Baby Boomers Were Taught.....

Being from the Baby boomer generation, we were taught that the customer is always right. Even if they weren't we knew that if you lost one, there could end up being many, as the word seemed to get around from that one unhappy party. In other words, it was far better to just suck it up, not take it personally, smile and get on with it.

We were taught that the customer was "GOLD" (or better yet, $$) and we did everything we could to treat them that way. Of course there were the very few that created such a disturbance that nothing you could do would appease them.  You really didn't need to worry about these guys, as everyone who knew them wouldn't be at all surprised at how they were treated.

Confused in Today's Society....

So, living in today's society is very confusing for us. We don't understand why when you go to the Deli and no one else is there, you seem to be invisible to the two or three clerks behind the counter. Do you think it is more important to fry the chicken, clean the meat slicers, or talk about what to wear on the next hot date? How many paying customers do they lose in a day, a month, a year?

Suppose you go to the drive thru of a "Fast Food" restaurant and they mess up your order. Then when you tell them, they look at you with that  "What do you want me to do about it?" expression or they get the change wrong and when you point it out to them, they stand there and don't know what to do.

Have you ever gone out for a nice dinner, you order your salad without onions and when it was presented to you, there were those smelly items staring up at you? What happened next was just unacceptable to us. The waiter, put his hands in your salad and proceeded to pick out the very items that weren't suppose to be there in the first place. He was kind enough to explain that he would do that in the back room, so why waste the time.

Who is to Blame?

Is this the fault of the owners not knowing how to train their employees? After all, the poor owners are the ones who are going to suffer financially, not to mention their reputation will be tarnished. Is it the fault of the schools, are the younger generations not being education in the principles of business? Maybe it is the fault of the parents who haven't instilled  proper social etiquette in this generation?

We can definitely place some of the blame on the new technological atmosphere that surrounds us today. When there are several people together  and each  of them are texting each other, it is obvious that the art of  communication is lost. When  computers do all of our math for us, who can blame that young person behind the counter who can't make change.

The banker tells us that the younger generation can't even sign their names when then want to purchase a home and have to sign all those papers. Come on, we were taught that reading, WRITING, and arithmetic were the foundations of our education. Well, not today.

What can be done?

Well, we have a couple choices. We old folks can get with the program and accept that things have changed  (which is not something that comes easy to us) or we can spend our Golden Years being grumpy, frustrated, and down right stubborn.

Maybe this new generation has more important things on their agendas, maybe they are skilled in areas that their elders are unaware of. Maybe their talents are beyond our comprehension.

Solution.....

If all the generations would respect each other and be open to listen and learn from each other, then maybe we could understand the differences and not be fearful of the future. After all, both have gifts and talents that can and should be shared. Remember "You are never to old to learn" and "You should listen to your Elders" both require some compromise.

If you want to work in a business where everyone is treated like GOLD (because they are) contact me and let's talk.

Penney Martellaro

email: pmladyinbiz@gmail.com

Phone: (573) 732-4054