The other day I was sitting in the drive through, second in line to order. It was a beautiful Oklahoma day. One where you have to have your windows down because everything about the day is right. Then…my zen moment was broken by the sounds of a person yelling at a minimum wage high school kid through a $3 intercom system. Both were frustrated and had to do the order over and over. I realized all of this started when the patron pulled up and before the kid could say “Welcome to Krusty burger!” the patron yelled out a 32 piece order with subsets. I jest, but you get the idea.
I sat back and thought “I know the kid had training… it's almost assured they have a process…the employee couldn’t convey the verbal cues of the process because the customer in hangry!” So in the name of science, I was determined to follow the process. My order was a bit more modest, but still multiple meals with substitutions. I pulled up, did not speak till spoken to, “how can I help you” “I’ll take a number #2”, was asked small or large “Large please”, fries or tots “tots please”, drink? “Coke”, anything else “cheese please” and this went on seamlessly for the rest of my order.
What am I getting at here? I believe most all successful businesses have a process or flow, that you as a customer, should try to follow. You approached this vendor for their product, meaning they are the expert in this situation. You are still the customer, but if you let them do their process, I bet you have a better experience. Boss YOUR employees around.
