As to the OP, several smooches followed by flirting and swooning is unprofessional workplace behavior. But I can understand how it could be read as “homophobic” even if homophobia had nothing to do with it. I’ve been put down for being obese often enough that, whenever someone is outright rude to me, my immediate feeling is that they’re discriminating against my size. Even though it may well be that that particular person is just rude to everyone, regardless of size. I guess if you’re gay, you catch so much crap about it that it’s easy to assume that every brand of crap is all about your sexual orientation.
You know, the reason why it was probably never disclosed by the customer whether or not this was a homophobic reaction, was undoubtedly because there was no one else to speak to in a managerial capacity but the OP. One might get the feeling that she would have indeed pitched a fit about it being a same sex kiss IF she got to talk to some other person.
As to what I would do?
I’m in agreement with those who say that as long as an employee is professional while dealing with their public directly, not preventing any kind of service and keeps their displays to a discreet minimum, then I wouldn’t have any problem whatsoever. Hell, as long as no naughty bits were being flashed, I figure it’s all good and I’m usually more concerned with my order being right, getting it in a timely fashion and most importantly, no one behaving rudely.
If that all is taken care of and a worker wants to take their slack time doing whatever (reading a book, flirting with a co-worker or shooting at imaginary Jedi) to make their life a little happier in a pissy minimum wage world, I say more power to 'em and I call my experience a resounding success. I certainly think that the claim of ‘no professionalism’ doesn’t even come into it. Just MHO.
Of course, that’s just me and I’ve recently taken to PDAs again myself. Perhaps I’m biased. And more than happy to share the wealth.
I still abide by my position, matt_mcl. I just don’t think kissing on the lips is ever appropriate in a public work setting. No matter who, what, why, when, or how.
The Mod who corrected that should have gotten rid of that “s” at the end of the word while they were at it. After all, it was just one person, not more than one as the title of the OP would have one believe.
How inappropriate could the flirting and “swooning” be if they were on opposite sides of the counter, really? We’re cutting out all bodily contact except hand-holding and leaning over for a quick kiss.
I can’t imagine being offended either. And I wouldn’t ever complain. But it is unprofessional. Then again, I don’t expect a great deal of professionalism at Wendy’s, as long as it doesn’t interrupt my ability to get a meal rapidly and free from adulteration. Obviously some people expect more. That’s their right. I don’t see anything homophobic in the woman’s reaction. I don’t buy the fact that her reaction was so outrageous that there can be no other explanation. Anyone who has worked in retail will tell you that there will always be customers who will act outrageously even when minorlyinconvenienced, especially if they think they can get something free out of complaining.
Well, just for the hell of it, I asked my hubby what he thought of the situation in the OP, but I changed the story slightly, to reflect a boy behind the counter, kissing and flirting with his girlfriend. This way, hubby could not be swayed by either “Ewww. Same-sex kissing” or, alternately, “Hey, two chicks kissing. Cool!” When the situation was put to him, in terms of a hetero couple, he said it was very unprofessional.
Hm. Well, I have to chime in on the side of “not in the workplace.” This isn’t about any one person’s freedom of sexual expression or God-given liberty to smooch whoever one chooses of whichever gender one happens to prefer. This isn’t about the appropriateness of sexual messages in public places. It is, however, about your professional conduct. Wendy’s is a private employer and they set the standards for professional behavior, not you and not this forum and not the ACLU and not any other body that advocates anyone’s “rights.” Your bosses do.
I have been a manager at Wendy’s before, too, and the question I have for the OP is, “If your district manager walked in on you and did some kind of QSC inspection while you’re smooching over the counter, do you think that will count for or against your total score?”
The likely answer is that it would count against you for no other reason than that a customer complained about it. That’s the bottom line in a service-oriented profession. Keep the customer satisfied. If the customer complains that your behavior is unprofessional, you apologize and make it professional. Or you find a different job that lets you express yourself more freely.
Whether or not it’s considered homophobic is, in this case, completely irrelevant (at least irrelevant professionally: privately, I think the woman over-reacted completely).
