Nancy Noshow & Tommy Truant

OK, where to begin on this one?  

I've already talked about the woman who walked out during her shift.  I've already talked about "The Millenials".

Let's face it - we all know that making coffee is not rocket science!  At the end of the day, what we do is build relationships, not only with our customers, but also our co-workers.  Sure, I work for a multi-national corporation, but I'm very proud to work for them because of the integrity to internal and external relationships they have continued to demonstrate.  

Unfortunately, not everyone seems to grasp what relationship integrity entails.  To begin with, it entails respect.  Respect for one's self and respect for others.

Today in the coffee shop, we had yet another problem with people who did not bother to respect their co-workers enough to call and say they would be late or to call and say they weren't coming to work.  In every organization I have worked with, staffing is usually based on minimum requirements, which means if people don't show up, the system gets stressed.  Is this a newsflash to anyone reading this?  

A stressed system means customers have to wait longer, employees have to work harder (because sometimes there's just not a way to work smarter), and relationships are strained.  How a stressed system manages the internal and external relationship dynamics will be a determining factor in its success.

I am awfully proud to say that - although we were under tremendous stressors today because of a lack of respect from co-workers - we rose to the occasion and maintained the best possible relationships with our customers and each other.  The stress on the system was so noticeable from our regular customers, that one of which gave each of us on the floor a $20 tip so we could "get a massage or a spa treatment to relax after this morning".

Now, I could be really bitter towards Nancy Noshow and Tommy Truant, but at the end of the day, I'm actually left with a positive outcome.  Not only did I get the overtime to cover their shifts, I also got the tip from the customer.  So was it bad they didn't show up?

HELL YES.  Today was tough, and there's no getting around that fact...So what if  I'm a little crabby this afternoon from lack of sleep?

When things like today happen and I have to work with Nancy Noshows and Tommy Truants, I begin to wonder: "Does a single raindrop ever believe it is responsible for the flood?"

"Friends" Flashbacks and Rachel Moments

Anyone remember the television series, "Friends"?  Particularly the episodes early in the series when Rachel is working at Central Perk?  Remember that moment when her customer ordered the really weird drink?  Well, I admit I had my "Rachel moments" today.  Thank God I was awake enough to keep my mouth shut!

There's a regular customer who - I would almost bet on the fact - is a fairly normal person in the real world.  However, when she walks into the shop (which is always the first morning rush, so there's a huge line of people) all of us on the floor have a collective GroupThink, "What's it going to be today?"  Let me explain:  she always orders some type of precise customization that is impossible to perfect.  Her drink today was exactly as follows:

• Small Iced Mocha
  
• No Ice
  
• 4.5 (not 5 and not 4, exactly 4.5) pumps of mocha syrup, because "I can taste the difference" (sic)
  
• 2 Splendas blended (with the electric blender) into the drink, not simply added
  
• Topped with Whipped Cream

So if we ignore the contradictions apparent in this drink (an iced drink with no ice and Splendas with whipped cream), there's the acute fact there are to only be 4.5 pumps of syrup in her drink.  How that last .5 of a pump impacts a drink like this I'm not too sure, but I expect there must be some complex chemical reaction with the artificial sweeteners that would somehow cause the drink to bubble and fizz like something out of Shakespeare's Macbeth and turn it into poison.

On the other hand, there is that ever-so-rare phenomenon where people just have to be difficult to customer service personnel.  (OK, it's not so are, but you should know by now there's bound to be a little bit of sarcasm in my postings) Now this phenomenon is not news to me.  I was a former flight attendant and saw more than my fair share of difficult people.  But I never really understood it.  (Oh, and make no mistake, I am very clear about the fact there are certainly rude customer service people out there, too, and there's rarely an excuse for rude service)

There was also this drink from someone else.  He was so belligerent and he kept asking customers to taste his drink  -  "Does this taste right to you?" then he began screaming that the baristas could never make his drink taste right...his drink of choice was:

• Large Decaf Latte
  
• Plus a regular shot
• Half Soy Milk /Half Whole Milk
  
• 1 Equal
  
• 1 Splenda
  
• 1 Sweet and Low
  
• 2 Raw Sugars
  
• 3 Pumps of Cinnamon Syrup
• Shaken, not stirred ("'cause that's how James Bond likes his martinis and that's how I like my lattes")

Huh?  Just how should that taste?

