I'm amazed humanity has survived for so long (another customer service rant)

I know there have been quite a few of these around the pit lately, but I have been keeping this crap bottled up for too long. It really amazes me that people can be so stupid. Or annoying. Or rude. Holy crap, ever since I started working, I now have much appreciation for my fellow customer servicers. Now, I know some of you are fortunate enough to never have had to work as a mimimum wage slave to the customers, so if you’re one of these people, learn from this, and never do it!

Give me your money. Seriously, I want your money. Will you please stop getting your damn coffee for a second and just give me the damn money? You’re holding up the line. And when I prompt you for it, don’t glance up at me, and resume pouring your coffee. Once I get your money, I can ring up the next person. It really helps the line move, and if you want to block everyone, then well, you’re just a jackass.

When I suggest that you sit down to wait for your food, it’s really not a suggestion. What I’m saying is “Get the hell out of here and quit blocking people who want to order” except in a polite way. Don’t say “No thanks” to me. Just get your ass out of there.

The metal grate under the coffee is not a place for you to pour a whole cup of coffee. It was designed to catch the drips that come from the coffee spout. It is not for you to pour that 12oz cup of coffee that for whatever reason you don’t want. I understand that some fountain pop machines let you do this, but this isn’t a fountain pop machine. It’s a small metal grate under the coffee that will overflow and drip everywhere if you pour a whole friggin cup of coffee there. If you want to pour it out, I will happily do it for you in the sink in the kitchen. All you have to say is “Will you please pour this out for me?”

When I greet you, please respond. If you don’t feel like opening your mouth, the least you can do is grunt at me. Just don’t be a rude jackass and ignore me and then glare at me when you finally want some service.

This one is really important. STAY AWAY FROM THE TIP JAR unless you’re throwing change in there. Otherwise, stay away. It’not a “penny jar”. It says clearly and boldly, “Thank for your TIPS”. If you’re short a penny, I’ll most likely let it slide. But once you reach that dirty paw into our tip jar to take that penny out, I will point out that it’s our tip jar and get your own damn penny, and I won’t let it slide until you give me your penny. You won’t go into a restaurant and lift tips off a waitress’ table because you’re short a penny. Same rule applies to the tip jar.

If you’re in a hurry, don’t order from the kitchen. Grab a muffin. Enough said.

Staff at the same facility get 10% off. Problem is, there are lots of staff and unless you come regularly and chat with me during the slow times, I won’t remember you. You have an employee ID, show it. Don’t stand there with your mouth hanging open, looking at me while I ring up your stuff. Don’t give me your money, accept the change, then say “Hey, where’s my discount?” It’s too late. I can’t do refunds. Show your god damn ID.

The coffee pot runs out of coffee sometimes. I would like to have a magic coffee pot that will supply us with endless amounts of hot, fresh, delicious coffee, but that’s not going to happen. When it runs out, most of the time, I will know. I can hear the sound of the splattering that comes out of the coffee pot, and I will rush to change the pots. Do not press on it over and over and over again, as if somehow, there will magically be coffee for you. Perhaps you’re doing this because you’re trying to tell me there is no more coffee in the pot, but I already know. And now that you’re pressing on it, I can’t lift it up to change the coffee. If you’re really that impatient, you can say “Hey, there’s no more coffee.” Otherwise, take your hands off the pot and let me change it!!!

All comments about price will be ignored, since most of the time it’s something along the lines of “Wow, it’s so expensive.” I won’t even attempt to humour you and smile like I sometimes do with lame jokes. What do you expect me to do about it? Bring it up at the next “Let’s let the minimum wage slave suggest how to price the items” meeting? If you think $1.70 is too expensive for a cup of coffee, put it down and go away.

When I’m running around like a damn monkey, it’s either because I’m doing my “running around like a damn monkey” impression for my co-workers, or that I’m busy. Most likely, I’m busy. So, when you see me running around like a damn monkey, don’t tell me what you want. I will not hear you.

Wow. This was long. I think I’m going to give my fingers a rest here. Thank god for the pit, or I’d annoy the hell out of my friends letting off this rant on them.

I’m always up for another good customer service rant. They shore up my belief that people are evil, stupid, and funny. Especially since I’m not the one who has to deal with their ignorant asses anymore.

Where exactly do you work?

I can’t help you with most of that, but would it be possible to get a tip vase or tin? Then people can’t just lift money out. I bet enough of them have, or pretend to have, brain farts, as opposed to really meaning to say “I am now stealing your tip.” Sorry - I can’t help but try to help.

Tip jars seem to becoming popular here in Australia and I’ve noticed in a few places they use a bowl filled with coloured liquid to keep the coins in. Don’t know whether it would stain your hand or not but I’m not game to reach in and find out…

I agree with your rant, but this part confused me. What kind of business is it where the coffee machine, or the use thereof, blocks off other customers from getting to the Waitress?

Yeah, I was confused by the coffee machine/giving money thing too. My guess is that you work in a cafeteria and take orders behind the counter and to one side is the coffee machine, with empty cups next to it.

