I'm not massively keen on the colour scheme, the way I add links to the side of this blog and various other things about this blog. I don't know where to start on getting templates etc to improve it - so please leave comments on how and where I can improve it.
Thanks.
I am also thinking of a name I could give myself for the purposes of this blog. I am thinking possibly Percy, Dave, Eric or Bartholomew.
Monday, 30 October 2006
No apologies
I once again make an apology to you, whereas the post title comes from a customer the other day.
I was round back doing some more training, when a manager asked me to the front to serve at it was a bit busy. The managers always apologise for this, normally with something like "Sorry (my name)". I don't expect apologies from them - but they are all very courteous people. I am of course too, to staff and customers. However this madam thought differently. So there I am serving, and as usual even though I'd been pulled away from doing something, I am always very jolly to customers. I always smile and shout "Hi there - are you waiting?!" or similar to people who are standing in the queue. This generally gets a good reception which normally consists of a smile and a hello. I feel that quite often I am the warmest and most helpful person serving. Whether the customer thinks so or not - I don't know, but I'd like to be served by someone like me! Right thats enough of the background.
This miserable git comes over with a child. This git didn't look much like a typical miserable git however - but she was. The child was asking questions about certain pizzas etc, and I answered in what I thought was a friendly and helpful manner. I pointed and told the git and child about the menu where they could find out exactly what was on each pizza. Git stared at it - and then asked me another question about what was on a pizza. I don't think my face had a particular look to it at this point - but she did and blarted out "DON'T GIVE THAT BLOODY VACANT LOOK - I AM ONLY ASKING QUESTIONS FOR GODS SAKE". I was shocked, so my face THEN turned vacant and miserable. I looked to my right. My deputy was there. Should I be relieved by the back up if needed or worried about the possible bollocking. I served the customer - now with plain thank yous and no offer of anything else. I made no apology or reply to her rant at me. Who is she to talk to me like that? I could possibly understand a complaint about the company - but not a personal attack on me.
The customer went off in a mood - the deputy was still there. I will not repeat the deputys words, but they were rather derogatory and not towards me. Phew! At least if the git complains, I have the back up of the deputy, support manager and another team member. I was asked if I was alright. I was fine! I found it quite funny really, I've had my first truely crap customer and complaint. I don't much of what people say to heart, so this git was no different.
There are a few other events recently.
One is the customer who took ages to choose her meals, then paid in 10p and 20p coins. I could see notes in her purse! Argh. I'm getting used to the shrapnel now though. My favourite money amount is pound coins and £5 notes - please spend these where possible.
I ripped two pairs of trousers, in the same place, in two days. I have not identified the cause yet.
I have been shown how to do an intense floor clean. It comprises of a wet mop, scrub and then a dry mop. The floor looks lovely after, but it is a hell of a lot of effort.
I learnt how to change Pepsi, Tango etc syrups. I was worried it was going to be complicated, but it was so easy - which is nice change. In the centre we are located, we don't have masses of customers and queues compared to others (ie. McDonalds), but we have the most stock and are the most well organised. I caught a glimpse of the McDonalds store room the other day - very messy place - ours - lovely - clean and tidy.
Had a customer complain of 'mould' on the dough of a pizza. There are so many reasons why it couldn't possibly be mould. One being the dough is frozen, the second being the dough is stored for any longer than a week in the freezer and it has a very long BBE date - months after we actually use it. Another is that any mould (not that there ever is any) would be noticed when the topping is applied. What was this mysterious green 'mould'? It is food safe pen we use to mark food boxes - which is black but sometimes seaps through the card and goes green. It is safe to eat, but we always swap the pizza if a customer returns it. It isn't worth the hassle of a complaint through head office, and it ensures that the customer is satisfied and may well return to us or another Pizza Hut.
To give you an idea of how clean I think the place is - I eat food from there everytime I work. I wouldn't do it if I didn't think it was clean - I am very fussy.
Oh and finally (I think) there was the woman who wanted two cups but "Would only fill half each". Sorry love, once you have the cup you can do what you want with it - so you either pay for it, or don't get one. She made a song and dance about this and replied "I can't be bothered with this - I'll just have one cup then" then muttered a possibly obscenity. I watched where she sat down. There was presumably her husband. He came bumbling up to the counter. Guess what he wanted. To buy a drink. The woman wouldn't be seen backing down, so sent her husband to buy one anyway. She wasted her and her husbands time and made her look even more stupid than before.
