We All Make Mistakes..
I am not sure what the deal is, but lately I have encountered many people that apparently do not like their job. Actually they not only dislike their job, somehow it is my fault that they don't like their job. For instance, I had to go to the mall last week, yes, I know, not my favorite place. But I decided to order some lunch at one of the fast food places in the food court. As I was ordering the young lady was very polite and was prompt with her service, but when I sat down I realized she forgot my waffle fries.
Now I know when my mother reads this she will say, you didn't need any waffle fries. I realize that I have put on some weight and I really probably didn't need them, but I PAID FOR THEM. And this particular restaurant has recently increased their prices. Therefore, I decided that I was going to go back. I politely said, "you forgot my fries." And all of a sudden you would have thought I spit in her face! She grabbed them and shoved them in my bag, as if this was my fault.
Let me say, they were not busy. In fact this mall has seen a decline in business recently, so it wasn't like she was being overworked. But she acted as if it was my fault that SHE forgot my waffle fries. I wanted to say, "this is your job, and it really isn't that hard to grab some fries." Plus, it wasn't like I was mad she forgot them in the first place, I just wanted what I paid for.
This is the second time this has happened to me. Several weeks ago I ordered a pizza to pick up on my way home from school. When I arrived the girl said, "well your pizza is ready, but someone paid for your order." I said, "I don't understand." And she said, "well this man came in and his pizza was around your price but he paid for yours, so his is still in the system." Then she stood there and looked at me as if it were my problem to solve.
Basically, she rang up the wrong pizza for this man and therefore his pizza was still unpaid for. So what did I do? I stood there and looked at her as if this were her problem, not mine. Finally, a gentleman working in the back said "what is the problem?" And she said "another man paid for her pizza and his is unpaid in the system." She never once said "I rang up the wrong thing" or "I made a mistake."
A friend of mine in St. Louis recently told me she went to a restaurant and ordered one of those variety appetizers, in which you pick three different things. The menu said "Variety Appetizer - choose between these eight items." So, she started telling the waitress which three she wanted and the waitress said "no, the cook will choose what you get." So my friend said "well it doesn't say that in the menu" and the waitress said "doesn't matter the cook will decide." Obviously, they had a small argument over this and when the bill came the waitress just took the liberty of adding a dollar to every item my friend and her boyfriend ordered, even though it wasn't the price in the menu.
What is going on with our society? When did people decide that their ability or inability to perform their job became everyone else's fault except their own? When I was a kid I would always half pay attention when folding clothes and my mom would always say "if you do it right the first time you want have to do it again." (I refolded a lot of clothes.) I have always said that I would never say this to anyone else, simply because it drove me crazy. However, I keep having the urge to say this to people lately. It is not that people shouldn't make mistakes, I make mistakes all the time! But how much easier is it to just say, "hey I made a mistake, I am sorry, let me fix the problem."
In Mississippi they have an advertising campaign to try and get people to exercise more. The advertisement is called "Let's Go Walking Mississippi." It is hilarious, and all government employees have to walk every week. Every now and then when I am in a bad mood I will roll down my window and yell "Let's Go Walking Mississippi" to the people walking. Okay, I have only done it a couple of times, but it is funny. Maybe they should put some of that advertising money into a new campaign "It is okay to make mistakes, but admit it, fix it, and move on."
Now I know when my mother reads this she will say, you didn't need any waffle fries. I realize that I have put on some weight and I really probably didn't need them, but I PAID FOR THEM. And this particular restaurant has recently increased their prices. Therefore, I decided that I was going to go back. I politely said, "you forgot my fries." And all of a sudden you would have thought I spit in her face! She grabbed them and shoved them in my bag, as if this was my fault.
Let me say, they were not busy. In fact this mall has seen a decline in business recently, so it wasn't like she was being overworked. But she acted as if it was my fault that SHE forgot my waffle fries. I wanted to say, "this is your job, and it really isn't that hard to grab some fries." Plus, it wasn't like I was mad she forgot them in the first place, I just wanted what I paid for.
This is the second time this has happened to me. Several weeks ago I ordered a pizza to pick up on my way home from school. When I arrived the girl said, "well your pizza is ready, but someone paid for your order." I said, "I don't understand." And she said, "well this man came in and his pizza was around your price but he paid for yours, so his is still in the system." Then she stood there and looked at me as if it were my problem to solve.
Basically, she rang up the wrong pizza for this man and therefore his pizza was still unpaid for. So what did I do? I stood there and looked at her as if this were her problem, not mine. Finally, a gentleman working in the back said "what is the problem?" And she said "another man paid for her pizza and his is unpaid in the system." She never once said "I rang up the wrong thing" or "I made a mistake."
A friend of mine in St. Louis recently told me she went to a restaurant and ordered one of those variety appetizers, in which you pick three different things. The menu said "Variety Appetizer - choose between these eight items." So, she started telling the waitress which three she wanted and the waitress said "no, the cook will choose what you get." So my friend said "well it doesn't say that in the menu" and the waitress said "doesn't matter the cook will decide." Obviously, they had a small argument over this and when the bill came the waitress just took the liberty of adding a dollar to every item my friend and her boyfriend ordered, even though it wasn't the price in the menu.
What is going on with our society? When did people decide that their ability or inability to perform their job became everyone else's fault except their own? When I was a kid I would always half pay attention when folding clothes and my mom would always say "if you do it right the first time you want have to do it again." (I refolded a lot of clothes.) I have always said that I would never say this to anyone else, simply because it drove me crazy. However, I keep having the urge to say this to people lately. It is not that people shouldn't make mistakes, I make mistakes all the time! But how much easier is it to just say, "hey I made a mistake, I am sorry, let me fix the problem."
In Mississippi they have an advertising campaign to try and get people to exercise more. The advertisement is called "Let's Go Walking Mississippi." It is hilarious, and all government employees have to walk every week. Every now and then when I am in a bad mood I will roll down my window and yell "Let's Go Walking Mississippi" to the people walking. Okay, I have only done it a couple of times, but it is funny. Maybe they should put some of that advertising money into a new campaign "It is okay to make mistakes, but admit it, fix it, and move on."
Comments
I totally feel you on this post. Ben and I have a different problem. In a fast food place (or anywhere you order up at a counter), Ben and I like to have a staring contest with the person taking orders. They usually NEVER say, "May I take your order?" so we just stand there staring at them until they do. Sometimes they never do and I have to elbow Ben to make him just go ahead and order. It's hilarious.