Your opinion is wanted

[bigwheelzip]

What I'd like to discuss is; how service workers were treated circa 1930, and how they are treated in comparison today via 2022.

At that time the back door of all homes, and places of business were considered, and called a Service Entrance.
Today, it's the only entrance used for deliveries, or for service use. When did this transpire?


At 6:30 pm, a woman slouched up our front sidewalk, carrying our order of meds.......

1. I treat service workers, and all people, as I would wish to be treated. I find unskilled service workers about the same as always, though skilled service workers seem less skilled. The customers of today seem more likely to be rude to those trying to serve them.

2. Back door as a residential "Service" entrance. Never heard the term in more than 70 years of middle-class single-family home living, in 19 states and 2 other countries I've resided. Have seen them in high-rise buildings.

3. If someone slouched and mumbled up to my door a little late with a delivery for me, that saved me from a trip I didn't want to take, I'd be happy.

 

[Kanewpadle]

Yes times are tough. But there is never an excuse to justify poor service. Too many people have adopted the attitude that it's okay to provide poor service due to Covid or staffing problems.

Excellent service is very easy to provide. People today do not want to be held accountable and if they are they scream about the supposed rights they have to be lazy.

I tell those that work for me that "that you can piss someone off and take their money once. Or make them happy and take their money over the course of their life".

Repeat business is where the money is. People remember where they do or do not receive good service.

 

[Mike SC Hunter]

Which isn't much to work with.

Went in a Lowes Wednesday. We got our stuff and went to check out. NO REGISTERS OPEN in the entire store. Only self check out. Told my wife leave the stuff in the buggy and let's get out of here. She did the self check while I was steaming. Ask the watching employee why the registers were closed. She said they didn't schedule any cashiers for that day. Told her, her store does what" vacuum pumps do" and I won't be back.

 

[ameridaddy]

Service today (per the OP's topic) is much like and reflective of the current fashion in parenting, in that you can't teach someone something you don't know, the corollary being you can't learn something from someone who doesn't know or care. We have devolved into a crass, profane, self absorbed society that foams at the mouth over real or imaginary "rights" but is basically unfamiliar with or dismissive of the concept of "responsibilities".

Civility, manners, hygiene, basic skills in communication and courtesy, the work ethic and the idea that good service is a responsibility and a reasonable expectation have all slipped several notches on the scale in my lifetime. Our "right" to dress, speak, act the way we want as an "in-duh-vidual" even at our place of employment supersedes the "old fashioned" ways.

Given, generalities can be dangerous and there are always exceptions. But the coarseness of life today is in direct opposite proportion to our prosperity. The more people have the more they seem to feel entitled to, and the more their disdainful treatment of those "beneath them" seems to come to the fore. And on the other end, many who have by choice or necessity tied themselves to service oriented jobs are openly hostile to the concept and those they are there to serve, as they seem to feel it's beneath them and they resent being there. But most like that can't seem to grasp "working your way up and out" of a job like that, feeling instead they deserve to have a better job with no real ability or skill other than "I want it". The passive aggressive poor attitude of 'just don't give a ****' is more and more prevalent. It's becoming the norm instead of the exception.

Solutions? Forget it. Should be obvious that given our fascination with "rights" and "self" today it is extremely unlikely that genie is ever going back into the bottle. The "greatest generation" gave this country untold opportunity and prosperity after defeating the WWII foes. Unfortunately, the lesson that all that can be lost more quickly than it arrived and our national survival is not a sure thing even today is something most cannot grasp these days.

When the small lessons are lost, the big reminders are always painful.
Don't care for some (or all) of what I wrote ? I was asked for my opinion, so whether it's popular or not it can't be 'wrong' 'cause it's an opinion. Yours may vary . . . good for you.

I couldn't agree with you more, except to add I thing the decline in good manners and a neat appearance, especially in public and at work, began with the 1960's scragglies.

My boy the airline pilot says he loves everything about his job except the passengers, who he says now board the plane in pajamas and even wet swimwear. He says some of the passengers look like refugees and show more skin than early Playmates, yet feel they're entitled to first class privileges and get nasty if they don't get it PDQ.
/Grouchy Old Man

 

[paplinker]

Yes times are tough. But there is never an excuse to justify poor service. Too many people have adopted the attitude that it's okay to provide poor service due to Covid or staffing problems.

