No Problem? Enjoy?

Notice how people say "No Problem" when performing the simplest of tasks for you?

Like you're ordering a coffee, and the barista says "No problem", as if making you a coffee, which they are trained to do and for which you are paying for, could possibly represent some kind of impassable obstacle in their lives...

Yeah, I know it's no problem. Just get on with it and do your job.

What I find more annoying is when people serving you in cafes and restaurants impel you to "Enjoy." Just that one word. Never fails to make me cringe. I'll enjoy it if I bloody well want to, but if I'm feeling grumpy I may just sit and eat with a half-scowl across my face.

Sometimes I'm Mr Agreeable.

And sometimes I'm Mr Abusing.

Which one do you want?

 

Either will be fine.

 

when i worked in pizza, there were definitely times that making one more pizza felt like an impassable obstacle in my life.

 

That was your karma. A part of your script.

My karma is different.

I had to pick up discarded needles tossed away by heroin addicts in park bushes for two years as one of my jobs.

And when I worked in security I got sent to a caravan in an industrial wasteland that had no light or working phone, which was constantly under threat of being occupied by illegal rave parties.

I will never do these shit jobs again.

 

They only say that stuff because they dont really care enough to say anything real or sincere. Because they've already had 100 insincere customer interactions before you. That's all.

 

But I'm ready to be a sincere customer. I'm ready to break through the fourth wall. And I tip good service, but not if I get that crap.

 

Well, maybe you need to make the first move. Say something unexpected to them in order to start a real conversation

 

It could be worse. They could be complete assholes to you, then what?

 

Yes, two way street. Break the ice, break the norm

 

I do. I'm always up for a joke and a natter. Sometimes I try it on. I think it's part of this consumer society, you know, the systematization of everything. Maybe if people working in service industries were paid better, and respected more like they are in continental Europe, there would be a more pleasant repartee between customers and shop-front people.

 

I don't get bent outta shape over that, as long as I get what I came there for. I've got plenty of friends in my life I can get a positive genuine conversation from.

 

Sometimes they are. They quite often take the bloody piss. I just take the piss...This can sometimes break the ice.

 

It's the absolutely shitty service I can do without. I've had so much of that, that the slightly good or mediocre customer service is good enough.

 

Exactly. And they're following the award winning book - "Learn insincere customer interaction in 7 days" ... phrase by insincere phrase.

For instance:

When the customer complains about coffee that is too cold, perform the following steps:
- Tell the customer to fuck off, in your mind
- Plaster a smile on your face, ear to ear
- Say, "No problem, Sir. I'll be right back with another cup of coffee."
- Keep complaining in your head

 

What difference does it really make what they are thinking? They take your order, bring your food, ask if you need anything else, some may small talk with you depending on how busy it is, bring you your check, and clean up after you. I'm not sure what it is folks are wanting when it comes to customer service from waitresses, waiters or whatever. What the he'll you want from these folks. I'm not getting this...

 

This is true.

However, one way of looking at it is ... human interactions are increasingly becoming nothing more than a means to an end ... scripted, conditioned, acted out. That is fine for practical purposes, but when sincerity and authenticity are taken out of the interaction, sometimes we notice how dead that feels ... as if we're machines interacting with each other. It's as if there is no humanness left in those interactions.

Most people, as you pointed out, don't care whether their barista is sincere with them. They just wanna grab their coffee and head to the office or back home to their family. But, perhaps, there is that one guy in the cafe who's having a really rough day, and to him, the interaction with the barista may potentially be the only human interaction that could be pleasant and real. Maybe he goes home to nothing more than his TV or videogames, and to him that interaction is a big deal.

Hope I made some sense.

 

What I Really Hate Is......"Have A Nice Day"......Good God There Have Been Times I Have

Seriously Considered Choking Someone For Saying That....Grrrrrrr....

However, I Use It When I Am Being Really "Sarcastic" And Totally Wish Them The Opposite.....



Cheers Glen.

 

You made sense about the need for human interaction. But you know what, most guys look at that as an opportunity to hook up, totally forgetting that she or he was hired to do a basic service. They are people too, have bad days like everyone else if not worse, and are hoping for a better employment opportunity that will hopefully come around some day, so they can get the hell outta there. Not all have the ability to have social chemistry with every customer. It's no different than some of the people you may work with at a different job. Some are great to work with because they have people skills, and some are lousy fuckin turds that you wonder how and why they got hired in the first place.

 

Yeah, I guess that there are always a few (or many) rotten apples that ruin it for the rest. Kind of like the speed limit on US highways is 65 or 70 even in places where 125 mph would be perfectly safe. This is to account for the people with only half a brain, who would crash their cars where the responsible drivers would be perfectly safe. The idiots ruin it for the responsible drivers.

I suppose, in defense of the baristas, you could say that they don't owe their customers authenticity or sincerity. They owe their customers a respectful/professional transaction and nothing more. So, while a sincere interaction would be nice, it cannot be demanded/expected.

 

Yes, that's actually put in better words.