It’s Sunday afternoon and I’m pondering topics - other than Bigfoot.
I'm a little rusty at writing a blog, two times out of three, my co-author Marian writes the blog. But this time it’s my turn and she's busy with other things.
Hang on a minute. Be right back.
Sorry about that. I had to answer the front door and pay the pizza guy for my delivery. I got a large, thin crust pepperoni and pineapple pizza with extra sauce. (I got the large because there was a sale on the large, plus I can eat the leftovers for breakfast.) I also ordered two bottles of 2-liter diet Pepsi for pretty much the same reason. The delivery guy forgot to bring the second bottle. Sigh. He’s going to the nearby grocery store to pick one up. I feel a little bad about that – he’ll probably have to pay for it out of his tip. But again, maybe next time he’ll read the order more closely and get bigger tips. I’m probably doing him a favor. Right.
As I take the first bite of pizza and consider what to write, I discover that instead of "extra" sauce I got “no” sauce. Double sigh. I don’t like complaining, but I can’t eat this pizza. I waited tables through college and worked part time at Wal-Mart on the weekends for years – I know about people who complain just to complain. I know how hard service people work for very little compensation. I normally don't send stuff back. But I would really, really like to have what I paid for.
So, hold on just another minute please, while I make the phone call.
I’m back. They’re sending another pizza. They offered me a free pizza next time or another pizza now. Since I ordered the pizza because I was hungry now, I declined the future pizza gift certificate which wasn’t really a “gift” certificate since I paid for it already.
Anyway, order guy said it will be about half an hour, so I have time to chat with you. Have you noticed that there seems to be a growing problem with service people getting food orders correct? Especially fast food orders? I’m beginning to think it’s a reading comprehension problem. I ordered my pizza via the internet, so the store had the order in writing. The receipt I signed when I paid the delivery guy had the correct items listed including the extra sauce and the “2” sodas – but neither the delivery guy nor the person who made my pizza – read the order correctly. What are the odds? You'd be surprised how often they get it wrong.
Even going through McDonald’s drive through for my week-day morning Egg McMuffin and coffee, it’s a toss-up (see how I avoided using the appropriate curse word) of what I’ll get in the little white paper bag and paper cup. Once last week I got an Egg McMuffin without the egg. And in my coffee (here’s where my co-author starts laughing), I like 4 Equals and 4 creams in a “large” plain, fully caffeinated coffee. Only 3 times out of 10 do I get what I order. Usually they short me Equals. Sometimes they leave out the cream. Or I get the “We’re out of large coffee cups, do you want a medium?” Of course I know that won’t work out right. How do I know how much Equal or Cream I need for that size cup? And how much of each will they actually put in? Maybe 3 each? Three would require less math. I know - I should just find somewhere else to get my coffee. But I still have hope. McDonalds has good coffee. But back to my premise. When there was more human interaction and less computer generated orders, you were more likely to get exactly what you ordered. True or False? And when you find you didn’t get what you ordered, do you send it back or just complain in private?
Doorbell is ringing. My replacement pizza is here. Sigh.
I’ll probably tip the delivery guy. Sigh. I'm such a pushover.
Rhondaaka The Southern Half of Evelyn David
p.s. - the replacement pizza had the normal amount of sauce on it - not the extra I ordered. I guess I'm just going to have to switch to frozen pizza - or maybe make it myself. No, probably not.
____________________
Brianna Sullivan Mysteries - e-book series
I Try Not to Drive Past Cemeteries- Kindle (Exclusive at Amazon this month)
The Dog Days of Summer in Lottawatah- Kindle - Nook - Smashwords
The Holiday Spirit(s) of Lottawatah- Kindle - Nook - Smashwords
Undying Love in Lottawatah- Kindle - Nook - Smashwords
A Haunting in Lottawatah - Kindle - Nook - Smashwords
Lottawatah Twister - Kindle - Nook - Smashwords
Missing in Lottawatah - Kindle - Nook - Smashwords
Good Grief in Lottawatah - Kindle - Nook - Smashwords
Sullivan Investigations Mystery - e-book series
Murder Off the Books Kindle (Exclusive at Amazon this month)
Murder Takes the Cake Kindle - Nook - Smashwords
Riley Come Home (short story)- Kindle - Nook - Smashwords
Moonlighting at the Mall (short story) - Kindle - Nook - Smashwords
Romances
Love Lessons - Kindle - Nook - Smashwords
Oh the lack of service is everywhere, not just food service. I think people just don't care about doing their jobs well anymore. When I was working, even if I didn't like it, I did my best at it becaus that was how I was raised. Nowadays people act like they are doing you a favor for helping you, even though they are being paid to do their job. It's sad. . .
ReplyDeleteWe love McDonald's vanilla flavored iced coffee. We always ask if the coffee is fresh, because it needs to be or it doesn't taste good, and we want 2 extra shots of vanilla. Sometimes it's perfect. Other times it isn't. Best time to get it, first thing in the a.m. We always taste it to make sure we get the extra shots because we have to pay for them.
ReplyDeleteAnd I agree that no matter what you do, you should do the best job possible.
Marilyn
It depends on where I am at. At a restaurant, I'm returning it if it's not what I asked for.
ReplyDeleteI love your post. I think that a lot of people are so busy rushing that they don't really hear or listen. And don't get me started on manners. It feels bad to check on the service, but if you don't, you don't get what you want. Any way, it's getting to be my dinner time and you made me hungry ;)
ReplyDeleteThanks Dru Ann, Lil, Marilyn and Maureen for reading. Perhaps it's the rushing around that's the problem, not an inability to read a screen or printout. I just get so frustrated - more so as the cost of the items goes up. Just spent the afternoon working on income taxes - I now have something besides my dry pizza to worry about. Grin.
ReplyDeleteNice effort, very informative, this will help me to complete my task. Thanks for share it keep it up.
ReplyDelete