Customer Etiquette

So, I work at a fast-food sandwich shop (for safety purposes I won't say which one) but anyway I have been working there for about 2 years now. I really enjoy my job actually, mainly because it is the perfect part-time job because it is pretty simple, I like my co-workers, and I make a decent amount of money for the work involved. However, I am shocked every time customers do not know how to act appropriately in the restaurant. So today I am writing my top-top pet peeves that customers do while I am working. Please refrain from doing these things at any restaurant and please give all workers your respect.

Top Ten Things Customers Do That Annoy Me

1. CELL PHONES! I absolutely hate it when a customer comes in to order a sandwich and they are talking on their cell phone. Seriously, can you not disengage yourself from technology for the 5 minutes it takes to get a sandwich. There is nothing more rude than talking to a person on a cell phone and expecting service. If you come in on your cell phone, I will ignore you until you are off of it. I do not do well with this one. You are not that important. Get off your phone.

2. Don't ask stupid questions. I hate it when I get to the veggies and I ask "What else would you like on your sandwich?" and the customer asks, "What?" Seriously? What do you think I just asked you? There is only one thing I could possibly be asking you to tell me at this point, so please think about it.

3. Don't throw your money at me at the till. Some people throw their debit card or even cash at me instead of handing it over. How hard is it to simply place the card/cash in my hand? I feel like there is nothing more inconsiderate than simply throwing money at me like I don't matter. Please realize that smart, college kids are working at these places and we deserve a little respect!

4. Please use your brain. Here's a tip, when someone asks you if you want anything else with that or if you want a meal with that, that you actually think about what you say next. I can't tell you how many times I have asked "Would you like a meal with that?" and the customer says, "No, but I will take chips and a drink". Um...that is the meal! It is frustrating because it happens over and over again.

5. Drive Thru. Yes, our sandwich restaurant has a drive thru. And it is a nightmare. If you need to ask what kind of bread, veggies, chips, and pop we have you probably should not be coming through the drive thru. Also, you should know that when you ask for a little of that and a lot of this you probably won't be getting it through the drive thru. And when the lobby is empty and there are 5 cars backed up in drive thru, please consider coming inside, it will be much faster and I guarantee you will be more satisfied.

6. If you are old-fashioned and still use checks, PLEASE fill your checks out ahead of time. Do not wait until I tell you the total to get the checkbook out and start filling out your check. Especially during lunch rush. This will hold the line up, and I will get yelled at for it. And in general, have your money ready by the time you get to the till. You have plenty of time, so please use it.

7. Children don't do well on the spot. Kids that are 10 and under do not do well order their sandwich under pressure, and need you to order the sub for them or need to know ahead of time what they want. When we have a line to the door, it is very frustrating waiting 5 minutes for a kid to decide what type of bread he wants. I love kids to death, but seriously choose the bread for them because they don't know or really care what type of bread they eat.

8. READ THE SIGNS! Our store has signs everywhere promoting the things that are going on, so please do not be ignorant and please actually read them. This is important. I am not going to tell every single customer that the sandwiches are no longer a certain price, so please read the signs and figure it out. And if you fail to read the signs, do not proceed to yell at me at the till because you did not know that the promotion was over. You are not helpless.

9. You don't need 39 napkins to eat a sandwich. I don't know why, but it irritates me when a customer asks for more napkins when he hasn't even looked to see how many he has. I don't know why it's such an impulsive thing. The reason why we only give a certain amount of napkins out is because you only need a couple. When I do give out extra napkins because I am asked to, it never fails that I find the entire pile out on the table. So not only do I have to throw away un-used napkins and waste them, I have to throw them away because you were too lazy to clean up after yourself or use the extra napkins.

10. This one is mainly for guys. Guys, please don't be a tool. I hate the guys that come through that think they are so funny and clever, and that we enjoy their attempt at being cool. Okay, giving the veggies nicknames is not cool. I have seriously been asked to put "onskies" on someone's sandwich. Yeah, he wanted onions and called them "onskies". After a long day, that is just irritating. Please don't try to be cocky and clever, just be respectful and nice.

