Everybody Makes Mistakes

Everybody makes mistakes, it's a part of the human condition, it's the nature of sin.  So if everyone makes mistakes it's how you follow them up that makes all the difference.  Today is a good case in point.

The last few days I have had some challenging customer service moments.

Example 1: At Church's Chicken in Marshall I waited in the Drive-Thru, I waited longer than anyone would normally wait with nobody talking through the speaker too.  Finally I said, "Can someone take my order?"  I heard back, "Can you wait a minute?"  Hummm, no.  It was late, I hadn't had lunch, I was just going to order a snack, less than a buck and a half, but you know, I'm sharing this story so now you know too.

Example 2: At McDonalds (Marshall south end location) this morning I was at the Drive-Thru (notice a trend, my doctor would be pissed if she read my blog), I ordered, paid, picked up my order, and headed toward Dallas for a big meeting today.  I knew this would be my breakfast and lunch.  So I open my bag and look for my Bacon, Egg, and Cheese Biscuit.  What do I find?  Oatmeal.  (By the way, MickyD Oatmeal has almost as many calories as a cheeseburger, it ain't health food.)  Is that what I wanted?  No.  On top of no bacon it's hard to spoon oatmeal at 70 MPH.  So I go back, ask for the manager, and someone throws a bag of food in front of me taking the oatmeal.  They then turn their back to me and wish me a good day.  So I lost 15 minutes, drove about a buck to a buck and a half in gas, and was treated as if it happens all the time, but at least they're used to it.

Example 3: The computer I'm using right now is at the Hilton in University Park, Dallas.  (This is the conference hotel for the Grace Presbytery meeting.  Not real sure how I feel about that, but it is the closest hotel by a long shot.  More reasonably priced hotels would be so far away the savings would be a wash after driving expense.  So be it.)  This CPU was frozen so I called the front desk.  What happened next, someone apologized and fixed the computer.  Then they wished me a good evening.

The common thread, someone or something goofed up.  The uncommon thread, one of the three took care of me as a customer who was paying money for goods and service.  It's a attitude that is getting lost, and one that I surely appreciate still.  It's what I learned at a Baskin-Robbins in 1978 and still carry with me today.  It takes a little to learn and if you work in a service industry can take you a long way.

Oh, and if anyone wants to tell me that there's a big difference between McDonald's and the Hilton, I cannot and will not deny that.  So let me add that if you can't handle McDonald's, you aren't even going to get a chance at the Hilton.