For shops, liquor stores, markets, restaurants and bars in Sacramento selling and serving alcohol could become quite a little bit pricier. A new measure being created would charge $1,000 for a special liquor license that would fund inspections and a drinking program that would target underage drinking and drunk driving. This may sound like a good program, but these programs are already in place. Restaurants that serve alcohol pay $200, and places like bars serving hard liquor pay up to $800 for their liquor licenses. But the new measure 925 wouldn’t care whether you own a small family owned market or hot a nightclub, everyone would pay the same rate, and that’s another key purpose of the measure.
By having all alcohol vending businesses pay this same rate the measure could weed out smaller businesses that wouldn’t be able to afford the $1,000 license. Mainly the hopes are to get rid of businesses that are an eyesore in communities that frequently sell alcohol to minors, a product of uninformed minimum wage cashiers, like the ones featured in last weeks column. By putting the measure in effect it would make it easier for city investigator to find these supposedly troubled businesses out of business.
So here we have a measure that looks good in principal, but in reality it is meant to hurt small and struggling business. If the city wants to crack down better on underage drinking, then they can use the program they have in place now paid for by the liquor licenses that are already in effect, and inform business owners on how to spot fake ID’s better and make sure they train all their employees how to spot them as well. As far as preventing drunk driving they can also use the same funding from those same licenses already in affect but find a more effective way to get through to people if their previous attempts have not decreased drunk driving. Also they could put their efforts into supporting designated driver programs to help prevent drunk driving.
Backing the measure in progress are the police. "If it's revenue that helps kids stay out of trouble and helps reduce injuries because of drunken driving or doing something stupid, then it's definitely a good thing," said police spokesman Matt Young. Being the ones who have to deal with these problems first hand, the police naturally would want to reduce underage drinking and drunk driving and support the measure. But again this program is already in place but would have business pay about $1 million more into it than they already are, and that’s just for the city of Sacramento. Similar programs were tried in Oakland, Los Angelos, and other cities with mixed results. Why should we enact a measure that may not even work?
Instead of throwing money at existing ineffective programs and potentially ruining small businesses, the programs that this measure is supposed to help should be rethought and reformed to be more effective. Small businesses shouldn’t be penalized for failing public awareness programs. Mom and pop stores and immigrant run shops could be devastated by this new measure when they could contribute to city inspectors and drinking programs at a more affordable price for them. Business owners have enough expenses and worries and the current liquor should stay in place so that small business owners can stay in their place as well.
Thursday, September 27, 2007
Thursday, September 20, 2007
Customer service, what do you expect?
Take minimum wage, add lack of respect, subtract dignity, tips and commission, and what do you get? You get a classic recipe for poor customer service. I interviewed a habitual slacker on why he administers poor service to his customers and what employers can do to prevent their employees from slipping into the same mindset.
We find ourselves in a North Coast California movie theater. The hours are long, there are mounds of spilled popcorn and puddles of sticky mystery goo strewn about the theater to be thanklessly cleaned at the end of each movie, there are screaming children in the lobby, a line out the door, and in between the chaos of show time rush there is agonizingly boring waits until the next showing spent with fellow employees who thrive on gossip and forming cliques.
It may be three in the afternoon, and the customer in front of you may not know it but you’ll be there until midnight. You know that when you get off work that you’ll be tired, and hungry. No restaurants beyond fast food are open, the store is closed, and most likely your significant other will be fast asleep and you can only hope they left you with some leftovers in the fridge.
This is the face of customer service in most establishments. In restaurants employees make an extra effort at courteousness for the chance of a better tip. Those that are paid on commission have the same motivation, but not our friend at the movie theater. He must clean the theaters, counters, vacuum the lobby, sweep the entry way, refill the butter dispenser, stock candy, do theater checks twice during each movie, sell tickets and refreshments, breakdown cardboard boxes, even remove that dead bird from the awning over the ticket box all without the customer even knowing the hoops he had to jump through to enhance their movie going experience.
Even after all that is done there is still one more matter he must deal with: the other employees. Some of them are trainees who can’t get the hang of anything, some of them are spreading viscous rumors about him, one of the other employees has a crush on him but becomes furious when she finds out he has girlfriend, another employee is a former marine who has just come back from Iraq and is suffering from post traumatic stress disorder. This is his work team, his support system.
