I find it very frustrating when an employee is unfriendly to customers. If you have a job that requires you to interact with the clientele, then it is part of your job to be courteous so people keep coming back. Unfortunately, many of the idiots working in shops and stores want to spread their misery to all who they come in contact with.
I can’t tell you how many times I’ve gone into the CVS on Comm. Ave. in Allston, made a purchase, and left the building without an employee saying one word to me. Nothing. No “Hi! How are you today?” ... No “Thank you! Have a nice day!” … They don’t even tell you how much you owe them, for Christ’s sake! They just stare at you blankly and put their hand out, expecting you to read the amount due on the cash register screen.
Those people drive me absolutely nuts. I usually end up making some sort of snide comment and get angry enough to ruin the next 15 minutes of my day.
The other extreme, however, is almost as bad.
The employees at my local Dunkin’ Donuts are overly friendly. Their friendliness destroys the entire purpose of the drive-thru window, which is to allow customers a speedy way to get their coffee without lengthening their commute.
My idea of a drive-thru conversation is as follows:
Drive Thru Guy: Good morning! May I take your order?
Me:
Drive Thru Guy: Sure, drive up.
BAM! Conversation over in six seconds. Back on the road in under a minute.
Unfortunately, this is what I’m faced with every morning:
Drive Thru Guy: Good morning! Welcome to Dunkin Donuts! My name is Robert. Would you like to try a bagel today?
Me:
Drive Thru Guy: Sure thing! That’s a large regular hot coffee, with regular cream and regular sugar. Would you like a donut or muffin this morning?
Me:
Drive Thru Guy: Alright, so that’s just the large regular hot coffee, with regular cream and regular sugar. Okay, your total comes to $2.10. Go ahead and drive up to the next window please, and have a great day!
I mean, really… come on. We both know how these things work. I pull up to the speaker, say what I want and you get it for me. If I wanted a donut or a muffin, I would tell you. There’s really no need for us to drag this on any longer than that. All you’re doing is making me want to go to the Dunkin’ Donuts down the street because they don’t blab on and on the way you do. But then I’d be going out of my way. Damn you, drive-thru guy!
So, I guess what I’m trying to say is… if you have a job where you regularly communicate with the customers, find that happy medium. Please.
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