There Has Been a Change

I like sandwiches. I have for a long time. Since I now spend most of my time working in the suburbs, I often eat lunch at Tim Horton's. The sandwiches are decent and the service is quick. It isn't the best sandwich I'll ever have but it is consistent. The location on Innes Road near Tenth Line in Orleans was exceptionally quick. I never waited more than a minute or two in line, even if it reached to the door and usually my sandwich was ready for pick-up before I was done paying. I ate at several different locations, and even though they were not quite that fast, they were usually very acceptable.

Last August, the parent company of Burger King purchased, Tim Horton's and merged the two companies while moving the headquarters to Canada. These guys are known for ruthlessly cutting staff but promised that no front line workers would be affected.

There seems to be about the same number of people working in a Tim Horton's location as before the merger but, the service pattern has changed.

In the past, if someone was waiting, any available staff would walk up to an available till and serve the next customer. This would continue until there every till was taking orders or there was no more available staff.

Things have changed.

In every location I have visited lately, there seems to be no concern if there is a line-up. In fact there are times that nobody will come up and take an order if I am the only person waiting. I will be left standing there. Once the line is out the door, then there is some urgency.

It appears there has been a shift in the service model at Tim Horton's. I don't think they have cut any staff but it wouldn't surprise me if they do not replace everyone who leaves through natural attrition.

I think this is a bad move for the organization.

Tim Horton's appeals to a broad spectrum. Everyone from teens to retired individuals will buy from Tim Horton's. There are a lot of people who know exactly what they want and feel their time is short, likewise, there are a lot of people who their local Tim's is the hub of their social life and can take a long time to order. If you do not serve everyone as quickly as possible, the line-up starts. Long slow line-ups are not appealing to anyone. Leaving people in line when they can be served only exacerbates the problem.

I have diversified my lunch dining options because I am not happy with the service at Tim Horton's. I still eat there but only once or twice a week instead of four or five times. to lose fifty percent of a customer's spending can be devastating. I'm sure I won't be the only one who cuts back at Tim Horton's. The people who will notice first will be the ones who frequent them the most, and those are the people you need to keep your business alive.

I have no inside information, I am only speaking from my experiences but I visit multiple locations on a regular basis and I'm seeing it everywhere. If you are from Tim Horton's and you can make a difference, I suggestion do. I'm sure most people have yet to notice and you can keep them. As for me, I'll continue to find new dining experiences, for lunch, in the suburbs. I'm not boycotting Tim Horton's, I'm just cutting back because the service isn't what I have some to expect.

How To Get Good Customer Service

Have you ever noticed that some people seem to complain about the customer they get. It seems to be the same people who do not get good service. After nearly a year of hanging out in the retail environment, I think the people who get poor customer service don't help themselves out.

You have to remember that people who work in customer service are spending the majority of their time interacting with people. You can make it much easier for them to serve you by doing some simple things.

The first thing is to make sure the person who is going to serve you is ready to listen to you. This may sound simple but nearly everyday I see a potential customer start talking to either myself or a customer service associate while they are completing another task. Much of what retail associates do is not a difficult task however it does require some attention.

Before you start asking questions make sure you warm up the associate who is going to be serving you. A quick question about their day is all you need. It gives them a chance to situate themselves to serving you. 

If you have a good associate serving you, they will ask you some questions. Make sure you answer the questions. They are trying to understand what you want and make the appropriate recommendation. If the associate isn't understanding what you are describing, try a different approach. We all use language slightly differently.

Most of all, be pleasant. It sounds obvious but a lot of people seem to forget to be nice to people around you. We all prefer to deal with nice people and you will get better service if you are nice to the people trying to help you.

There you go. It's not hard to have a good shopping experience if you go about it properly.

Jack

I have to admit that I didn't share his political views. I feel it's important to say that. There is a lot of things I did admire about him.

Jack Layton passed away early this morning. When I heard the news I was saddened. I'm not going to say he would have made a great Prime Minister. He may have but we will never know. He was taken from us too early.

It doesn't matter what you believe about how a nation should be run, it was clear that Jack Layton was trying to do what he believed would make Canada better. It was clear that he worked to make others lives better. He clearly wanted to help.

