Service with a Smile

One of the unfortunate things about working in fast food is having high expectations at other fast food restaurants. One of the things that gets on my  nerves the most is friendly (or not-so friendly) service. Now I understand that I am a generally happy person, and that not everyone can be, but I try my hardest to make my short interaction with a customer as painless and pleasant as possible. I don't understand why there are so few that do this. It truly is rare that I find someplace that's up to my standards for friendliness, and it's a damn shame.

Most shifts (pretty much every night) I work in the drive thru, taking orders. It's not a difficult task, but they put me there because of how friendly I am with customers. I always greet them with a "Hi, how are you today," and always respond when they answer with a returning "fine, how are you," (to let them know that I am, indeed, listening) and even slip a joke in if it sounds like the customer will appreciate it. I laugh when the customer makes a quip, and most of the time I let them know that they're good nature is appreciated. I always thank them for their patience if I've made them wait, and correct any mistakes I've made. Lord knows I'm not perfect (you can disagree if you want to, I won't mind), but it shows that I'm pretty darn good at what I do.

I also understand that everyone has their bad days, believe me I have mine too. But leave that stuff at the door. Why should I be punished because you're mad at someone else? It's not my fault. I'm only a blip on your screen and I'll be gone momentarily, so just grin and bear it! Smiling is actually a really easy thing to do, and it can actually be heard in your voice. As silly as that sounds (no pun intended?) it's completely true, which is why I do my best to at least appear happy, even if I'm not.

It may not seem like something to be proud of, but I think you'd be surprised by how much of a difference friendly service can make.

It's happened more than once (am I bragging? Maybe a little...) that a customer has thanked me for how friendly I was, told me how pleasant I was, or told my manager something to that effect. I've also had them tell me that I've actually cheered them up. And let me tell you, it's surprisingly gratifying when you can hear the grumpy voice that started ordering change into a not-so grumpy voice by the end of their order.
But it also works the other way around. Going through a drive-thru with an angry, inattentive, or lack-luster cashier/order-taker can completely ruin an evening, and give the customer plenty of reasons not to go back to that particular store. This happens to me a surprising amount. But maybe I just have my standards set too high?

I honestly don't think it's such a horrible thing to want service with a smile, and it's definitely not the worst thing in the world to smile whilst serving someone.