I don't want you to get the wrong idea here, I like my job and I like 95% of the customers that walk through the door. And I am a people-person. This is just a list I have compiled over 2 years, so this is 2 years-worth of complaints. It's just the few customers that make some days hard. And I just thought I would share this because I think it's important to know traits that are annoying to some people to understand our own behaviors. I thank you for reading, a lot of this was me just venting how I feel. I hope I did not offend anyone, as that was not the purpose, I just felt it was important to share. Thanks for reading!

Something New

Well, here it is, my first-ever blog courteous of my boyfriend's prodding (he means well by it however and I do think I will learn to enjoy this) So please understand this is my first blog, and hopefully they will improve as I go.

First thing I should do is tell you a little bit about myself as most people like to know a little bit of a background about their author. This is me ( I have shorter hair now though) I am 22 years old (as of a couple days ago as you can see) and I was born and raised in a small town in south central Minnesota. I grew up working on the farm doing fun tasks such as rock picking, baling, chores, and helping out in the field during the fall harvest. Call me crazy, but there is something rewarding about physical labor and I really enjoy helping my family harvest the crops.

My mom and dad have always been the supportive type, and have treated me with trust and respect which I have not made them regret. I have an older sister who is 25, and we have always been far enough apart that we don't always relate to each other. I am closer to my younger brother who is 18, as we have similar interests such as the Twins, sports in general, and have similar personalities. I don't see them often, but my family means a lot to me and I really enjoy spending time with them.

I was the type of girl who really didn't care about drama, dating, makeup, or spending hours getting ready for school in the morning. So imagine my surprise when I go the South Dakota State University and meet my guy the beginning of my freshman year. John and I have been dating for 3 years and 5 months. He works full-time at Daktronics and also is getting into Photography as late. He took the picture of me up above and has done numerous Senior photos and is going to do his first wedding this summer which is really exciting for him.

We are the type of couple that understands each other and neither of us are over-demanding and we trust each other which allows us to avoid many arguments. Things are going really good for us and I see a bright future ahead.

I am a nursing major at SDSU and I have one semester left before I graduate, which is very exciting. I do not know exactly where I want to work, but with today's economy I may just have to be satisfied with a job to begin with. I would like to live in Sioux Falls though and work in one of the many hospitals there.

I guess this is a pretty good start in understanding who I am. I am sometimes a very opinionated person, but I am always open to at least listen to both sides of a story. Please feel free to leave me any comments to criticize or enourage anything I blog about (that's kinda part of the point of blogging). If you are still reading, I appreciate your patience and attention. I realize this may not be exciting to you, but this is my life and I feel like you need to know some things about me before I blog about things. Thanks again for reading and for your sake, I hope my blogs get more exciting in the future!

Happy Birthday Stacy!

To my Stacy,
I created this blog for your 22nd birthday mainly because there has been, and will be a lot to write about in the near future, and you need somewhere to put it all into words.

This blog is a tool for you to project your thoughts, insights, nursing papers, ideas, Twins game reviews, love notes to your awesome boyfriend, or general blabbering for your audience. It is what you want it to be, nothing less, and nothing more. By the way, you don't have to worry about everybody seeing this if you don't want them too. You can customize the crap out of it and set your preferences for pretty much anything.

You are a very beautiful and smart woman, and although you'll probably disagree with me, I believe that the world could benefit from the knowledge which you could put into this blog. I learned about blogging in a couple of my journalism classes, and for me, it's a very fun and fulfilling way to express yourself. It takes a little time, and it takes a little while to get used to it, but I hope you at least give it a try. As always, I'm here to help.

I love you with unbelievable passion, and I hope you have a wonderful birthday!

Sincerely,
John

PS- Here's a few possible blog topics to help you get started:

- The Twins (players, games, outlook, opinion, etc.)
- Nursing (thoughts, internship, papers, studies, etc.)
- Your awesome boyfriend
- Minnesota
- South Dakota
- Rants about studying
- Friends
- Family
- Photos (it's super-easy to put photos in your blog posts.)
- YouTube videos (also super-easy, your bf knows this stuff.)
- Favorite music

Here's a guide to get you started.