Retail Upper
I just saw the movie, The King’s Speech. It is, if you’ve not heard, about the King of England in the 1930’s. He had a stutter. King “Bertie” tries every speech therapist around… and finally lands at Lionel’s door. What does this have to do with today’s cartoon?
Lionel, the speech therapist (played wonderfully by Geoffrey Rush), is so calm in his demeanor… so clever and witty in his practice… I could not help but to admire that quality of “grace under pressure” that he exhibited when dealing with a hot-headed King. Lionel possessed that which many only hope to achieve… the ability to keep your mouth shut at the right time.
Now you decide… did Randie keep her mouth shut when confronted with an uncheerful, and most likely, unpleasant customer? Did she handle the situation with wit and clever humor? We know, of course, that given the same situation, co-worker GRACE would not.
When it comes to customers, I can’t help but feel that GRAAAAAAACE has the right idea sometimes.
There’s a supermarket chain out here call Clemens, and THEIR policy is, “The employee comes first”. By doing that, Clemens is clearly stating that if you’re going to be an unreasonable jerk customer, the store management will side with their employee in dealing with you. For all other customers, the stores sides with the employee in serving you.
And guess what? Employee moral at Clemens is sky-high and turnover is almost non-existent.
Tell ‘Divine’ there to go stick that airbrush where the sun don’t shine!
Oh…we’re trying to NOT be like Grace.
Small Dave: You don’t read Shortpacked! by any chance, do ya?
Pete… I would shop there. Happy Employees make helpful employees. They take pride in themselves and their job. Big thumbs up for all. (Grace wouldn’t stand a chance there, though… she’d never get hired in the first place).
Dada… The airbrush thing is sort of an inside art supply reference. When I worked at “Baron Brothers”… the dishonest people would swipe an airbrush at one location and try to return it at another location with a receipt that had been forged… or with no receipt at all. It’s a large ticket item, and some models were just under the amount that would require us to mail a refund check to the customer. Some crooks find out the rules and exploit them.
Well, Brig, you’ve piqued my interest in “The King’s Speech” now. I hadn’t even heard of it, but I’ll be watching for it to come down the pipeline.
I try to be the calm one, the peacemaker and voice of reason when tempers are flaring or panic ensues, but I don’t always accomplish it. I also notice people get mad at me for not sharing their hysteria, like I’m trying to be better than them or something. It isn’t always an admired trait, I’ve found.
Also, a good company does respect the customer to a point; after that, it respects its employees. You figure you don’t need an unreasonable customer anyway.
I’ve found my British accent to be particularly good for expressing both disdain and icy civility… Since we’re not allowed to swear on the salesfloor, I use what tools I can 😉
Kona… I like that… “I refuse to share in your hysteria.” Good on you.
Astragali… British disdain? hee hee. How charming.
Brig, Kona: In my case, I think it’s more “I reject your hysteria and substitute my own”