The first customer had us make her drink again because there was "just a little too much" mocha in it.  The second customer, well...So these two incidents today caused me to think about what Rodney King said and I wondered:  "Why can't we just keep everything simple so we can all get along?"

The "Millennials"

If you read my last posting, you know I was wondering about the societal work ethic we've developed, especially in younger people...well, it seems I have found an answer.

Just as I am a "Baby Boomer" and have generalized demographic characteristics, I discovered there is a new demographic, "Millennials".  There's a great article about this group and how they work.  One of the most interesting excerpts from the article talks about this demographic's liabilities:

• distaste for menial work
  
• lack of skills for dealing with difficult people
  
• impatience
  
• lack of experience
  
• confidence (apparently the author implies overconfidence) 
  

I can't imagine how any of those liabilities would be problem in a retail environment dealing with the public!  (OK, that was a bit of sarcasm again)

There's also a great blog about The Millennial Generation here...

One truly amazing thing is that corporations are going out of their way to recruit and retain this demographic!  GE, Proctor&Gamble, and the Wharton Business School have all set up a "reverse mentoring program" so these kids can teach middle-age managers what to learn...apparently a good idea, but then again, these organizations are just a little different than a coffee shop, aren't they?  Reminds me of the phrase, "Better be nice to your kids, because they pick your nursing home."

After reading the articles and blogs and learning about how these people prefer to work and be managed, I began to wonder:  If everyone believes they are genuinely special, doesn't that mean that no one truly is?

Welcome!

Wow!  What a day to launch this blog...

Thanks for taking the time to stop by!  Before I tell you about the day I had, here's a little bit about me:  I'm a middle-aged guy starting over in life working for a major coffee purveyor...can't tell you which one.  I love this job - it is by far the easiest and best I've ever had, and trust me, I've had some really spectacular jobs!  Most of the people I work with are in their 20's or early 30's...

But anyway, about today...

I generally open the store, which means I am at work at 4:15AM.  Yep, you read that right.  I get up to go to work in what is essentially the middle of the night to everyone else.  So to all you 9-5ers out there, my heart bleeds for you because you have to catch a train or bus by 6A.  OK, I know sarcasm is not my strong suit.  But hey, I have to try to make this funny, right?

This morning, someone was late - well, more than late.  She was three hours late without so much as a call!  In addition to her being late, another person just decided not to show up.  So there are two of us  (plus the manager who has admin duties to do while she's helping us at the bar and register) running a coffee shop in a major metropolitan area.  

Can you say, "Busy"?  

But you know what?  We really did an exceptional job today even with the impromptu staffing difficulties in terms of pulling together to get the job done and keep our customers happy.  We were fast, friendly, efficient, and legendary!  We have a damn good "core team" in the store and it is nice when everyone pulls together, kicks it up a notch and we get into the "zone"...we work like a finely-tuned machine.  

So back to the one girl who was  late:  not only was she late, she just decided to walk off the job and not tell anyone right in the middle of the 8A-9A rush time.  Believe me when I tell you she did not make any friends today.  Eligible for rehire? Hmmm...probably not...but that's not for me to decide.  And the other woman who did not show up didn't make any friends either - eventhough  it was for a good cause.  The problem with her not showing up is that she didn't bother to call anyone to say she wouldn't be in.

And these events come on top of other things like someone getting a lip ring piercing knowing there are specific appearance standards and refusing to take it out...or the person who showed up at work high on E...or the person who refused to come back into the store unless the manager apologized for "yelling" at them because they had to be coached for a chronic attendance issue...or the person who showed up drunk for a training meeting and made no bones about the fact he had vodka in his "water bottle" and offered to share because the meeting, in his opinion, was "damn boring"...for the record, none of these people are still my co-workers, and I've only been there three months!

All of this makes me wonder: do we as a culture  have any remnant of a  work ethic or have we developed such a sense of entitlement when it comes to employment that we don't care about pulling our own weight on a team?  And if we have developed that sense of entitlement, what's going to happen to us?

Well, I'm off to take a nap...more later!