What a dick move. If you don’t approve of the business’s practices so much, why would you shop there?
Doesn’t surprise me in the least.
A true Christian would know that the very next verse is possibly the greatest endorsement of perpetuating misery in any sacred text.
I can’t decide if this is a great troll, or goatse-inspired interpretive dance.
Since airlines are asshole companies, why don’t you suggest to this priest that he try his strategy out by yelling at flight attendants on a flight? Would solve a lot of problems, and he could do some nice ministering in the slammer. Then he can try out his strategy on the guards and see where it gets him.
Wow. What horrifically bad people you and your pastor are.
Not only are the OP’s actions reprehensible, but not very effective. The higher ups don’t care. And as the person who is taking your abuse? I am not likely to try to help you beyond my script. Treat me with respect, and I will do my best to take care of your problem. Treat me like garbage and I will accidentally drop your call. My phone has caller ID. If you are enough of a pain in my ass that I remember your name or phone number, you will go to voicemail where I will accidentally delete your messages. You will never get a live human being on the phone ever again.
So play nice.
Assuming your pastor is a minister of a Christian church, he’s full of shit and is not giving even lip service to what the Carpenter taught. Christians are supposed to do unto others as they would have the others do unto them; they are supposed to act with lovingkindness.
Discounting automobile sales and banking, I haven’t worked in retail in 14 years or so, and of course I’m not a Christian. But I remember what it was like, and I’m a human being, and it is not ethical to take your ire at a corporation out on its employees, particularly front-line cashiers, who aren’t getting paid much and have little power. Doing so is petty, childish, and venal.
Don’t feel too bad, they’re used to it; their bosses treat them a lot worse.
I’m having a hard time believing that the OP is serious. Who seriously thinks they’re going to get a favorable reaction to their big idea to “treat [people] like dirt?”
Either the OP is trying to be one of those Christians that make the rest of us look bad, or he’s doing a poor parody of the same as some kind of “satire.” If he ever posts to this thread again, I wouldn’t be terribly surprised if he uses “satire” as an out.
I tend to focus on the “treat everyone as you would like to be treated, period” part in the Bible. I figure if there’s one thing to take away from that book, it’s that. Anyone who purports to be a Christian who doesn’t strive to fulfill that part is doing it wrong.
My menial job (popular board game pizza…) at least allows me to be honest about its shady practices. “Delivery charge? Why yes, that is just to screw you over.” So that helps grumpy customer interactions to some degree.
But if you want actual change? Complain to corporate. Put it in writing. No one cares about what I say or what happens to me. But PBGPizza cares a LOT about what customers say. Customers do drive change. Just not at the grunt level.
I’m not a Christian, but I’ve read a lot of the literature. Apparently, neither you nor your pastor has made it to the reading bit. Not one single, solitary word of the Christian bible (nor any other primary religious text that I’ve read) advocate treating anyone like dirt. Most especially, the bible cautions that those of the lowest socio-economic level should be treated as well as, or better than, their rich and powerful bosses. I desperately hope that the OP is satire. If not, I hope he’ll come back and tell us all what church he attends, so we can better avoid it. If there’s one thing our country doesn’t need, it’s more rudeness or more “us vs. them” mentality.
I think you and your pastor are bad people and part of the problem in the world. I also think that it sounds like your religion is reinforcing your worst traits and you should find a better outlet.
Finally, there doesn’t seem to be much evidence that god exists, so you should find a better use of your time.
I think the OP is serious. He doesn’t seem to have much respect for or view highly retail folk. I base my opinion on this thread he started recently I want to be the (or at least a) boss. What's the easiest career that will let me do that? - In My Humble Opinion - Straight Dope Message Board
As a person who has spent their entire working life in customer service (17 years and counting) let me say that we already expect all of customers to act like jerks. That and the low pay is why there’s such a high turnover rate in the customer service fields. The employees expect it, their bosses expect it, and their bosses bosses expect it.
We get told to expect it, get trained for it if we’re lucky. If you and your pastor would do this to me, I would tell you in a quite polite manner to take your bible and fuck both of yourselves with it. You want to affect change? How about you, your pastor, and whoever else wants in on your idiotic plan try this.
Treat the people you’re dealing with like humans who deserve respect. Be understanding and respectful. Don’t make outrageous demands, and don’t expect miracles from bottom of the rung employees; especially if they’re getting paid minimum wage.
