour.”
I've never forgotten it. Over the years I've used it as an example of abysmal customer service. And I've never been back to MacDonalds again, even though they are only a mile away from home. In my mind, MacDonalds will forever be associated with rude, uncaring staff. Its tough to undo that sort of impression – especially if you've alienated the customer completely.

Sometimes, first experiences are also last experiences. Perhaps the answer is recruiting for attitude, perhaps its training – in my view, its both and more. Its the whole company ethos that shines through in many cases. But of course, the up-side is that when you come across a company that gets it right and makes you feel that they really care about every customer – what a great experience that can be!

Thanks for an excellent post. Good reminder for all.

Chris,

I know you're just trying to throw some thoughts around based on your experience, and I appreciate it. Good on you for pointing out that even a $4,10/hr grocery bagger can make the customer experience better. I had a similar experience as a $5.25/hr Customer Service Representative at Blockbuster Video.

For three years during high school, I was the best darn CSR Blockbuster Video ever had. I would help people pick out the best films for whatever occasion they were renting –a date, family coming over, babysitting, etc. Even if I was supposed to be shelving, I would put my stack down and help people find exactly what they were looking for — even if it wasn't on the approved list we were asked to direct customers toward first. My best friend worked there, too, and we would make it a show by tossing videos back and forth behind the counter and bringing an “Italian restaurant” feel to it. It was a ton of fun, the customers enjoyed it, and I have no doubt that our store rentals increased overall.

Don't get me wrong. Working at Blockbuster was a McJob in every sense of the word. It if were up to Corporate, we would have totally acted in the manner that this young lady did at the Subway you visited. In fact, as Blockbuster expanded into more stores, the rules got more strict. You couldn't be away from the front checkout area for more than 30 seconds, you always had to steer people toward certain product, etc.

The question comes back to customer experience. And who is going to deliver that? Marketing? PR? An expensive ad campaign? A Facebook app? None of the above. The customer experience is shaped by the last person on the assembly line: a freckled, chubby front-line customer service clerk.

Chris – I know this young girl. She's a good kid but she's having a hard time these days. Her dad left their home about 6 months ago and her mom is struggling with cancer – breast cancer. Fortunately she is followed by an excellent therapist and she is being treated for depression by her doctor. The drugs are keeping her active but she has a hard time to remain focused on what she does. Everyday she wakes up scared about her day – her life. Thank you for smiling to her – she did not show it but I am sure she appreciated it and it made a huge difference to her. It brought her some hope for a better future. Some light in the darkness of her broken spirit.

Sometimes it is not about you the customer, and how others relate to you specifically. It's just about them, and the rough time the're having. I like your post because it attacks a system, a modus operandi while you smile at the person. It promotes an idea, a principle. I believe we can be ruthless with criticizing an organization or a structure or customer service while showing kindness to the person, the individual. In other times or circumstances this person could be you.

Perhaps the person was having a bad day. Not to say that she is not responsible for her actions however what you are implying is that we be human and humans have bad days. I think how you handled it Chris was the only thing the we all can take responsibility for and that is our own actions. You contributed to the positive rather than the negative with the intention of producing a smile. How many smile less people she must see in one day and then comes Chris with a huge grin. Good for you and as always great thought provoking post.

“Bull. You can be human at any dollar amount.”

Love this. How true. I was an underpaid, overworked Retail Manager, who hated life and every tshirt he had to fold… But the people made it worth it.

Oh, and your $4.10 just made me feel fantastic about my past paychecks. :)

May we realize the power of… being human. (Before we ARE replaced by robots.)

Great observation. I think we, anyone, (getting paid little or a lot) spend many of our waking hours working in the job we choose due to whatever circumstance. If you are choosing to do something that takes up that much of your life, you should enjoy it, and if you are enjoying it that will naturally transfer to the people you are interacting with. The nicer you are to the people you interact with, the more you will enjoy it and the better they will feel when they walk away. Is that the transitive property?

I've worked menial jobs before for little money, and great jobs for little money. (every once in a while I get a great job for great money) no matter what I try to keep a positive attitude, and interact with people around me in a way that it will hopefully have a positive ripple effect.

i so agree with your post Chris. i really dislike when the person waiting on me or serving me can't even muster a smile. or totally blanks me. i get the impression that the customers are a pain and jerks to these individuals.

but you know what is even more galling? is when they treat me like this – but are laughing and giving away those smiles to their colleagues – and even joking with them during serving me. as if i am an insignificant piece of dust lint. ARGH.

if the scenario bugs me enough, and i am no required to go back (such as my bank) i make a point of no longer going to that shop/oulet/restaurant – whatever it is, because of being treated like this.

I thought you were going to rage against the system, but I was surprised. You raged against the people servicing the system, and NOT because they are implicit in preserving it, but because they didn't smile as they worked. “Capitalism works, damn it, so smile for God's sake!” And everyone's agreeing with you. I'm so depressed by the younger generation I could spit.

It's amazing how people react to you can change your day. But I know it works both ways. As someone who has occassionaly greeted the public (in retail) with a smile on my face and a pension to help, nothing is more irritating than to be ignored or dismissed.

