Monday, March 1, 2010

Some people just don't get it

Last night we worked with grandmotherly manager again. She's a manager that some of the other managers start to dread working with, because some of the things that she does just makes it worse. Like the other night, she had made two fudge sundaes, but she had them regular. The customer ordered them with extra fudge, which for us means putting fudge on the top and the bottom. I tell her that they need to be remade, but she tells me to ask if they just want the extra fudge on the side. I ask the customers, "We made these regular, but if you want, we can put the extra fudge on the side, would you want that?" They say no.

So I go throw the sundaes away and remake them. Then grandmotherly manager takes it upon herself to go to the window and go into a whole explanation about why how the way we offered to fix it was indeed better, and convinces them to take it.. but since I had already thrown the previous two away, and remade them properly, they got the ones I had made. Now every time those customers come in, they're going to want the sundaes made the way G.M. had suggested.

Of course, this manager has a tendency to talk too much and overshare too much. We've all cringed over her medical issues, for instance. She also has a tendency to talk down to us and not really realize it. Last night she had one of the grill crew trainers in an fit because he's working on training someone on table in doing the basics, and she keeps stepping in because of some minor procedure that the trainee isn't being taught right then and there. Honestly, I'd really focus on them getting the basics down pat first, and then working on the details, but no, she has to step in every chance she gets to interfere with the crew trainer's work and make some minor point. It gets pretty insulting after a while.. it's only this particular trainee's third day, and he's still trying to figure out the basics, such as what goes on what sandwich, and getting his speed up. Work on the basics first before freaking out over the little stuff (such as those little paper sleeves for the third pounder sandwiches, which honestly, no one cares about anyway).

Well, after G.M. butts in one too many times while the crew trainer is training, the crew trainer stalks off to cool his jets for a few, since he was about to explode at the manager. I suggest to the floor manager (a pretty good friend of mine) that he talk to the G.M. about how she's making it harder to train someone, and floor manager agrees. He waffles a bit over how to do it, until I tell manager that if he didn't, I would, and I'm well known for being a bit too blunt. So he tries to tell G.M. in a nice way, only she denies doing anything out of sorts and doesn't understand what the fuss is about. Flew right over her head.

I suppose it doesn't surprise me, because a lot of times managers lose knowledge when it comes to certain positions because they don't work those positions often enough as managers. So really, when you have a crew trainer who does work the spot every day, or a manager who doesn't, the crew trainer is the better one to train.. only the manager gets listened to above a crew trainer because, well, they're a manager. It's pretty insulting.

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