How Do They Get Away With It?

Okay, so in my last blog I wrote about work ethic, or America's lack of it. I read Adrienne's comment and it raises a salient point. How can restaurants, convenience stores, superstore death stars, grocery stores, and small businesses get away with providing such blatantly obvious crappy service?

Adrienne's comment was, and I'm paraphrasing, "If we did our jobs that way, we'd be fired." That's exactly right! If I was constantly late to work, sooner or later (sooner), my boss would say "Adios!" What if I kept a parent waiting in the office that had scheduled a conference with me? And I mean waiting for 15, 20, 30 minutes like customers sometimes wait in a restaurant. That parent would be livid and calling for my head! If I called everyone I met in the office "Dude" I'm guessing I'd be in my boss's office, behind closed doors, getting the lecture of my life.

Yet, we'll put up with cruddy service over and over again. To save 18 cents we'll tolerate 2 open check lanes at The Death Star SuperStore and buy that gallon of cheap bleach or that t-shirt that really wasn't made in the U.S.A.

I guess we've grown accustomed to being dumped on in this country. We make allowances for the bad behavior of surfer dude waiter guy who has to clock out to take a dump and then forgot to wash his hands because he couldn't read the sign above the sink that clearly instructs him to do so before returning to work. Then, he goes back, handles our food, we get salmonella and wind up in an understaffed E.R. waiting to be seen in an endless line of people with the sniffles that just happen to have no insurance and the free clinic has closed at 9 so they booked it over to the hospital that is only on your HMO. Nice!

When will we say no? I mean seriously, when? How long are we going to put up with this garbage? Adrienne and I know all too well the genesis of lousy service because we see it in the form of kids that don't care about the quality of their work in the classroom. Then, they take that same attitude into the workforce with them and expect everyone else in the world to continue catering to their every needs the way school did. Anyone with common sense and a strong work ethic knows that just isn't the way it is.

Sadly, we have managers and upper-level management out there that's just as bad. My daughter works in our dump of a mall in the corner bling-bling store or as I call it: "Shiny Sparkles Things-r-Us." My kid hasn't worked there long, but she's already covering for the ineptitude of her manager and general manager. My daughter is often late to work and when I gripe at her about it she says "so what, my boss is always late and doesn't care if I am." There you go. Her boss is just a few years older and has fewer brains. Scary. The GM is only a few years older than the manager and is worse. I think this company is the write-off company for the parent one. A nice tax shelter.

You can see why these behaviors are so pervasive in the workplace. It starts at the top and flows down to us, the customer. So, next time you have to stand in line, or wait forever for a seat in your local chain restaurant, or hear the Jeopardy song playing while Joe is arguing with his girlfriend on his cellphone while you're trying to check out, pitch a major fit. Ask for the big cheese, if you can find him or her. Call the 1-800 number provided on the customer comment card. Gripe, gripe, gripe. Don't let these bozos off the hook.

And do us teachers a favor...demonstrate to your kids what real work looks like. I know, I know, it's not always easy, but at least try. I'm a teacher and have a kid that THINKS it's all right to come in on HER schedule. Show your kids how it's done and we'll do our best, like always, to reinforce that at school.

Good luck and don't get salmonella!



TFR