Excellent service is very easy to provide. People today do not want to be held accountable and if they are they scream about the supposed rights they have to be lazy.

I tell those that work for me that "that you can piss someone off and take their money once. Or make them happy and take their money over the course of their life".

Repeat business is where the money is. People remember where they do or do not receive good service.

I run the working end of my bosses tree service and excellent service is a cornerstone of what I demand. Repeat customers and word of mouth is roughly 60% of all work.

I recall one day we removed a tree for a widower over her dining room roof was really dirty from years of grime building up.
After I got the tree down I cleaned all her gutters out that had mini trees starting to grow, and sent my guys on the roof with a soapy bucket of water and rags to clean up two really dirty skylights.

When we were done the lady actually gave me a hug. That extra half hour made our customers day and was worth more than an ad may generate.

 

[BLACKHAWKNJ]

My observation is that service workers reflect the employer who pays them.
At a now closed supermarket near me I approached an open register with my order. The two teenage girls were chit-chatting, as soon as I placed the first items on the roller-BOOM ! They were all business, one rang up my purchases, the other bagged them. At another market I note the cashiers all look like teenagers, but they are always clean, properly groomed-and trained.
In the "Good Old Days" more upscale homes, apartment buildings had a "tradesmens" or "service" entrance. They often had wider doors, a ramp instead of stairs, made it easier for them to maneuver large loads. Taking groceries to the back door meant they could immediately be put in the kitchen, an important consideration for older people, people with disabilities, etc. And leaving packages on the back step helped to deter porch pirates-they had them back then.

 

[Golddollar]

Tonight I had a blast from the past at a street fair in the town where I grew up. A local company I worked summers for back in the mid-1970s had a tent there. I told the people how I had been a summer worker and that not only was it a good place for me as a worker but that I also learned some life lessons from being there. I related how on my first day the Section Superintendent called me into his office and gave me advice about respecting and listening to the regular workers there. I can remember him saying that these men maybe did not have the opportunities to go to college like I was doing, but they were still worthy of respect. That was 45+ years ago but I still remember that advice. I tried my best to live up to that advice while I was working there, and in life ever since.

I was there for three summers, and the word got around that I was going to law school. And one day, one of the regular workers said to me that he hoped that I was going to set up a practice in that town. That really clinched the Section Superintendent's advice for me for all time.

 

[Ugly Hombre]

I have jobs that need to be done around my rude hut but put them off as every time I try to get someone to do the work they do not do a good job and or rip me off.

I do not mind paying good money above and beyond but getting cheated and bad work puts me off my feed.

Really tough to find good workers now any where. imo

 

[Grayfox]

I think a big part of the problem is the "No child left behind" and "Everybody gets a trophy" generation is now in the work force.
Add social media where all their peers are complaining about how much they hate their job and everybody needs to be paid more and have to work less.
They are the "entitled" generation and think they shouldn't need to put any effort into having a good life. Its just supposed to be handed to them.
Finally, sad to say, but most of them are as dumb as a box of rocks thanks to our liberal education system.
Basically, you've got a lot of 20-30 year old kids who never learned how to be grown ups.

 

[Ranger514]

I have to say the majority of everyday service we've received has been positive in our new area. In the past couple of years, however, we've changed auto manufacturers after 20 years because of poor local dealership warranty service. The mesage my wife and I received from two local dealerships was very plain: if you didn't buy it from us, we couldn't care less about living up to our company warranty. We had to go up the corporate chain in order to get one vehicle repaired, while warranty covered repairs on two others were not performed properly. Three strikes...you're out!

 

[Rustyt1953]

I searched Amazon for broad brushes and they are temporarily out of stock.

It seems they have all been shipped here.

 

[Kiwi cop]

Well, I'm not going to get into insulting the pool of people willing to work. What I will say is that there are a lot of people no longer in the workforce because we as a society have recently made it easier and more profitable to not work . . .

For many years we have said that there are two types of unemployed. Those who need a job and the unemployable.

When the adult education sector is spending millions every year teaching those "looking for work" how to get out of bed on time, shower, clean their teeth, comb their hair and how to speak reasonably to others, you know there is a problem.

