I was just
at Wendy's and saw four people who rather freaked me out. I could not figure
out if they were upper management, buyers, or sellers. After they were about to
go outside one want over and gave a big hung to one of the workers. As they
chatted the woman outside looked annoyed and agitate even checking her watch. I
guess she was annoyed that the woman was keeping them from looking at the
outside trash. Their movements were like reptiles. I wondered again as I watch
one of them come in and straightened the rug what they were up to. Then they
went and stood in the bathroom doors talking about the bathrooms. It was
strange.
I had enough
so I called out to them and asked them what they were up to. They said they
were upper management and they were doing some inspections. I asked, “Really,
is this place somewhere I should worry about?” They looked a little shocked at
that and said, “No, this is a great place.”
“Good.” I
replied, “I have been in KFC and McDonalds where I literally slid across a
greasy floor to the counter to order food.” They laughed at that.
I then stated, “You four sort of are freaking
me out. I see you looking under the garbage and moving rugs.” I pointed at one
of the men, “And this guy was straightening rugs out before you all came back
in.” I went on… I mean, it was creepy – like, if I saw you all in here again I
would walk out.” Again, they looked shocked. One laughed and tried be a bit
softer and asked “Why?” I straight out stated, “It looks like you are just
looking for something wrong so that you can fire someone. I felt the high
tension the minute I walked in.”
I mentioned
I was lower, lower, management… Meaning --- The customer.
The manager
then appeared and she looked a bit butch to me. I am not judging her but with
her hairstyle and the way she moved it just seemed that way. I pointed out to
her and said, “She’s doing a great job. In Fact I bet my daughter may get that
same hair style someday.” We exchanged a bit more and then I added, “You look
stressed, like you don’t like you job. At least try to look like you’re trying
to enjoy your job.”
As they
walked away, the manager with the cool hair came by again instructing a little
old lady in how she should scrub out the garbage can containers. I felt sorry,
as the little old lady seemed like she could not even bend down to do such a
job. Even more, she seemed to be rather stressed. I told the manager that I
appreciated her and that we received our food a bit too fast – so fast that we
were still standing there just after we ordered and my daughter did not get to
hear her nickname be called out. I wanted them to call out ccrocks! I told her
that it was the personal touches like that that made me want to come back to a
place.
You see, a
place of business needs to read the customer and take notice of how they
present themselves. I felt stressed, as I could not tell if these four people
even liked their jobs or were reptilian aliens who had never seen a Wendy’s
before. If I, as a customer, walk in and sense this anxiety, I may not return.
This is what I told them.
After they
walked away I turned to a fellow customer who seemed to be amused by our
exchanged. I stated, “ I guess I just had to bust someone chops today – why not
upper management.” He laughed at that. When we drove away, my daughter asked,
“What does, ‘bust someone’s chops mean’?” I replied, “It is a way to remind
someone they are also human.”
BTW- This
Wendy's is one of the best ones in town. It is also, where they train the
managers for their other stores. They hold this one on a much higher standard
than all the rest.
I bet there
is a lesson in all this concerning the Church… let me know what you think.
