This ain’t no Southern thing – why ‘training’ is wrong

‘Good morning’ came from about six of the nine people working in this small Southern diner. And then all nine stood there as I sat on a stool to order breakfast. The person whose job it was to take care of patrons at the bar was waiting on someone else.

The other eight, having no customers to wait on, simply stood there and watched. After all, they had said ‘Good morning’ as they were likely taught by the manager. (That’s the manager who was likely told by his district manager to have the employees say ‘Good morning’ to everyone entering the diner.)

This very situation happens in many businesses. It is an indication of ‘training’ a person to do something as compared to educating them.
Training consists of telling the person what to do. Educating is having the person understand what you desire as an end result.

Are you training or educating your employees?

It is only a t-shirt saying but the t-shirt fits from Tom Shay

One of our twin sons wants to purchase a t-shirt with this expression on the front, “I see stupid people”. I tell him he is not big enough to defend the shirt at school. But we do seem to experience it too often. Yesterday’s experience was at one of my favorite diners. Having a late lunch I sat on a stool at the counter near the front door and exchanged greetings with the staff. You know you eat there a lot when you are asked if you want your usual.

Someone came in and sat to my left. Two of the wait staff walked past him and said nothing. As it is a short order grill, at one point a cook did turn and acknowledge the new customer. Finally someone came to take the order. The customer said they wanted their order to go, at which point the wait person told the customer a ‘to go’ order had to be placed at the checkout which was all of 10 feet away.

In disgust the customer said they had already waited to long and left. And then (this is where stupid comes in), the cook and wait staff begin to discuss ‘that stupid customer’, having their discussion within hearing range of all the other customers.

Of course you begin to wonder what they are saying about you as a customer when you are not there, but simply having the conversation was stupid on their part. Telling the customer to get up and place their order at the checkout was stupid. Not waiting on the customer initially was stupid.

Am I to think business is that good that you can tell the customer what to do? Why would any business give a customer a set of rules for behavior when they could have easily given the customer what they wanted?

Excuse me while I go order the shirt because, “I see stupid people”.

How pathetic says Tom Shay

Sitting this morning in the Asheville airport I am watching the most pathetic of small businesses. The snack bar attendee has been on the phone with someone for 20 minutes.

She stops to wait on anyone, but her voice is so loud that everyone knows of and hears her side of the conversation. She is so worked up that she is loud, crying and pacing as she tells someone of her extreme displeasure of working the weekend shift.

My friends, there are too many people out there looking for work. Get rid of these people and hire someone that appreciates a job, and their customers, no matter what day of the week it is.

As your customer, I deserve better treatment than this. If you don’t give me better service, I can find somewhere else to shop. Then you won’t have this problem employee as you won’t have the need for any employees as your business drops.

OMG! She is starting another call to someone to complain to. My flight cannot leave soon enough.

Tom Shay says Southwest may be funny, but

So, how many of you have seen this new Southwest Airlines You Tube video?

Southwest Airlines rap

It may be funny, but there is also a lesson to be learned as detailed in this column I wrote from a trip I took on Southwest.

Always ON by Tom Shay

Tom Shay notes Canadians don’t tolerate slow customer service

Congrats to the Canadians for refusing to accept poor service. If more customers in other countries would do the same, we would find businesses having to do more than give ‘lip service’ to their customers. Enjoy this article from Retail Wire.

Canadians in No Mood to Wait Around

08/27/08

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By George Anderson

Our neighbors to the north have busy lives just as we do and they don’t have time to waste. They especially don’t have patience for somebody else wasting their time.

According to a new online poll of adults conducted by Maritz Research Canada, 86 percent of those responding reported on one or more occasions leaving a store, restaurant or other venue before conducting a transaction because of a long wait.

Department stores were the biggest losers in the poll as 78 percent said they walked away from a purchase rather than wait on a long line. Forty percent reported leaving grocery stores because of a long wait while 54 percent said they were inconvenienced by the time waiting on line at a convenience store – imagine that.

The amount of patience consumers have when it comes to waiting depends on location. For example, up to eight minutes waiting to check out at the supermarket is okay but 15 minutes tears it.

Those who were made to wait were much more likely to forgive a store if some recognition of the wait was acknowledged, followed by an apology.

Rob Daniel, president and managing director of Maritz Research Canada, told The Globe and Mail, that unhappy customers will take their business to competitors and also make their unhappiness known to family, friends, co-workers and others within earshot.

“Close to 70 per cent of customers surveyed told others about their negative experience and half of those polled noted that they had at some point posted a negative experience online,” according to Maritz.

Introduction to employee issues

In this section of the conversation, we invite you to post your challenges with staffing. It can be hiring, firing, staff education techniques or questions about problem employees.