Toilets

The restaurant has toilets, it's got ladies, gents and disabled/baby change. These are for customer use only, not anyone who walks off the street and needs the loo.

Occasionally we let people use them, if they're nice, but when they walk in and just assume they have the right to - we don't, well, I don't. Luckily they are tucked away at the back and it means a long walk to them, so they can't be sneaky and slither in.

Based on what I saw my manager say to these kids who wanted to use the toilet, I took that as being the "standard" way to say no. To be honest I think she has had some kind of army training because she is so firm and pretty scary to the average person, she takes no prisoners.

So, do you think I was right, wrong, or just very mean in this situation:

-There are public toilets available about 200 yards away
-The restaurant was full at lunchtime

"Where are the toilets?"
"Do you want a table?"
"No she [younger sister I think] needs to go toilet"
"Oh, they're for customers only, sorry - the public ones are over there near.." (pointing)
"Shes going to wee herself"
"Right"
"Well can she not use yours"
"Sorry I'm not allowed to let you. There are some literally a minute away over there"
"WELL SHES GOING TO WEE HERSELF - DISGRACEFUL"

And she walked out. Now afterwards, two waitresses said I was mean. I think I was reasonable, helpful and considerate of our proper customers. Ok, I do feel quite guilty now, to the extent where it's mentioned in my Facebook status!!

So thats the subject of toilets covered, I don't think the discussions regarding them will ever really change. I've already seen a couple of people trying to "go it alone" with finding the toilets, and they end up in the potwash area, which is quite funny.

Online orders

Now all Pizza Hut's are using the fantastic Micros system, online ordering is available for collection and delivery from nearly every hut.

The problem is although it works most of the time, the time it doesn't is the time when you get a silly customer.

If a customer wants to collect in an hour - we won't even know about that order until about 20-30 minutes before the collection is due. Which I suppose can cut down on confusion, but I'm not too sure. The real problems come when the customer inputs their own order. Basically they use our system but in a more 'user friendly' way. So you get orders like this:

M Pan Supreme
NO PEPPERONI
DBL PEPPERONI

NO MUSH
DBL MUSH

and so on.

You get orders which end up cancelling each other out, why the system even allows the customer to do this is baffling.

You'd think they would fix this problem. No - they call it costly. A new menu has just been introduced, with a few price increases. So they spend thousands on these new menus, and changing the website price should just be a quick thing which the internal IT team can do. Not this time though, we got a memo which basically said - because the price increases aren't very big, it isn't economically viable to change the website, so when we receive online orders could you please honour the old price.

Anyway, that'll do for now on the rant. Now I work in a new place I will post more regularly, because the customers are a hell of a lot more ratty.

Change......

Hi (special hi to James :))

Just to say...I have moved store and now work in a full restaurant. I therefore have quite a few bits I'll be blogging about...so stay tuned if you haven't gone already!

Potwash

Hi,

Well its been ages since I've blogged, not really an excuse its just quite 'same old same old' really.

I'm now a Support Manager...it means I can generally get out of doing the crap jobs, help with the more difficult ones, plus do some sitting down. :)

Now...has anyone ever used a potwashing machine?

They are great when they work, but when they don't it's a big big big pain.

But - you designing a potwash machine...where do you put the water pipes inside the machine? Water and electric never, ever mix. So away from the control panel, motors and pumps?

No, Hobart decided to put the main water feed into the machine - in the same compartment as all the motors, controls and pumps. So when the pipe inside the machine bursts, it destroys and burns out EVERYTHING.

Can you guess what's happened?

Something a bit weird and discounts

Right. I have worked at Pizza Hut for erm...well...ages. So you do recognise customers, and I would say, especially on evening/night shifts about 25% of customers are, 'regulars'. Occasionally if I go into Asda or Sainsburys on the way home, you will see a customer or two you served earlier. But it less frequent to see them, at other random times.

There is a customer, who comes in with his wife and 2 little kids. They've been coming in for over a year. The reason I remember them, is because his kids are the spitting image of him.

So, it must have been a Wednesday I served them. Then on the Thursday, I was in Matalan (sent on an errand looking for mugs) - and there they were, the family, in Matalan. Ok, so that's just coincidence. Then, on Friday - who do I see again, the dad - in McDonalds eating breakfast!