All of this creates a stressful work environment and wears on his morale and willingness to give 110%. If he works hard, it wears him down and he sees no extra gain. He does the bare minimum and gets paid just the same. Whatever he doesn’t do gets pawned off on his fellow employees who are flat out malicious towards him. He is only working there part time and will be leaving town soon anyways. So what would you do in his shoes? Even if you had a positive, upbeat demeanor, a work environment like this would eventually begin to wear you down and your concern for your customers would soon diminish as well.
What could have prevented this unsavory work environment? In this workers opinion the manager could have allowed more breaks, especially after rushes on opening days, allowed the employees to have more fun at work to promote healthy relationships among employees, especially since they all had to work together long hours several times a week. Instead of constantly finding unnecessary busy work for employees to do let them decide when they should take care of all the miscellaneous tasks they have to do in a day. This would have created a sense of control over the work environment which in turn would have allowed employees to take more pride in their work and enjoy the work day more.
So next time you go somewhere and you get less than stellar service, think about what that person has to go through that day. He or she will be there for several hours more and you are there on your own free will, enjoying your day. You may be purchasing items that cost more than they’ll get paid that entire day. So just remember how it feels to be in the shoes of the minimum wage worker and maybe you won’t be appalled because they didn’t treat you like you were a king among peasants.
-Kilmer
We find ourselves in a North Coast California movie theater. The hours are long, there are mounds of spilled popcorn and puddles of sticky mystery goo strewn about the theater to be thanklessly cleaned at the end of each movie, there are screaming children in the lobby, a line out the door, and in between the chaos of show time rush there is agonizingly boring waits until the next showing spent with fellow employees who thrive on gossip and forming cliques.
It may be three in the afternoon, and the customer in front of you may not know it but you’ll be there until midnight. You know that when you get off work that you’ll be tired, and hungry. No restaurants beyond fast food are open, the store is closed, and most likely your significant other will be fast asleep and you can only hope they left you with some leftovers in the fridge.
This is the face of customer service in most establishments. In restaurants employees make an extra effort at courteousness for the chance of a better tip. Those that are paid on commission have the same motivation, but not our friend at the movie theater. He must clean the theaters, counters, vacuum the lobby, sweep the entry way, refill the butter dispenser, stock candy, do theater checks twice during each movie, sell tickets and refreshments, breakdown cardboard boxes, even remove that dead bird from the awning over the ticket box all without the customer even knowing the hoops he had to jump through to enhance their movie going experience.
Even after all that is done there is still one more matter he must deal with: the other employees. Some of them are trainees who can’t get the hang of anything, some of them are spreading viscous rumors about him, one of the other employees has a crush on him but becomes furious when she finds out he has girlfriend, another employee is a former marine who has just come back from Iraq and is suffering from post traumatic stress disorder. This is his work team, his support system.
All of this creates a stressful work environment and wears on his morale and willingness to give 110%. If he works hard, it wears him down and he sees no extra gain. He does the bare minimum and gets paid just the same. Whatever he doesn’t do gets pawned off on his fellow employees who are flat out malicious towards him. He is only working there part time and will be leaving town soon anyways. So what would you do in his shoes? Even if you had a positive, upbeat demeanor, a work environment like this would eventually begin to wear you down and your concern for your customers would soon diminish as well.
What could have prevented this unsavory work environment? In this workers opinion the manager could have allowed more breaks, especially after rushes on opening days, allowed the employees to have more fun at work to promote healthy relationships among employees, especially since they all had to work together long hours several times a week. Instead of constantly finding unnecessary busy work for employees to do let them decide when they should take care of all the miscellaneous tasks they have to do in a day. This would have created a sense of control over the work environment which in turn would have allowed employees to take more pride in their work and enjoy the work day more.
So next time you go somewhere and you get less than stellar service, think about what that person has to go through that day. He or she will be there for several hours more and you are there on your own free will, enjoying your day. You may be purchasing items that cost more than they’ll get paid that entire day. So just remember how it feels to be in the shoes of the minimum wage worker and maybe you won’t be appalled because they didn’t treat you like you were a king among peasants.
-Kilmer
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