Danielle Henderson
Google
Last week Friday, Nov 22, in the morning, I stopped here. The person taking my order was new to the job, likely their first week. He was friendly, had a smile on his face, eager to learn, positive attitude. While I was waiting for my drink, a customer returned, they were missing a piece of quiche. Once it was rectified, the senior staff proceeded to scold the trainee. The trainee spoke up, asserting the inappropriateness of the response. The entire situation was extremely uncomfortable. One of the most uncalled for responses I’ve seen. I’m a leader, I’ve been a trainer, I’ve been in client services leadership roles for years.
I am 100% confident that the person who waited five extra minutes for their quiche would have forgotten about this as soon as it was rectified. What is not as easily forgotten, is how the employee was treated.
I hope the employee who was treated this way, never returned to this establishment. The culture was negative, the senior staff were not supportive or offering them any opportunity to learn through their approach. A week later I still can’t shake my discomfort in the situation. Do better, be better, treat your staff better. Learning curves are expected, making mistakes is part of growth and development. Clients expect learning curves, they do not expect perfection.