Big Bites & Customer Service

In a deliberate attempt to defy the First Lady's healthy lunch initiative, I stopped off a local 7-11 to grab a couple of Big Bites. My expectation? A simple exchange of cash and hot dogs. But things took a bit longer to execute because two of the 7-11 employees were having an animated discussion about one of their co-workers.

I quickly learned that someone named "Dre" really had a way of irritating the two female employees. Apparently, Dre had a habit of not putting a sufficient number of hot dogs and other greasy delectables on the griller. Dre was also guilty of a multitude of other infractions which was ultimately summed up by one of the women who simply called him worthless. Now, keep in mind, I'm standing in line waiting to pay for my hot dogs while all this is going on. Do I really care about Dre's work ethic? Do I really need to hear any of this? Hell no! I just want to take my hot dogs over to the chili/cheese station!

And this isn't the only time this kind of thing has happened to me. My checkout experience is sometimes delayed because the cashier has the sudden urge to discuss her work schedule with her neighbor cashier. And have you ever been in a checkout line and the cashier stops to take a call on her cell phone? Yep, it's definitely happened to me. And did you ever get one of those semi-mute cashiers? You know, the one that scans fifty items and then incoherently mumbles the total price? I hate it when I have to say, "I'm sorry, can you repeat that?" over and over. It happens all of the time, especially with the younger cashiers.

I was in Lowe's the other day and I needed to get a key made. So, I stand in front of the key station, figuring   that someone would see me. I stood there for a couple of minutes, but still no one came to help me. I saw a few employees bullshitting near the tool section, so I decided to move around and do a few stretching exercises in an attempt to get their attention. One guy appeared to look my way but didn't bother to ask me if I needed anything. So, finally, I walked over to the group of employees and asked, "Excuse me for interrupting your conversation fellas, but could someone help me out over here?" One of the guys finally peeled away from the group and, without saying a word, headed over to the key machine. It was like I was wrong for asking him for assistance.

Is Chick-fil-A the only place in America were you can still get service with a smile???

kw