UNITED STATES—Customer service just feels like it is getting worse by the minute these days. I could do a column on various things, but I specifically wanted to focus on customer service at fast-food establishments. I was recently at a fast-food drive thru and the service was so horrid, I know, and I made a mental note in my brain to never visit this place again.
Look I had no trouble placing my order at all; that process was easy and smooth, you know what wasn’t easy or smooth, getting my order. After placing my order, I go to the next window to pay for my order, and I expect to have my order within a few minutes. No, not this time around.
I’m waiting, I am waiting, I am waiting, I am waiting and it took nearly 25 to 30 minutes. I do not kid you America that wait was brutal and my blood was boiling. I’m waiting to see if someone is coming to the window. Nope, no one was coming to the window. No one came to note that your food would be up shortly. What was frustrating was peering through that window and seeing movement, but no one taking action to make something happen.
Finally, about 25 minutes later, someone comes to the window asking if I received anything. Hmm, my initial response was to be a smarty and say, “If I received something I wouldn’t still be waiting here, now would I?” However, when you’re dealing with fast-food establishment you want to be careful, you never know how people might respond and what they might do to your food as a result.
I said, “No.” Then, someone comes behind that person to deliver a bag of food. I grab the food, and I check the bag thoroughly because considering how long I waited the last thing I wanted to endure was NOT having everything I paid for. Sorry, but not sorry, the cost of fast-food today is beyond brutal. The worker thinks, all is good, but then I say, where are the drinks? Seems they forgot we paid for drinks. They go to get the drinks, one of the lids was not properly secured and it spilled in the car. Frustrated to say the least, and then the bozos didn’t even give us straws. What am I supposed to do, drink from the cup?
It was just a horrid experience that tainted my mind about this fast-food establishment. They have never been great, but this particular establishment just did not care one single bit. Terrible customer service always reminds us that getting good customer service is a bonus, not a requirement. You are not guaranteed to receive it and if you do, you should thank the powers that be. Did I feel something for the workers? Not quite because it felt more like they were goofing around than actually taking their job seriously.
You might say how can you say such a thing? I can say such a thing because I worked in the customer service/retail industry for a number of years. I have experience; I know how it operates and if people think it is as easy as it looks, they haven’t worked in the industry. I like to give people grace, but when I realize you’re simply doing nothing because you don’t have to, it says something about your character and the job you’re doing. Quality customer service is something we all want, but in the world we live in today it is a rarity to get it.
Written By Jason Jones