Jack was a very educated man. He had the knowledge to back up his ideas. That's not what made him good at what he does. He knew how to communicate. He knew how to take the idea and make the voters understand his point. He connected well with young voters. He spoke their language. He motivated them to vote.

Jack Layton invigorated the New Democratic Party. In some ways he turned it into the Jack Layton Party. People liked him and would vote for his party, regardless of what the party was trying to do. His big smile and clear, simple explanations mixed with direct questions made him very popular.

Back in June I saw Jack Layton walking through Terminal 1 at the Toronto Airport. It was just him, going about his business without an entourage. He was the man he portrayed himself to be.

I think our national political scene has lost a key ingredient. Not because I agree with what he wants to do but because he would ask straightforward questions looking for straightforward answers. I think that's what I admired the most about Jack Layton.

Thank-you for your service to our great nation.

Not So Quickie Mart

So, in Ottawa there is a chain of convenience stores branded as Quickie Mart. Yes, I had visions of Apu the first time I saw one. How could you not. I occasionally purchase items from the Quickie Mart. Tonight was one of those nights.

When I arrived at the store there was a long line at the cash register. Not a long line for a convenience store but a long line for nearly anything. There were nine people in front of me. I picked up the bottle of Coke I wanted and joined the line. It turns out the line was not moving. Two more people entered the store and eventually joined the line that was still not moving.

Upon further investigation it appeared the lone employee was conducting some type of cash-out.

There are two problems with this.

First, a convenience store is supposed to be convenient. You should be able to get in and out quickly. You pay a premium for them to be open at all hours and you can quickly make your transactions.

Secondly, and possibly more importantly, the security within a convenience store is based on not a lot of people being in the store at once. If you have to many people in an convenience store it gets a lot easier for someone contemplating a robbery to pull it off. It is easier to generate confusion. It's easier to control a larger crowd. It's easier to get conflicting witness statements that may help prevent a conviction.

It is understandable that employees must compete reports. Managers must know what is happening in the organization. That being said, serving customers should always be the first priority. Customers should not be made to wait. A waiting customer has the ability to change their mind. It costs you sales.

Tonight the Quickie Mart was not so quickie, maybe they should seek out and hire Apu.

Best Cab Driver Ever

So I am on my way from Ottawa to Winnipeg for meetings. I had to cab it from my new home to the airport. This is just part of traveling.

I had the best cab driver ever.

First he asked me which route to take to the airport. Seriously, I have never had that happen in my life. Then his phone rang. He asked me if it was or for him to answer. How courteous is that!

It is rare to see service that great in these times, however with a sluggish economy, that is exactly what you should see. Good service is an attitude to have the customer a part of the service delivery. I really don't know which route is faster but having the option is truly unique.

I don't expect this to become the norm but it is nice to see from time to time.

I took a routine taxi ride to the airport and had the best driver ever.

Observations While Shopping

I noticed a couple of things while I was out and about this week-end.

I was in Walmart on Friday buying a couple of items. It wasn't going to take long to find what I needed and get to the cashier. As I walked past the 10 items or less line I noted it was very long. It was the setup where you have one line that leads into six tills. The line up was out the area reserved for the line and down the isle for about 30 feet. I thought that this was typical Walmart as I have often spent twice as much time waiting to pay as I do finding the items I require.

It took me about five or six minutes to find the items I wanted and return to the check-out. When I returned (warning I am about to say something nice about Walmart.) the excessive line had been cleared away. I spent about two minutes in line, payed for my goods, and left.

I have often not had good things to say about Walmart. I find a lot of what they do to be poor, but in this case on this day they exceeded my expectation and should be commended.

Today I was buying some groceries in Sobey's. I ended up in line to pay for my groceries. The lady in front of me had some reusable bags for her groceries. I admit we should reduce the amount of plastic we use, especially for a one time use item. By the time she had each piece of meat wrapped, and her rotisserie chicken put in separate bags, and some stuff she was picking up for a friend bagged separately, I'm pretty sure she used as many bags as if she had not brought her reusable. bags.

I believe we should try to do good for the environment. I'm sure she though she was. However, if you look at it critically she really didn't make a difference today.

When you look at the world around you, it is amazing what you may notice.