If that’s the case and you have any say whatsoever on the positioning of the coffee urns, you move them to the far end of the counter, so the person is either forced to get their coffee, then get in line and pay or vice versa.

To everything else: preach it!

I like the idea of the colored water for the tip jar, but I think it could be a bit of a problem with paper money…

:eek:

A humorous suggestion for your tip jar problem: Get one of those novelty bank-type things that has mirrors in it, so that when you put the money in it, it looks like it disappears. Out of sight, out of mind, right? Hehe.
Perhaps something like this:
http://gadgetsandgifts.safeshopper.com/94/931.htm?72

I’m technically not a waitress. I bring food out to the customers when their numbers are called, but none of that fancy refilling drinks. I guess I can say I work in a food court type business, except we’re the only place that serves food. Basically, the customers pay for their food before they can have it. We have two tills, and they’re perpendicular to each other, with the coffee pots in front of one till. So, if one person refuses to give me money, my co-worker can’t ring up the other person on the other till. Also, my boss doesn’t like change. A week ago, some guy from Coca Cola came in and told us he didn’t like the way we arranged our cans and bottles and rearranged it for us… my boss threw a hissy fit the next day and I had to work extra hard to ensure I wouldn’t mess up in front of her.

The problem with the tip jar is that it is a place for people to throw their unwanted change, I’ve never seen anyone give me a bill, but once it lands in the jar, it’s ours. Our boss doesn’t like it when we open the register too often to give change, so she encourages us that if people want say, four quarters for a dollar, we should check the tip jar to see if we can make change that way before openning the drawer. So, no coloured water for us.

Regardless of what’s in the tip jar, or what it looks like, people should freakin’ know better than to touch money that’s not theirs. Those tiny square plastic “cups” at Starbucks are tip jars, and they don’t look anything like bar/restaurant tip jars. Everybody just KNOWS they’re tip jars.

And once you touch a tip jar, in my world, you’re so dead meat. I kicked a guy out of my bar last night b/c he picked up the DJ’s tip jar. He was obnoxious and loud and stupid and annoying and I was fine with that; I’m well aware that I’m the one sober person in a room full of intoxicated jackasses.

But once you touch the tip jar, mine or the DJ’s, YOU’RE SO GONE. It isn’t funny, it isn’t a joke, it isn’t excused by an eye-rolling “oh please, like I was really gonna take the money,” and it’ll get you kicked out faster than anything else I can think of.

As for the rest of your rant, 7 up yours, may I suggest working in a restaurant or bar, vs. this type of place? Anybody who has to deal with food-service and only gets paid minimum wage is just asking for hell-on-wheels. I feel really badly for you.

There would be a couple of problems with that in the US.

a) People sometimes leave dollar bills as tips, especially for a large order. As well as ignoring the metric system system, the US has also failed to advance to the level of using coins instead of banknotes for its dollar denomination. The government occasionally introduces dollar coins (Sacagawea dollars, etc), but the US populace steadfastly refuses to admit that the US dollar isn’t strong and powerful enough to be in paper form, and so completely ignores the attempts to introduce dollar coins.

b) In Australia, if someone did want to leave a five dollar bill as a tip (quite unlikely), they could still dump it in a bowl full of water, because Australian banknotes are made of plastic. This would work with US notes, which are paper.

Obviously, that should read “wouldn’t work.”

Actually, they’re cloth. Soaking them in water isn’t going to damage them. I regularly find crumpled up bills in the pockets of my jeans after I run them through the washer and dryer, and after I unroll 'em, stick 'em in my wallet, and sit on it for an hour or two, they’re flat enough that they’re still accepted by vending machines and the like.

And dollar coins are a plot by European panhandlers to confuse American tourists into giving them way too much money. At least, that what always happens to me.

Homeless guy in London: Hey, mate, can you spare some change?"

Me: Sure, here you go. <Hands him all my loose change, then realizes ten minutes later that I just gave him eight Pounds>

Honestly, I can see the advantages to a dollar coin, but dollar bills are just so much more convenient to carry around. My objection to the Sacky wasn’t based on monetary policy, it was based on how having five dollars in my pocket can make my pants fall down.

Paper can be made of any sort of pulped fibers. From the US Treasury webpage:

Until about the middle of the 19th century, almost all paper was made from rags. The best paper still has a high rag content.

Heh, what about being Canadian? Most people don’t leave more than loonie for is, but sometimes, there are people who leave toonies. Still can’t do the coloured water thing though because of giving change and all that I mentioned before.

I know I was ranting and whining here, but I actually enjoy the workplace. My co-workers are awesome and my boss is very fair to me. Plus, I get all the free food I want, provided that I don’t go overboard. The regulars that I do talk to are very amusing and I’d miss them very much when I’m not working there anymore. It’s just that sometimes, some customers are so annoying I want to rip their eyes out… or my own. Either way, it’s frustrating.