Monday, November 10, 2008

the service crew

my dad taught us to be polite to people especially those who provides customer service. he told us he was once one and he knows the shit they have been going through. fortunately, my dad became successful when he shifted to the maritime industry and later on to politics. but he will never forget his first job as a service crew in a fast food chain when he went to manila.

i can say that i have carried over that attitude up to now. regardless, how poor the service crew is with his/her job, i never fail to give them a smile and a heart felt "thank you."

admit it or not, there job is not easy as it looks. most of the time, they are even required to do multiple tasks for a very minimal pay. not to mention that most of them are even contractual for crying out loud. but still they force themselves to give out a warm smile.

if they mistakenly called you mam or sir, just smile back and greet them with their name. most of the time, hearing your voice call their attention and they would apologize and smile back. you really don't need to give them the frown, tone or the litany because their service don't really change regardless if you are a mam or a sir.

if they served you with the wrong order, just calmly inform them about the mistake. believe me, they will never take it against you. sometimes, they will even give you compliments for the unintended mistake.

for me, the least thing that i will do inside a food establishment is to mess around with its crew. no one knows what a crew can do to the food that they will serve you. they can spit on it, wipe it on the floor and even prepare it with spoiled hands.


i actually feel bad whenever a customer shouts at a service crew and what is more aggravating is that when a customer begins to transgress her frustration from the quality of service to the personal ones. i witnessed one before and the sad part was, the customer was even a close friend. i tried convincing her that she shouldn't do that. but she didn't accept my advise. she kept on ranting me that its the only thing that they do, why can't they perfect it?
i asked her, if she have ever tried being a crew once in her life. but she just kept quiet. then couple of months ago, i received a message from the same friend and informed me that she is currenlty working as a bartender in las vegas. i thought, probably by now, she already understands what i am pointing at before.

i never believe that a customer is always right. a customer only gets what she pays for. nothing less and nothing more. what she is paying for doesn't buy him/her any person, life or even something that is impossible. the tender or exchange is anchored upon certain rules and limitations. thus, it doesn't mean that since you are paying, you can expect everything from that establishment especially to the crew working for it.

***
last night, i went to a nearby convinient store near our office. i noticed that the crews here in makati are more socially interactive with their customers and relatively lively than the ones in cubao, katipunan or elsewhere.

one of the crews' popular protocols is suggesting additional product/s like the ones crews among fast food chains in mcdonalds, jollibee etc. do. but sometimes there are some crews, especially those who work near our place, that give out outrageously funny suggestions. i guess, they are just too sleepy to notice that they are already giving out canned suggestions, that are really out of this world.

for example, if you buy a sandwich, they'll ask if you want to buy a lighter. if you buy a slurpy, they'll ask you for gum, if you buy coke, they'll ask you for juice. there are just so many weird combinations that i could no longer remember becuase of my almost every night encounter with this certain crew.

but there is one incident that really left me rolling on the floor. one night a man infront of me, asked for a box of condom. the crew took one from the cabinet, gunned the condom, then asked, "banana, sir?" the man was left aghast and said a hard, NO!


the response caught the crew's attention, that made him figured out, he just pulled off a worng question. i already felt my stomach turning as i forced myself from not busting out to laughter. when the man reached the door, i almost spilled half of the laugh i was keeping inside. it took me almost 4 minutes before i could step off from the establishment and laughed my guts out. while walking i was still laughing smiling, thinking that the crew really made my day.

25 comments:

jamie da vinci! said...

ahahahaha! that happened to me as well. but in my case, i was THAT man. the girl over the counter asked me which flavor i preferred out loud for the entire store to hear, this despite me asking her to get me a box as discreetly and as nonchalantly as i could...

she was cute... but i really wanted to murder her right there and then!

ah... memories :)

gillboard said...

I'm generally nice to service crews unless iserve nila ako ng nakasimangot.

I jokingly tell them, that they have to smile. Kahit gusto ko silang sapakin.

JedMeister said...

"the customer isn't always right but they are the KING..."

mabait nmn aq s mga service crew pero the thing i hate the most about them is when nagtataray na kahit na ang friendly ng approach mo... i hate it!

Dabo said...

im guilty... im guilty and GUILTY!!!


I agree with jedmeister.

Tristan Tan said...

Im usually nice to service crews (and customer service representatives) but of course when their incompetence shows that's when I change my approach. At the end of the day, we are all expected to do our jobs well, dont you agree?

mikel said...

-condom, please.
-do you want banana with your condom, sir?

LOL :D
er, i am sometimes mean especially if the service is not that ok.

Niel said...

"there are some crews...that give out outrageously funny suggestions."