Chris, I don't think you should stop these types of posts. They are “true to life” and I think relevant to your Human at a Distance theory..

I don't care where you work or how much money you make. You make the job exciting and fun for yourself, or you do not. It will be noticed.

I worked at McD's in high school, manager in less than 6 months

I worked at a grocery store as a clerk, number one clerk and faster pay raises than any other, after 2 months

And finally in a computer service store where I took the service manager position and was managing 4 technicians in 3 months.

You move up in this world when you take the opportunities given to you at that moment and run with them. WORK HARD and you will be REWARDED…

Chris, this was a great post and I had a similar experience today at the grocery store.

As I was putting my groceries on the belt to checkout I was waiting for the normal 'hello, how are you? Did you find everything you were looking for..etc'. I look for this every time because it's posted right there on their register stating that they should be asking you these questions, in black and white for them to see and you to see.

As a customer service manager I love this concept because they can't escape what's expected of them..it's right there – 5 questions to ask each customer, every time.

This particular cashier didn't even look at me, but I still waited. He continued to ring my groceries up and still nothing. So I finally said, 'Hello! How are you?'. He responded 'fine, how are you?', still without making any eye contact.

He was not having a bad day but incredibly bothered by me and where he was and 100% did not want to be there. Who's problem is this? Surely not mine. On my way out, I stopped by the customer service desk and mentioned that someone might want to check with that cashier to make sure he still wanted to work here. As a manager, I'd want someone to tell me the same of my employees. And as a manager, I'd do better with making sure the staff of the billion dollar grocery chain that I worked for had better customer service skills regardless how much they got paid.

As usual, great points and lots to make me think about

Another good point.. The law of attraction is at work here…

At a lot of places like this, I get the feeling that I'm disturbing them and that as the customer, I'm expected to serve them…not the other way around. Kudos for a good post. btw, looking forward to the newsletter tomorrow.

Chris, this isn't a rage against the assmebly line, it's a rage against the manager. Regardless of what was going on in this woman's life, she was simply responding as she was trained. She was trained to believe that single word, terse replies are okay because the manager did not train her or care otherwise. All customer service is a direct result of what the manager believes to be important. If the manager believes smiles and friendly interactions are important he or she will both train and encourage that behavior while reprimanding anything to the contrary. The manager will surround himself or herself with people who think and act the same way. This isn't an assembly line problem, a human attitude problem, or an individual isolated experience. It is proof that no matter what marketing says, your brand is defined by the person in charge of the experience in your business – the manager or owner/operator.

You're always going to run into people in retail or the service industry that are not really what you'd call a people person.

There are many people that probably shouldn't be front line staff working with customers because of their lack of people skills, but they need the work and probably hate their job. And they are the majority.

Courtesy of Mr. B's post; his comments, and Katherine's | Lisa's | Mike's | Dr. Jean's | Jamie's and so on and so on are right…. Everyone's right, or wrong – predicated on the perspective. Our opinions and actions are often based on personal experience. So I submit that the $4.50 hrly rated individual's minute to minute interactions with the public, conditions how it is they interact with the masses.

For example; how many of us have walked up to a cashier while conversing on a cell phone? Perhaps made the cashier wait, or even the folks in the line that has started to form behind you. Stats indicate that 44% of drivers don't use a blinker. So close to 50% of the driving folks responding to this post are void of that most basic of courtesy to their fellow driver. And what about those of us that have placed a shopping cart so close to the car beside you that you knew once you've left, a whisper would move the cart into another's side mirror. This contributes to all of us moving information through because we're tired or perhaps jaded!

My biggest take away from Mr. B's post was: 'We can do better. All of us. (Me especially.)' We have all become pretty desensitized to strangers around us. Whether we make $4.50 or $45.50 an hour; interaction with strangers are necessary; so too is basic civil interaction. Our customers know when we're on and when we're not.

A challenge for ALL of US, the next time you're in a checkout line, and you ask the cashier 'How are you?', listen to hear if they actually respond, or if their response is canned. How is it that you respond to their inquiry? 'How are you' has become a salutaion that we rarely wait for a response to. Maybe even the next time you're in an eatery, call your wait staff by their name – and if they're name tag-free, ask them. Chris' 3rd quick idea speaks to this. People treat people they know with greater care. Make it personal.

F!@#ing A Judy, right on. You just made me think and I love that.

I can say for myself, that I TRY to make sure I am listening and paying attention to the one I am talking to. I have seen many people do what you say, get in line at Taco Bell and be rude to the other person.

But I still feel that the person behind the counter has to treat each person differently. You cannot take what the last person did to you and force your emotions onto the next. That too is unfair…

So in the end, it will always be up to us to make the experience better, whatever the XP may be. Just like Mr B and yourself “We can do better. All of us. (Me especially)”

It must be the Law of Attraction. Since I am having a great day, you should too. :)

Please make sure to keep that feeling for the rest of your Sunday. And in 3 weeks, we can all be happy that the NFL season is here.

I'm in!!

Is there anything more important than us rising up, given the condition of our world right now? It is up to us…

Judy, let the revolution begin!