I was round back doing some more training, when a manager asked me to the front to serve at it was a bit busy. The managers always apologise for this, normally with something like "Sorry (my name)". I don't expect apologies from them - but they are all very courteous people. I am of course too, to staff and customers. However this madam thought differently. So there I am serving, and as usual even though I'd been pulled away from doing something, I am always very jolly to customers. I always smile and shout "Hi there - are you waiting?!" or similar to people who are standing in the queue. This generally gets a good reception which normally consists of a smile and a hello. I feel that quite often I am the warmest and most helpful person serving. Whether the customer thinks so or not - I don't know, but I'd like to be served by someone like me! Right thats enough of the background.
This miserable git comes over with a child. This git didn't look much like a typical miserable git however - but she was. The child was asking questions about certain pizzas etc, and I answered in what I thought was a friendly and helpful manner. I pointed and told the git and child about the menu where they could find out exactly what was on each pizza. Git stared at it - and then asked me another question about what was on a pizza. I don't think my face had a particular look to it at this point - but she did and blarted out "DON'T GIVE THAT BLOODY VACANT LOOK - I AM ONLY ASKING QUESTIONS FOR GODS SAKE". I was shocked, so my face THEN turned vacant and miserable. I looked to my right. My deputy was there. Should I be relieved by the back up if needed or worried about the possible bollocking. I served the customer - now with plain thank yous and no offer of anything else. I made no apology or reply to her rant at me. Who is she to talk to me like that? I could possibly understand a complaint about the company - but not a personal attack on me.
The customer went off in a mood - the deputy was still there. I will not repeat the deputys words, but they were rather derogatory and not towards me. Phew! At least if the git complains, I have the back up of the deputy, support manager and another team member. I was asked if I was alright. I was fine! I found it quite funny really, I've had my first truely crap customer and complaint. I don't much of what people say to heart, so this git was no different.
There are a few other events recently.
One is the customer who took ages to choose her meals, then paid in 10p and 20p coins. I could see notes in her purse! Argh. I'm getting used to the shrapnel now though. My favourite money amount is pound coins and £5 notes - please spend these where possible.
I ripped two pairs of trousers, in the same place, in two days. I have not identified the cause yet.
I have been shown how to do an intense floor clean. It comprises of a wet mop, scrub and then a dry mop. The floor looks lovely after, but it is a hell of a lot of effort.
I learnt how to change Pepsi, Tango etc syrups. I was worried it was going to be complicated, but it was so easy - which is nice change. In the centre we are located, we don't have masses of customers and queues compared to others (ie. McDonalds), but we have the most stock and are the most well organised. I caught a glimpse of the McDonalds store room the other day - very messy place - ours - lovely - clean and tidy.
Had a customer complain of 'mould' on the dough of a pizza. There are so many reasons why it couldn't possibly be mould. One being the dough is frozen, the second being the dough is stored for any longer than a week in the freezer and it has a very long BBE date - months after we actually use it. Another is that any mould (not that there ever is any) would be noticed when the topping is applied. What was this mysterious green 'mould'? It is food safe pen we use to mark food boxes - which is black but sometimes seaps through the card and goes green. It is safe to eat, but we always swap the pizza if a customer returns it. It isn't worth the hassle of a complaint through head office, and it ensures that the customer is satisfied and may well return to us or another Pizza Hut.
To give you an idea of how clean I think the place is - I eat food from there everytime I work. I wouldn't do it if I didn't think it was clean - I am very fussy.
Oh and finally (I think) there was the woman who wanted two cups but "Would only fill half each". Sorry love, once you have the cup you can do what you want with it - so you either pay for it, or don't get one. She made a song and dance about this and replied "I can't be bothered with this - I'll just have one cup then" then muttered a possibly obscenity. I watched where she sat down. There was presumably her husband. He came bumbling up to the counter. Guess what he wanted. To buy a drink. The woman wouldn't be seen backing down, so sent her husband to buy one anyway. She wasted her and her husbands time and made her look even more stupid than before.
Thursday, 26 October 2006
Not much to say
I've been learning some new things today, so my dealing with customers has been limited, and infact I doubt my till even took £50.
