Etiquetteer was surprised and pleased to hear from quite a few readers after last week’s column on how to treat the staff. Below are some thoughtful responses:
From a frequent reader: Another winner column. I think the best way to discern someone’s true character is to observe how they treat service people, of all types but especially waitpersons. I used to work with a man who was browbeaten by his wife and bossed by his in-laws. This did not make him act generously to waitresses, as one would hope. He was, in fact, tyrannical and demanding. Needless to say . . . I let him have it with both barrels.
Etiquetteer responds: Etiquetteer has witnessed This Sort of Behavior many times before, and sadly has to agree with you. Etiquetteer still remembers attending an elaborate awards luncheon many years ago and seeing a low-level staffer make the waitress jump through hoops for all sorts of alleged faults — during the presentations. Etiquetteer can never hear the phrase “More gravy” without thinking of that person.
From a shop owner: it enrages me when I see customers mistreat staff. If I’m behind a bitchy customer, I apologize for [that customer] when its my turn. But it’s even worse when employers mistreat staff. Does the boss want to do the work? No, that’s why he/she hired staff. 😑 My store’s staff is considered family and I do everything I can to keep them happy. Having no children, the store is my legacy and therefore they are part of that, too.
Etiquetteer responds: As a customer, expressing sympathy to staff is truly meaningful.
From a business executive: A further tweak on your suggestion to “send a factual, sternly-worded message to Corporate.” This is something I have done from time to time. When I feel I have a message I want listened to I always explicitly address my letter to the company’s CEO by name at his/her office address. The letter, rarely, but sometimes, is actually read by the CEO. But I have found that it is always promptly handled by a thoughtful intelligent respondent well versed in customer service, i.e., you (believe that) you are being heard. And as a result sometimes you are heard and things do actually change.
From a retiree: Nice item . . . And then there is the reverse side of “how to treat the staff,” i.e., what so many companies and organizations seem to ignore, forgetting that good treatment of customers is important and that bad treatment can lose them business. The way the various local branches of major banks deal with their customers provides an excellent example of their policies and/or their personnel’s approach to with customer relations, ranging from abominable to “that‘s the bank that gets my business.” And, of course, there are the mobile phone service providers whose service to customers doesn’t justify the word “service.”
Etiquetteer responds: Service with a Snarl is one of the major weapons against Perfect Propriety, aided by deliberately complicated customer service call center systems and, online, chat bots. But, the bigger the company, the less they have to care. Unfortunately. You might consider writing directly to the CEO by name, as the previous reader suggests.