I took the items up to the cashier. She looked at the sandwich for the bar code. “You can’t buy this”, she said. “It’s no good.” She showed me the mold on the side. “Do you want another one”, she asked. “No, they’re probably all bad.” She didn’t disagree with me.
When I was looking around the coffee/soda/soft drink area, I noticed “a” manager milling around doing something to the coffee before he disappeared back into his office. Apparently he was oblivious to the bad sandwiches and didn’t even check. I can only wonder what else he forgot to do.
Choosing not to purchase the sandwich, I took a walk, in the rain, over to Wendy’s. The first thing I noticed when I walked in the door was the garbage under the tables. Used napkins, wrappers and plastic utensils not swept up. None of the tables looked like they had been washed off. What a turnoff.
I was too tired to go elsewhere so I ordered. The food looked fresh, but then so did that roast beef sandwich. I tried to find the cleanest table to sit and eat. I took a clean napkin and wiped the surface. Took bad I don’t carry my own Clorox spray with me.
So the economy is “down.” That does not mean we as consumers and managers - as operators of businesses that are supposed to service us - should lower our standards. I expect managers to manage. I actually see many workers trying harder and managers doing less and less.
That clerk at the store did not have to tell me about the stale sandwich. She did the right thing. Managers need to spend more time out on the “floor” with customers than in their offices. But, I’ve always felt that managers were lazy and I have recently seen a new low point in their lack of motivation. Shame on them.
But I’m not going to stand for it. I’m not going to lower my standards, if I can help it. I refuse to stop caring. I will continue to complain and write about businesses that don’t cut the mustard. And I would ask that you also, please, do the same. A bad economy does not mean bad service.