However I have noticed a new breed of people. The ones with children - who reach the front of line - and just stand there, telling off their child/ren. This one cretin held up the line so long for doing this I had to call for someone else to serve, and 3 people serving at that time is not normal.
Then there are the groups/families who like to stand in such a way it looks like they are all seperate customers. Sometimes it looks like there is a queue of about 9 or 10 people, but infact there are 2.
I am developing asbestos hands already - the manager said "You'll probably need the gloves for them" - the hot pans I was carrying with my bare hands. They weren't too hot though. I have noticed cuts on my hands and fingers - which I just can't remember when I did them.
It was dead today - so there wasn't a massive amount to do - front or back. So I was shown a few new things, such as how the pizzas are stored and put in the oven, which is more complicated than it sounds - honest.
Buh bye for tonight.
However I have noticed a new breed of people. The ones with children - who reach the front of line - and just stand there, telling off their child/ren. This one cretin held up the line so long for doing this I had to call for someone else to serve, and 3 people serving at that time is not normal.
Then there are the groups/families who like to stand in such a way it looks like they are all seperate customers. Sometimes it looks like there is a queue of about 9 or 10 people, but infact there are 2.
I am developing asbestos hands already - the manager said "You'll probably need the gloves for them" - the hot pans I was carrying with my bare hands. They weren't too hot though. I have noticed cuts on my hands and fingers - which I just can't remember when I did them.
It was dead today - so there wasn't a massive amount to do - front or back. So I was shown a few new things, such as how the pizzas are stored and put in the oven, which is more complicated than it sounds - honest.
Buh bye for tonight.
Wednesday, 25 October 2006
Reply to comments
A few comments from the bad breath post. I think it is best to reply here rather than on the comments box - as it is unlikely they'll be read again. I like replying to comments.
Tesco petrol station - you should start your own blog detailing day to day activities there... Bad breath could be the first, but that is so common it is almost only worth detailing once.
Am I getting extra money for getting up at 4am? I get my usual rate but nope, sorry no difference in pay. But it will be a good experience and I find it pretty nice being selected to do it, considering the other staff who have been there many months or years longer than me. Maybe I'm the only idiot they knew would do it - I dunno?
Pizza Hut Team Member - hello! Do you work in a full serve restaurant? You should start a blog too...would be very interesting to read.
End of reply to comments.
Tesco petrol station - you should start your own blog detailing day to day activities there... Bad breath could be the first, but that is so common it is almost only worth detailing once.
Am I getting extra money for getting up at 4am? I get my usual rate but nope, sorry no difference in pay. But it will be a good experience and I find it pretty nice being selected to do it, considering the other staff who have been there many months or years longer than me. Maybe I'm the only idiot they knew would do it - I dunno?
Pizza Hut Team Member - hello! Do you work in a full serve restaurant? You should start a blog too...would be very interesting to read.
End of reply to comments.
I WANT PIZZA
Apologies for not posting earlier in the week. My shifts so far have been around 9 hours each so I am severely knackered when I get back - but I like this, it makes me look forward to going home even more - as much as I like Pizza Hut, it is lovely to get back and just fall asleep!
This week as I'm off college, I've doing day time shifts. This is good as I get to see how it is during the day, which I don't normally get - plus meet some new people. I've so far come to the conclusion there are no bad eggs in the branch. No spit/urine/other fluids have been placed in anyones food, the place is amazingly clean from what I can see (all of it) and we are professional to each and every customer.
On the subject of cleaning, if you ever go to a fast food restaurant and think "Look at how messy/dirty it is here - I dread to think what it is like round the back" or similar then I think you are most likely wrong. Customers are filthy. I stock up and tidy the lids holder - 30 minutes later, there are fries, Pepsi, all sorts in there, with the lids all over the place. But come round the back - the place is clean and tidy - because it needs to be otherwise we'd be a hell of a lot less efficient. We do clean the front, and in the event of spillages on the floor these are immediately cleaned up - these taking priority over serving customers incase somebody decides to run along and crack open their skull on the wet tiles. Full drink spillages happened around 4 times in one hour, and this is odd as spillages are actually less common than you might think.
Customers now...