We were sitting on opposite tables, and we got locked into eye contact. I knew who he was, and he recognised me (from the 2 previous days!)...I didn't know whether to say anything, or smile, or look away or what. So I did a small smile and that was that.

Then, on Saturday - on the way home - sitting at traffic lights. Jesus christ who is sitting next to me - him and family!! The lights changed before we both clocked on to who we were glancing at, so there was no awkwardness that time.

I just find that very weird, but total coincidence - I saw the same man and family, four times in a row. How does that happen?


And discounts...

"Do I get a discount cos I work at...?"
"We used to but not anymore, sorry"

Then the mother, I think, piped up:

"Haha - you mean you don't know how to do it on the till"
"No, we don't do it anymore because not many places gave us discount"
"Prove it!" (She was being light hearted)
"I'll read you the discount options to tease you then!!"

I read about 6 before she got the point, but there were 12 more I could have gone through if needed.

Her daughter seemed totally embarrassed:
"Oh my god mum I have to work here, you're so embarrasing, you've embarrassed him too!!"
Mother: "Are you embarrassed?!"
"Ha, I find it quite funny really, so not too fussed!"
"See - he ISN'T embarrassed"

HA!

30 minutes ironing for £5 when using Pizza Hut Delivery

Pizza Hut on 1st April launched a new service, where you can order 30 minutes of ironing and vacuuming for £5, completed by the delivery driver when you order for delivery. Not bad.

But the funny thing is, that was the "internal" April fools joke. And at the bottom it had a number that stores could ring about arranging training for the service. They actually had phone calls to this number and the next day - they had to send a memo confirming that yes, it was an April fool.

However, if you are registered with Pizza Hut you may get a mail shot with a picture of a delivery driver ironing and cleaning as it's part of their latest marketing campaign.

And I have another what could be seen as an April fool, but what a customer actually claimed he was going to do. Pizza Hut have got the name Pasta Hut, but this man is going to get "Samosa Hut".

The conversation went like this:

"You're always changing the menu!"
"Oh .."
"Not like KFC - I've been eating them 30 years, you know where you stand with them"
"Ha, we're actually part of the same company"
"Really?"
"Yes".

He ranted on a bit more, about how there are always tiny differences each time he comes and then said

"You know what I'm gonna do, right, I'm gonna start SAMOSA HUT"
"Right?"
"Yeah - I'm just waiting for somewhere I can start it, have you ever had a samosa?"
"Only ones from a supermarket"
"WHAT? Not that rubbish, I'm on about proper Indian shit, proper massive good filling samosas!"
"Sounds nice !!"
"Yeah, I'll be a millionaire"
"I'll look out for you then!"

"It's the law..."

Some crank today came up with a new law about drinking water. We do not have free drinking water available. The taps we have are either, the toilet, hand wash sink or pot wash sink. You don't want to drink water from there.

But this woman said that "It is the law that all restaurants have free drinking water". I explained the above, but she continued that it was "The law". Is this the law? I'm pretty sure it isn't.

She was also one of those helpful, but unhelpful customers. Towards the end of the night, the cleaners turn the bins round, so customers should just leave their rubbish on the tables. Some customers like to be helpful and dispose of their own rubbish, but that isn't possible at night. But, some decide they will use the empty, clean, with no bin bag in, bins.

New Blog

In case you haven't seen this:

Tesco Scapegoat

It's a retail blog...with everyones favourite subject, customers!!

Smile!

We are continually losing points on our mystery shoppers because we aren't giving "genuine smiles".

Now...surely if we are being told to smile genuinely, that isn't genuine? It's impossible to do it without smirking. A personal service to me, is loads better than a brand standard smile, hello, and come again....but that's what they want.

So from now on:

Massive smile and greeting
Deadpan face while serving, no conversation (no points for smiling during the transaction)
Massive smile and "Come again"

Not genuine, but that is what they are asking for.

We have new menus, which are loads better than the old ones - but they forgot to change one of the sections, so that looks odd, but you can't expect them to get it right!

Happy New Year!!

Happy New Year - bit late but oh well!

Not much has happened, except a customer has scolded their hand. But did he ask for assistance? No, he left it for half an hour to get worse and develop blisters. When he finally told us, the duty manager gave him first aid and security were called to help.

But what I really wanted to post about...and hopefully just warn a few people about is:

www.computerplanet.co.uk

Worst customer service I've ever experienced.

That is all, I think.