 

[Exaviator]

Like the issue of firearms in the US, tipping for all and every aspect of service is very much embedded in your way of lifestyle. Fortunately, here "Down Under" employees in the service industry receive an appropriate wage and tipping is basically none existent, except maybe for exceptional service in a restaurant and even then, it would be minimal and not an expected percentage.

Overall service is freely given, and part of personal pride in doing a good job.

 

[Beemerguy53]

Like the issue of firearms in the US, tipping for all and every aspect of service is very much embedded in your way of lifestyle. Fortunately, here "Down Under" employees in the service industry receive an appropriate wage and tipping is basically none existent, except maybe for exceptional service in a restaurant and even then, it would be minimal and not an expected percentage.

Overall service is freely given, and part of personal pride in doing a good job.

I visit Western Europe regularly, and the same situation prevails there: Service workers are paid appropriately for what they do, and tips are minimal...usually rounding up to the next whole Euro. It's hard for us Yanks to break old habits however...

 

[Beemerguy53]

Went in a Lowes Wednesday. We got our stuff and went to check out. NO REGISTERS OPEN in the entire store. Only self check out. Told my wife leave the stuff in the buggy and let's get out of here. She did the self check while I was steaming. Ask the watching employee why the registers were closed. She said they didn't schedule any cashiers for that day. Told her, her store does what" vacuum pumps do" and I won't be back.

Many employers are severely short-staffed these days. It seems that during Covid, a lot of relatively low-wage employees changed careers, leaving a lot of workplaces hurting.

Respectfully, sir, I would suggest that those unmanned registers at Lowe's were probably unavoidable...I commend your wife for her understanding.

 

[Beemerguy53]

I think a big part of the problem is the "No child left behind" and "Everybody gets a trophy" generation is now in the work force.
Add social media where all their peers are complaining about how much they hate their job and everybody needs to be paid more and have to work less.
They are the "entitled" generation and think they shouldn't need to put any effort into having a good life. Its just supposed to be handed to them.
Finally, sad to say, but most of them are as dumb as a box of rocks thanks to our liberal education system.
Basically, you've got a lot of 20-30 year old kids who never learned how to be grown ups.

I got my first job in 1966, at 13 years old. I delivered the Baltimore Evening Sun newspaper after school on weekdays, for the princely sum of $3.50 per week. Moving on from there, I caddied at a local country club where we made real money: about $4.50 for carrying a single bag 18 holes, and $9.00 for a double.

My annual Social Security statement shows that I first paid into the system in December of 1968, when I was 15 years old. I got a job at the dry cleaners down the street from my home....worked every Saturday from 8 AM to 4:30 PM, and made 85 cents per hour, which was Maryland's minimum wage then. The owner told me, my very first day there, that it wasn't he who paid me that 85 cents: it was our customers, and he better never hear me fail to thank them for their business.

I think that awareness, that sentiment, is what's missing in so many businesses these days...

 

[steelslaver]

Well, I'm not going to get into insulting the pool of people willing to work. What I will say is that there are a lot of people no longer in the workforce because we as a society have recently made it easier and more profitable to not work . . .

Please explain to me how I get any money not working.

 

[Onomea]

Like the issue of firearms in the US, tipping for all and every aspect of service is very much embedded in your way of lifestyle. Fortunately, here "Down Under" employees in the service industry receive an appropriate wage and tipping is basically none existent, except maybe for exceptional service in a restaurant and even then, it would be minimal and not an expected percentage.

Overall service is freely given, and part of personal pride in doing a good job.

Japan's like that. No tipping. Although, if someone or a group causes extra work or bother beyond the normal, a "bother fee" may be added in the older, traditional places. A reasonable practice, I think.

 

[Muss Muggins]

Please explain to me how I get any money not working.

It's not about making money, exactly. It's about living without making money. Stimulus payments, eviction and utility shutoff moratoriums, increased food stamps, payments to relatives for babysitting children, every organization on the planet giving free food and gifts for the children, free smart phones, etc., etc., etc. . .

I've worked amongst this particular social strata for 35 years, and watched it evolve. I see it even more clearly in the work I do now. It's now easier than ever to survive without an income. . .

 

[Bekeart]

AMEN!

The owner told me, my very first day there, that it wasn't he who paid me that 85 cents: it was our customers, and he better never hear me fail to thank them for their business.

AMEN! So simple and so true.

None of the money paid to WalMart workers came from Sam's pocket.