Still on spillages, a lady came up to me as I wasn't on the till and said exactly this "I've spilt a little bit of drink over there - ok?". "No problem - don't worry". She walked off. I went round with a cloth, and discovered a puddle of Pepsi - she'd obviously dropped the whole thing. I needed the 2 mops, bucket and yellow sign to deal with it.
Then from the post title - the idiots you get every hour - saying "I want a pizza" trying to push money into your hand. What the ????? What type of pizza? Do you want a meal? Do you want any... etc etc? You simply can't go to Pizza Hut and say you want 'pizza' and that is it.
Ketchup weirdos - one person wanted more ketchup after I'd given then 6 sachets. Maybe I should start saying "Do you want fries with your ketchup?" to these people.
Then the man who comes in every day (well presumably because he comes in every day I am there) orders exactly the same thing every day and also has the same work uniform on. I liked this man, thoughted he was a decent, friendly, sane type of person until today. He came in as usual, but with a absolutely ridiculous baseball cap on. He wore it wrong, it didn't suit him - and he looked a fool.
Oh and finally - many many customers do this. Go off, then come back about 10 minutes later with a half eaten pizza in their hands going "This is stone cold!". We change it first time, no quibble because it just isn't worth arguing, them writing to head office, and us getting fined. It is either £50 or about 40p. Easy choice.
I then moved from FOH* to BOH** for a change. I learnt a few new things, so stayed there until my shift ended.
I'm not sure if I'd said this before - but because sales are sky high over target (over 50%) there are extra staff on all shifts, which is nice.
*Front of House (counter)
**Back of House (kitchen)
Please continue to comment - I get very excited when I see comments in my inbox! :-)
This week as I'm off college, I've doing day time shifts. This is good as I get to see how it is during the day, which I don't normally get - plus meet some new people. I've so far come to the conclusion there are no bad eggs in the branch. No spit/urine/other fluids have been placed in anyones food, the place is amazingly clean from what I can see (all of it) and we are professional to each and every customer.
On the subject of cleaning, if you ever go to a fast food restaurant and think "Look at how messy/dirty it is here - I dread to think what it is like round the back" or similar then I think you are most likely wrong. Customers are filthy. I stock up and tidy the lids holder - 30 minutes later, there are fries, Pepsi, all sorts in there, with the lids all over the place. But come round the back - the place is clean and tidy - because it needs to be otherwise we'd be a hell of a lot less efficient. We do clean the front, and in the event of spillages on the floor these are immediately cleaned up - these taking priority over serving customers incase somebody decides to run along and crack open their skull on the wet tiles. Full drink spillages happened around 4 times in one hour, and this is odd as spillages are actually less common than you might think.
Customers now...
Still on spillages, a lady came up to me as I wasn't on the till and said exactly this "I've spilt a little bit of drink over there - ok?". "No problem - don't worry". She walked off. I went round with a cloth, and discovered a puddle of Pepsi - she'd obviously dropped the whole thing. I needed the 2 mops, bucket and yellow sign to deal with it.
Then from the post title - the idiots you get every hour - saying "I want a pizza" trying to push money into your hand. What the ????? What type of pizza? Do you want a meal? Do you want any... etc etc? You simply can't go to Pizza Hut and say you want 'pizza' and that is it.
Ketchup weirdos - one person wanted more ketchup after I'd given then 6 sachets. Maybe I should start saying "Do you want fries with your ketchup?" to these people.
Then the man who comes in every day (well presumably because he comes in every day I am there) orders exactly the same thing every day and also has the same work uniform on. I liked this man, thoughted he was a decent, friendly, sane type of person until today. He came in as usual, but with a absolutely ridiculous baseball cap on. He wore it wrong, it didn't suit him - and he looked a fool.
Oh and finally - many many customers do this. Go off, then come back about 10 minutes later with a half eaten pizza in their hands going "This is stone cold!". We change it first time, no quibble because it just isn't worth arguing, them writing to head office, and us getting fined. It is either £50 or about 40p. Easy choice.
I then moved from FOH* to BOH** for a change. I learnt a few new things, so stayed there until my shift ended.
I'm not sure if I'd said this before - but because sales are sky high over target (over 50%) there are extra staff on all shifts, which is nice.
*Front of House (counter)
**Back of House (kitchen)
Please continue to comment - I get very excited when I see comments in my inbox! :-)
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