Well if all the occurrences of "girl/she/her" were replaced with "boy/he/his" in A-Train's mocking portrayal of T_J's supposed *action*, would you still have problem with it?
Ugh...only one minute later and you caved. You must stay strong, my friend. Customer service is definitely poor these days. My wife and I try to only pick restaurants with adult waiters and not teenage ones because they are the worst. In general, though, I learned a valuable lesson from my parents (based on their example) and that is to treat everyone in such roles as if they were your friends. Hell, some bus boys at restaurants they frequent know more about my life than I do.
Anyone ever read "Nickel and Dimed"? Great book about trying to survive on minimum wage. I read it two years ago and it completely changed my outlook. Every time I have stayed at a hotel in the past two years, I have left a cash tip each day for the maid who cleaned my room.
No doubt it sucks to work for minimum wage but I don't think that equates to having no expectation of customer service. Really its a problem of management IMO though. If they're trained correctly then this stuff doesn't happen. Just look at that McDonalds thread to see how far they go to follow instructions! I don't think there would be anything wrong with complaining to a manager. Being in a bad mood or hating your job is not an excuse to perform your job poorly. If more people complained about smashed bread/groceries then the management would more than likely stress not doing it.
http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/topstory2/3401615 Speaking of supermarket: Oct. 18, 2005, 12:45PM 15 Houston Randalls stores to close By DAVID KAPLAN Copyright 2005 Houston Chronicle CLOSING Safeway is closing the following Randalls stores in the Houston area: • 13350 Jones Road. • 7320 Antoine • 12555 Westheimer • 6805 Highway 6 South • 11021 Fuqua • 7098 Bissonnet • 1302 Blalock Dr. • 4880 Louetta • 1306 W. Davis • 13140 Louetta • 3126 FM 528 in Webster • 570 El Dorado Blvd. in Webster • 4610 Highway 6 South in Sugar Land • 4802 Fairmont Parkway in Pasadena • 2800 E. Broadway in Pearland Also: • 3047 John Redditt Dr. in Lufkin Safeway said this morning that it will close 15 struggling Randalls stores in the Houston area by the end of the year. Safeway, the owner of Randalls for the last six years, said 36 Randalls stores will remain open in the Houston area. Outside of Houston, Safeway also plans to shut 11 other stores in its Texas division, which is made up of 138 Randalls and Tom Thumb stores. Since the beginning of the year, industry publications have speculated Randalls might close or sell underperforming stores, or even try to sell the chain. The Pleasanton, Calif.-based grocer is focusing its efforts on its "lifestyle remodel" program that includes the introduction of more upscale products to compete against lower-priced rivals such as Wal-Mart. Safeway said today its third-quarter profit fell 23 percent as the costs of closing the Texas stores and cutting higher-paid workers in Northern California outweighed improvement in the grocer's sales. CEO Steve Burd, however, is betting that he can turn things around in the long run. "We believe we are setting the stage for further progress in 2006,'' Burd told analysts during a conference call today. Safeway purchased Randalls and Tom Thumb from the Onstead family for about $1.8 billion in 1999, when Randalls was the No. 2 chain in Houston, with a 20 percent market share. Since that time, Randalls' market share in Houston has fallen to 10.8 percent, with a quarterly drop of more than 1.5 percent, according to the September issue of the Shelby Report. "That sort of drop in a quarter is notable, and might signal that they are looking at their options with those stores," said Lorrie Griffith, editor of the Shelby Report, which covers the industry in the Southwest. One source in the real estate community, who asked to remain anonymous, said he has seen a written notice from Safeway to a local landlord announcing its intention to close a Randalls store. The source has been told of two or three other such notices sent to local landlords. Argus Research analyst Erin Ashley Smith noted that big changes are taking place in the highly competitive business. "There is definitely consolidation within this industry," Smith said. "I think all of the grocery stores are looking at what they own and in order to succeed, they are going to try to pull out of markets where they are not performing well." Safeway has been intent on a growth strategy recently where it has remodeled hundreds of its Safeway branded stores to push its "lifestyle" theme, she said. Those changes have been generally well-received, she added. HOUSTON GROCERS Share of sales in the Houston area market (As of July): 1 Kroger 28.9% 2 Wal-Mart Supercenter 22.6% 3 H-E-B 13.7% 4 Randalls 10.8% 5 Fiesta Mart 6.5% 6 Lewis Food Town 2.2% 7 Gerland's 1.9% 8 Target 1.9% 9 Wal-Mart Neighborhood Markets 1.6% 10 Sellers Bros. 1.1% Source: The Shelby Report, Trade Dimensions Said Mark Hamstra, retail editor at Supermarket News, a trade publication, "It's widely thought in the industry that Safeway didn't manage its acquisition of Randalls well at first, and since it's such a competitive field, it's very difficult to play catch-up once you've fallen behind." The conventional wisdom in recent years is that supermarket chains are in trouble because they are getting hit from both sides: Wal-Mart on the discount end and operations like Whole Foods and Central Market on the upscale end. But chains such as Kroger and Safeway have learned to operate more efficiently and upgrade their locations, incorporating merchandising ideas from places like Whole Foods, while offering better service than Wal-Mart, said Burt Flickinger III, managing director of Strategic Resource Group, a retail consulting firm. Safeway reported today that it earned $122.5 million, or 27 cents per share, during the three months that ended Sept. 10. That compared with net income of $159.2 million, or 35 cents per share, at the same time last year. Revenue for the period totaled $8.95 billion, a 7 percent increase from $8.34 billion last year. If not for after-tax charges of $47.5 million to account for the reorganization in Texas and Northern California, Safeway said it would have earned 38 cents per share. That figure exceeded the consensus estimate of 35 cents per share among analysts surveyed by Thomson Financially. Investors seemed skeptical that Safeway's plan will pay off. Safeway's shares fell 99 cents, or 4.1 percent, to $23.40 in midday trading on the New York Stock Exchange.
Usually I enjoy "bagging" on you, but in this case, if he didn't see recognize that quote, then I'm going to punt his dog.
It's about time they closed that Randalls on Bissonnet. What a craphole. Glad they aren't closing the one by me at 610 and West Bellfort. They remodeled it a year ago and it is quite nice, although it is starting to slip.
Now I see why I despised your reply so much... I'd still f*ck your groceries up just for quoting that movie.
depends on what you're buying. my wife alternates Krogers and Randalls...totally depends on what you're buying. i don't see that much of a difference, overall.
