The (lack of) customer service Pt 2

One evening, D and I went into Moncton to get some stuff at Home Depot. We decided to grab some fast food because we are broke, and encountered what is becoming the signature lack of customer service in our region. We decided to go to Wendy's because it satisfies my needs as a vegetarian and D's needs for spicy chicken sandwiches. We went into a Wendy's in north Moncton, and both of us had to pee. Thus began our exposure to the most disgusting bathrooms outside of a truck stop. I had to pee SO BAD, so I had no choice, and the bathroom smelled so strongly of pee that I gagged the entire time I was relieving myself. Apparently the men's bathroom was equally as disgusting. The whole experience turned us off the thought of eating there, so we decided to go to Tim Hortons. Pretty much the only food item Tim Horton's serves, besides doughnuts, is sandwiches. Unfortunately, when I ordered my sandwich, I was told they were out of bread! At a place where they bake bread and doughnuts on a regular basis! This wouldn't have been as annoying if the exact same thing hadn't happened at a different Tim Horton's location a week earlier. Clearly there is a running-out-of-bread epidemic that needs to be addressed. We ended up at A & W, which was also filthy, and there were two people working the cash registers, and one guy just standing there staring into space. I think his job was to fetch the soft drinks, but I only saw him do that once. The rest of the time was just spent staring. Even when I told him that the ketchup dispenser was out of ketchup, he just sort of stared at me, and certainly did not attend to the ketchup.

When we walked in to A & W, there was no one in line ahead of us, but there were about 8 people waiting for food. We both ordered veggie burgers and were told that those might take a couple of minutes because no one ever orders them. Twenty minutes later, we had our food. I have officially decided that there is no such thing as fast food in this area of the world.

And don't even get me started on the town coffee shop. I have never seen such slow moving, high-on-pot-looking people. The coffee shop does have good coffee, good food, and a cool atmosphere that reminds me of Austin coffee shops, so I keep going back, but ordering anything more than regular coffee there takes absurd amounts of time. Ds mom commented while she was here, that no one else seems to mind waiting in the long line just to order and then waiting for 10 minutes for their drink to be made. Maybe we are just jerks.

The (lack of ) customer service Pt 1.

I hate waiting. I think I hate it more than the average person. Even if I am violently craving ice cream, if there are more than 2 people in the line at the ice cream shop, I will not wait. I have considered not going to see bands or entire music festivals because I don't want to stand in line for the bathroom or food. I plan trips to the amusement park around the days I think the lines will be shortest. You get the point.

Here in New Brunswick, especially in small-town Sackville, however, waiting is the name of the game. When I came here for my interview, I stayed at an inn/B&B. I had read online that they had unbelievably bad service in the restaurant, but I had no idea how bad it could be. On my first morning, I was nervous, but didn't want to go without eating. I decided to go into the restaurant to get some toast. I allowed 45 minutes for this excursion, assuming that would be more than enough time. When I got to the restaurant, I stood beside the "Please wait to be seated" sign for about 5 minutes. Finally I asked one of the two other people sitting in the restaurant if anyone was working. The man said, yes and she should be back soon. So, the owner comes in and seats me, asks me if I want coffee and then wanders away for another five minutes. She comes back, drops the coffee and then disappears again. Ten minutes later she comes back out, and I call her over and ask for some toast. "Oh," she says, very surprised, "You don't want to see a menu?" Well, maybe 20 minutes ago when I got here I might have wanted to see a menu, but now I just want to leave. I finally got my toast and then had only about 5 minutes to get back to my room and get ready for my interview.

I figured that this place was an anomaly because it was owned by an older couple and it was an independent establishment in a small town. What I wasn't expecting was for even the chain, fast food restaurants to operate at a snail's pace. I have worked at a fast food restaurant, and I know that head offices are constantly trying to make things better and faster, and implement new systems whenever they come up with something that is faster. One example of this speed in action is Tim Hortons. (Why is there no apostrophe in the name? It drives me crazy.) Most people go to Timmy's for coffee and most locations have their coffee providing system finely tuned. A few years back, they even developed a new system where your order comes up at a little counter away from where you ordered it. This way, you move along and do not block the next person who orders. Also, most Timmy's don't take debit cards in order to avoid slowing down the line by having someone typing in their PIN.  (In Canada debit cards cannot be swiped like a credit card, you must always enter your PIN.) Tim Hortons is always really fast, even when you order food. NOT IN SACKVILLE!

Oh my god, it makes me want to gouge my own eyeballs out with a spoon every time I go there. First of all, they do not seem to be understaffed, but they do not follow the established Tim Hortons system. The person who takes the order seems to be the person who also makes the order, and that can take a very long time if food is involved. There always seems to be an excessive amount of staff hovering around the drive-thru window, but they don't seem to be doing much either. So for people like me, who don't have vehicles to use in the drive-thru, the only option is to stand in a really long line for coffee and try to keep our heads from exploding.

I just don't understand how it can be so slow. Tim Hortons is busy ALL THE TIME. That is why every other Timmy's on the planet has developed these really efficient ways of getting people their coffee. It can't be that hard!

As I am writing this, I am realizing how much I am acting like my father. That's scary.

I do try really hard not to show my impatience when interacting with the Tim Horton's employees. I don't want to look like some obnoxious city girl, and I assume that everyone else here doesn't notice how f&@*ing slow the service is. Perhaps if I stay here long enough, I will get used to the slower pace. Perhaps I will even enjoy it, and then when I go to the city I will say things like, "Wow, people sure are impatient here." But probably not. I am my father's daughter after all.