Sometimes they are required by management to sell specific products. I was told (by an unreliable source) that they are penalized if they did not reach the quota.

lucas said...

ang hirap nga ng trabaho nila...i have friends who worked on fast food chains and their testimonies were very sad... kaya hindi pumasok sa isip ko magtabaho sa fast foods kasi mahina ako sa multitasking... bilib ako sa kanila :)

hindi pa naman ako nagkakaron ng encounters na ganun pero siguro kapag gutom na gutom na gutom nako baka masigawan ko nga sila..ahehehe...

peace out!

Abou said...

ha ha naalala ko tuloy kaibigan ko na bumili ng isang saging na Dole sa andoks kahapon. tinanong pa sya kung dine-in o take out. ano ba ang mangyayari sa saging kapag dine-in o take out. hay. baka me ibang presentation na mangyayari sa saging.

Dear Hiraya said...

mareklamo akong tao pero hindi pa naman dumating sa point na niratratan ko ang mga crews.. usually idinadan ko sa mas maayos na paraan gaya ng pagsasampa ng complaint sa email or hotline nila hehehe..

impernes... natawa ako sa dulo hahahaha

http://fjordz-hiraya.blogspot.com

Joaqui said...

I make it a point to say "Hi" or "Thank you" or "Welcome" to the service crews. It's a simple gesture that acknowledges them and somehow make them feel that they are appreciated. Although at times, I may falter. hehehe :)

MakMak said...

Nice one Wanderer! :)

Unknown said...

masyado yatang mahaba ang pasensiya ko sa mga incompetent na service crew. huwag lang nilang itaon na tagalan ang service nila pag gutom na gutom ako at baka sila ang kakainin ko. hehehe

Savage Heart said...

Hahaha naman!!! I love this post.. napa tawa talaga akow... ☻

ika said...

naalala ko tuloy yung frend ko na oa ang turing sa mga service crew.

"Penge ngang ice para dito sa kapi. ang lamig lamig para maging coke na."

. said...

Basta hindi ako naabutan ng gutom... medyo mahaba-haba ang pasensya ko. Syempre, being good to them entails a lot of perks. Hehe.

Sa KFC.

"Miss yung hot and crispy chicken (tama ba)" smiling.

"Pwede po yung malaking part?"

"Thank you." smiling again.

"Would it be alright to ask for a bigger cup for my gravy, favorite ko kasi gravy niyo eh." smiling pa rin.

Most of the time, it works.

mikel said...

i agree with mugen. smiling works. and the pleases and the thank yous. in some other world it is considered flirting. puwede na rin para sa thigh part na malaki at extra extra catsups. ehehe

Bulaang Katotohanan said...

hay sometimes people forget that its fast food sometimes at parang may service charge at pa-tip kung umasta, i always smile and say please to them even to the point na sinusulat ko yung order ko para mabilisan na service na lang.

i remember kasi what my friend told me about his crewmates peeing on the ice container (sabay salok sa baso bago nilagyan ng softdrinks) para magantihan ang isang bastos na customer.

TENTAY™ said...

smile smile kapag magaan loob ko sa svc crew (haha choosy!)

seriously, pag may nasalubong ako, pag magaan loob ko, automatic nagssmile ako kht aso nga nginingitian ko. LOL...

hindi din ako naniniwalang cust always right. kalokohan, nobody's perfect nga diba? haha.

Poipagong (toiletots) said...

"what she is paying for doesn't buy him/her any person, life or even something that is impossible"

- i love this line.

Sa fastfood, turo ng daddy ko, is to bus my own table. I'd usually keep my tray and after eating, would pile my stuff neatly and if possible, place 'em on top of the bus/ trash counter.

Sabi ko nga lagi pag me friend na nagsusungit sa crew. "Bakit, never ka nagkamali sa buhay mo?"

Teka, baka naman tama ung crew tlga, and was just asking what flavor. Pero syempre ung imagery ng banana at condom medyo off. hahaha! That sets "sariling sikap" in a very different light.

Chyng said...

agree with toilet thoughts.

mahirap ang work ng service crews kaya if you can, ikaw na maglinis ng pinagkainan mo. simple gestures mean a lot. lalo na yung owrd na thank you. sabe ng fren ko kahit gnao cia kapagod, it will make him smile if someone apprciates yung service nia.

Mrs. Spin's said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Mrs. Spin's said...

banana ba naman ang itanong e...kainis..hehehe=)

Anonymous said...

hahahaha! very funny experience ;-)

but i agree, politeness to these people is a must. sometimes though, there are service crews who, for no reason at all, suddenly have a tantrum while serving you --- yun ang nakakainis minsan.

Eben said...

Dati rin akong sevice crew sa isang fastfood chain and yes, hindi po madaling pagsilbihan ang mga customer dahil iba't ibang karakter ang makakasalamuha mo...