Let their bosses know how well of a job they’re doing. Write the companies and let them know how well these employees are doing. Frequent the places where you get this kind of treatment, and let them know that’s why you’re spending your money there.
You want businesses to improve? Show them reason to improve through positive action instead of being a jackass.
I actually instituted a personal policy that was inspired by my grandmother, years ago. If I ever make a complaint or contact management with a complaint about service or a product, I make a point to give three compliments to other businesses when I have an unusually good experience. (I try to always make note of good service anyway, but this helps reinforce that behavior)
People are always so quick to complain, yet hesitant to compliment.
robert_columbia, you and your pastor are both douchebags.
Thank you! I love that you take your time to do this. I wish other people would do the same.
For others out there interested in how to make improvements, complete the optional surveys. We really do pay attention to them. Leave good, solid feedback as to what improvements you would like to see. Also, if the employee is helpful, empathetic, but can’t help you because of something other than incompetence on their part, don’ rate them badly.
Industry standard is a 1 through 10 scale. 1 to 6 are detractors, and really penalizes the employee. 7 and 8 are neutral. They don’t count against us, but they don’t count for us. 9 and 10 are what we strive for. If I get 9 surveys, one is a 5, one is an 8, and the rest are 10s, that brings my satisfaction rating for the day from a 100% to a 66.6%, so even 1 undeserved rating can ruin an agent’s day.
I love your grandmother’s idea, Calatin. In fact, it reminded me to see whether I’d had a reply - recently, I contacted my grocery store’s corporate e-mail in order to specifically compliment a bagger who’d done a wonderful job, in a very pleasant manner. I was glad to hear back from the store’s assistant manager, that said employee would hear about my positive feedback.
If that employee had done a wonderful job, but I treated him like crap because I don’t like the price of ground beef at that store, then I’d have been a gigantic douche, while the price remained the same and a low-wage employee would have had a crappy(er) day.
About 8 years ago, I was needing to buy a tv. I went to Best Buy and was looking intently at their selection, when salesperson after salesperson would walk by me and approach people just loitering in the store to see if they needed help. This happened probably 4 times. I finally went to a nearby department (as I couldn’t find a tv salesperson who was free), and asked if they could send someone over to help me. So, I walk back to the tv section and sure enough someone comes by me, and asks a bored mother, struggling with her kids and obviously there, dragged by someone else, if she needed help. That was the final straw, and I left. (Keep in mind, at the time, I was a mid-20’s male, dressed in jeans and a nice shirt, and I was obviously interested in the products, versus people who meander down the aisles to kill time)
I went to Circuit City and ended up being helped immediately by someone who couldn’t have been older than 20. I’m somewhat anal about big purchases, so I ended up asking for his input on flatscreens versus the old-fashioned models, LCD vs. plasma, etc. You name it, I had questions, and I probably changed my mind 4 times. Since I changed my mind, I said I wanted to do more research, but asked his schedule, because I wanted him to get the commission, since he had been so wonderful.
I ended up going back the next week, settled on a particular model. I made the purchase, but was going to have to wait a few days to have it delivered. He said that, since I lived close to the store, and he was going to be done with his shift soon, that he would gladly put it in the back of his truck and bring it to my place that day, and then install / optimize it, free of charge. I told him I didn’t want him to go to any trouble, but he insisted. So, by the end of the day, I had a new tv fully set-up in my apartment. I told him I’d do whatever I could to compliment / help him, and he graciously thanked me.
I then wrote a one-page letter to his manager, detailing how he’d gone above and beyond service, how appreciative I was, how I was going to refer all my friends to that store, and to him in particular, and I detailed / contrasted my experience at Best Buy. (I would’ve written it by hand, but my writing is horrible) I then hand-delivered it to the store manager, asking to see the man, so I could verbally recount the details of the letter.
Well, a few months later, I went back to Circuit City and I saw the guy. Turned out, he’d gotten a promotion, and he, in part, attributed it to my letter. Apparently, the Regional Manager was in the store when I came by to sing the praises of the kid. They were so impressed with the amount of effort that he’d gone through to make sure I’d had a good experience, as well as the fact that I wrote a letter and delivered it by hand, that it put the kid on the radar for a fast-tracked promotion. He thanked me again, but I told him that I was sure he would’ve gotten the raise / advancement at some point soon, regardless.
Unfortunately, as I stated, he worked for Circuit City, so we all know how that turned out…