But if working at Wendy’s is a “profession”, then shove a stick up my ass and call me a lawn ornament. Amber didn’t see to cover her ass in her original post (as I advised her to), and didn’t mention the following things that have come up in this thread:
[list]
[li] There were zero customers in line. Polycarp got it exactly right. It was also 11 PM and half an hour away from closing time, so the dining room was pretty empty.[/li]
[li] The woman’s original complaint was that the upstairs washrooms were closed (they ask that customers use the downstairs handicapped washroom after 10:30 or 11). She was approaching the counter to complain about this when she saw us. She could not have seen us kissing from where she was sitting, because we were in a nook at the far end of the counter and there was a big honking wall in the way of her line of sight.[/li]
[li] Wendy’s has always been a casual workplace, as far as socializing goes. The employees take hygiene and service very seriously (so seriously, that I am frequently bored at their after-work parties, since all they ever talk about is goddamn work), but there are hugs and kisses to and from SOs pretty much every day around there (especially since two employees are currently dating each other). No one has ever complained before.[/li]
[li] This woman spent the rest of the half-hour until close straining, contorting her body and going out of her way to stare at Cory for long periods of time, while taking notes. Even if what we did was rude by a reasonable standard (which I still don’t think it was), what she did was far, far more rude.[/li]
The Rest Of The Story; Cory explained the whole thing to her manager, Mr Big Cheese. She told him exactly the same story she told all you billy-goats. Based on the exact same evidence that led you all to dire predictions about her “professionalism” and ability to cope with the real world, Boss Man told her that if he recieved a comment card or letter of complaint about the incident, he would be ripping it up and disposing of it like the silly trash it is.
I warned her about posting here, because I knew this would happen. I’ve seen you all take a perfectly reasonable, everyday scenario and inject it with hypothetical drama.
Look. If you want us to believe it’s an everyday, reasonable scenario, then give us all the damn details. Otherwise, we have to inject hypotheticals to have it make sense.
Based upon your followup, it appears that we might have overreacted. It also appears that homophobia might have been an issue. It could also have been a prudish woman who just wanted to bitch. I generally don’t attribute to malice what could reasonably be explained by stupidity. So, sorry I was so hard on you. Let this be a lesson to you about telling the WHOLE story.
But still, if you have a job you’re obligated to be professional about it, be it a bitch job or a CEO.
Psst, Airman, you’ll notice that kung fu lola is not the OP. Her SO Upside Down Amber is. Amber apparently didn’t take lola’s advice about the level of detail to include, as lola knows the habits of the board better than Amber.
OMFG!!! A COUPLE OF PECKS ON THE CHEEK!!!
Is that the most objectionable thing about a ‘fast food experience’? If it is, then count yourself very very lucky.
When my late wife Joan worked at MacDonalds I often used to call in on my way home just to ask if there was anything special she needed picking up at the supermarket.
Before leaving I/we used to lean across the counter and kiss, if anybody had objected to a display of love and affection I would have pissed on their shoes.
There should be enough people in this thread who are very much NOT homophobic who would have had a problem with PDAs at work to convince you that crying homophobia everytime you do something someone objects too is not going to get much sympathy. If not add to me to the list who don’t think its proper, gay or not.
How old was this lady who complained? At my office there are four people, all late 30s and older, whose spouses work in offices elsewhere at the uni. I’ve noticed that when the spouses are in the office, even at an office party, they won’t even hold hands. That was even true of my best friend at the office and his newlywed, at a party we held to celebrate their wedding. (Yeah, I think that’s going a bit too far, but…)
Maybe people of an older generation draw a sharper distinction between “work” and “personal life.” Myself, it’s not a decision I’ve ever been in a position to make, but I’d probably have different views than the couples at uni.
Add another to the way-too-tiny PDA’s are never inappropriate roster. With all the hate and animosity people are eager to share with each other, I don’t think small reminders that those two emotions have opposites should be in any way objectionable.
The PDA issue aside, I can’t even begin to comprehend what a ignorant, immature, spoiled brat of an asshole you must be IRL to make a comment like this. In the modern workaday world being a fast food retail manager is effectively, “a profession” for many people who take doing their jobs seriously. It is a difficult, high stress job that takes enormous coordination, attention to detail, and dedication to do correctly.
Your inclination to heave a huge gob of contemptuous spit on the notion of a retail, fast food job, being a vocation that deserves respect, speaks volumes about your maturity and presents the interesting picture of your demanding respect for your lifestyle choices, while pissing on the lifestyle and vocational choices of other people.
