"it is all about the customer"

We hear all the time in training for the food industry that "it is all about the customer." I agree, it really is, but what about the ones making your food, coordinating the way your food is made, scheduling people to be there so you can be served? Does the general public take advantage and abuse the restaurant industry? I say, YES!

I have work for a couple different fast food places in my day. My family has a history of working for various fast food chains some as step up jobs and some as careers, as well as my friends and I am saddened and sometime sickened by the selfish attitude of many the customers. After returning to fast food again recently for employment, I am still seeing the same issues from 20 years ago just like when I was just out of high school. So, I have decided to try and help. Here are some things that will help not only your blood pressure from skyrocketing while you are trying to get your dinner, but you will find your service "with a smile" will be more and more from those serving you. I will focus on the fast food orders although some of these can very well be applied to any place serving you food.

1. Patience is a virtue.
   We are stressed more than you can imagine. Orders are filling the screen, we are being timed on how long the whole process takes us to take the order, make the order, and serve the order. We really do want you to have your food fast and accurate, please understand that it takes several minutes (more for special orders) to get things done. We beg you to be patient with us. 
2. Know what you want.
   Before you step up to the counter, or just ask for a moment before you start placing your order in the drive thru. Once we start pressing buttons the stress of getting that order completed in about 15-20 seconds starts counting down. After being in the food industry and seeing/understanding the stress I now will take a seat at a table, or pull off and park so I can write down my family's order that way I can walk up with a clear order ready. With 7 of us, it is going to be lengthy and the longer the order the more room for errors. (This also applies to items ordered specially made.) 
3. When we get it wrong, please let us know with respect.
   When an order is messed up, it isn't always the front counter person's fault. Please don't "bite our heads off" because you didn't get your added sauces or received the onions you specifically asked not to be there. We want you to be a happy customer that comes back and if we make an error let us make it right for you and not feel like we have just been slapped with your words or those eyes that are burning through us. If contacting a manager, please let them know what we did wrong, but give them respect so they can walk away respecting you. I promise that they will be addressing the error with the person(s) who were accountable. Yelling and cursing at them isn't going to bring on more wrath to the employee because they aren't allowed to yell and curse at us. It just stresses them out more making the whole place tense. And no one wants to work with a tense and stressed our co-worker. 
4. Pick up your trash.
   Don't let lil' Johnny throw his food and then leave it. We are not allowed to hand you a towel to wash a table or items to manage clean floors, of course that is our job and we take pride in a tidy restaurant. But, when a guest comes in and leaves a huge mess and a littered floor, we have to step away from other tasks to clean it up. I know you are already paying very high prices for your food, but we are not scheduled to bus tables like a family style restaurant.
   This also, and especially, applies to a restroom visit. Please don't leave tissue on the floors, remember to flush, and wash and dry hands thoroughly before leaving. Usually most places that I know have a standard 30 minute check for restrooms. Well, that is a long time for certain items to be left waiting and it is rude to us, but mostly rude to the next person who needs to go and can't because of the mess. 
5. Call ahead.
   Stop in to get our number or look us up online. Add our phone number to your favorites, or just save it to your phone and call ahead for large orders or special orders. This helps give us time to get your order ready and you just pay and go. Everyone is happy. One of the worst things is when someone is in a hurry to get to work or return to work and gets stuck in line behind the mom with lots of kids and a long order. 
6. Compliment. 
   You may not realize it but we LOVE to hear things like thank you, have a nice day, see you next time....anything that is nice. If you don't want to hear grumbling, then we don't either. If you don't have something nice to say then don't say anything at all. We don't know you are having a bad day, grieving the loss of a loved one, or just having a bad day, but those things aren't our fault, we just want to know we are doing a good job. (Besides, if I know you have something bad going on, I would want to stop everything and hug you. I know there their are others who feel the same about customers. We really do care about you.)
7. SMILE! :)
   This makes SO much of a difference. I have had customers who tell me they can have a worst of days, but when I smile at them, they can't help but smile back. WOW! That makes me feel amazing that just me greeting them with a smile can encourage them or brighten their day. Well, guess what? So can yours. Maybe I am there serving you while my child is home sick without me. I might be working 3 jobs to make ends meet and with aching feet, sore back, feeling terrible, your smile can make me feel special, valued and not taken for granted. Smiles are contagious and that is the only thing contagious we want spreading around our place of business! :) 
8. Use the 800#.
   I think the use of the toll free numbers are greatly misunderstood. Each store has a General or Store Manager, an Assistant Manager, then shift managers. When having trouble or getting terrible service, please start at the bottom of the chain and work your way up, unless it is a positive comment. We need to have more positives go straight to the top, but for getting problems solved it is actually more efficient to start with a manager inside that store. Other wise working down the chain of command is harder to track backwards delaying getting the results you want. (Of course there are rare situations that just need to be called in and I am not talking about those.) One more thing I think that many don't understand here is that many food chains are franchises. Corporate is still in overall control, but the local owners need the chance to handle things before corporate is brought in. (This is also why you can find one special at one place and not at another.)
9. Waste not....
   Please only take what you need. Supplies are not free. Napkins, sauces, ketchup, ice, fountain soda, straws....these things still cost the business and it all adds up. Taking 20 napkins and using 2 then leaving the rest of the table is still a waste. We can't put those back...they are trashed after you leave. That might mean you have to get up during your meal and get more of something, but just that alone is saving us LOTS of money and there for keeping prices lower for you. On the subject of saving money, remember too that the person behind the counter or over that speaker has no say in what our prices are for your food. We also run understaffed many times because of illness, family emergencies, or even training newbies and the more minimum wage goes up, the more you will pay for it in purchases. I know of one restaurant in particular that struggles to even stay open because they can't hire the help they need and not raise prices so high to afford a full staff. Sadly, this stresses our staff and customers. 
10. Exceptions to the rules...
    We understand that things happen, questions need asked, misunderstandings take place. All these things do take more time and need to be fixed. It isn't all about us, our times and our happiness, it really IS about customer satisfaction. We want a well rounded relationship with our customers, we want you happy and fed and our staff happy and ready to serve you accurately. I also understand that some privately owned places or even corporate run locations have owners/managers that aren't making the place a great place to enjoy your meal. But, we hope that the ones that work hard are the ones you will return to and trust. The customer is always right, but we don't want walked on, taken advantage of, and misused.

I hope this helps our customers see a "bigger picture" to what is happening in the process of getting fed. I also hope this inspires employees to take an extra step in customer service. I love seeing people happy and satisfied in life and that goes for not only those getting their bellies full, but those who are preparing, cleaning, serving, and managing restaurants.

KNOWLEDGE really IS POWER!

"Enjoy your meal and please come back and see us soon!"