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Gasman

Member since: Apr 14th, 2009

Gasman's Latest Comments

Blog Activity
Blog# of Comments
Switched1 Comment
WalletPop1 Comment

Recent Comments:

Nerds Face Lawsuit Over 'Dungeons & Dragons' Handbook (Switched)

Jun 21st 2009 8:19AM Seriously, what the hell?

I'm going to go out on a limb here. I'm a gamer, old school pen and paper type, D&D among those I've played. You're free to think that my hobby's lame, silly, asinine, or a total waste of time. You're free to write the kind of schlock you wrote, and (though I seriously hope otherwise) get paid for it. That's what living in a free society's all about.

So now I'm going to exercise my right to free speech and say that you've got to be about the world's biggest douchebag. If you were talking about other races, women, or religious groups the way you just slandered us gamers, you'd be getting crucified left and right in the media. What makes you think that it's somehow acceptable to spew this kind of hatred and vitriol at us? Seirously, did the community do something as a whole to offend you, or are you just trying to prove how awesome you are by putting other people down? I'm as utterly baffled as I am offended. What possessed you to think that this was cool, funny, or otherwise something that people would want to read?

I've never met anyone that doesn't have some kind of hobby - they're the things that keep our heads screwed on straight. Just because we generally roll dice instead of being a living index of baseball stats, going fishing, or sipping a latte in a coffee shop somewhere doesn't mean we're some kind of freaks. Or if it does, maybe we're all freaks.

25 things vanishing in America, part 2: Customer service (WalletPop)

Apr 14th 2009 2:48AM I'm a retail worker, and I have no delusions that what I am about to say is going to be anywhere near popular. I can only hope that you, my audience here, are of a sympathetic enough nature that you can understand the daily hell that we go through.

I do a job that pays me a starvation wage. I can afford housing, food, transportation, communication, and power bills. Pick two. This forces me to live at home with my parents, which makes me a less-than-happy human being. See Maslow's heirarchy of needs if you need a visual aid.

This starvation wage isn't being paid by you, the customer. It's being paid by the business that employs me, which is dependant on you for its money. A variety of bosses in positions throughout the company, who make more in a year than you or I will ever see, decide on the worker's wage, which is invariably poor. They expect all-star service similar to a 40's service station from a hollywood propaganda film for the effort. However, in the real world, you get what you pay for. In this case, a worried, exasperated human being who would rather be anywhere else, but doesn't have much choice in the matter.

You don't pay my wage, the boss does. You get what he pays for. You don't like the service, call the company and ask them to raise wages and hire more help, not to fire the poor sap who's doing 3 people's work for 1/3 of a person's pay.

Things I have to do in one day:
1. Ring up 500 customers. This is not optional, so the quality of your service is diminished in favor of absolute speed. Additionally, dealing with large volumes of the inevitable slowpokes such as the Bluetooth Blowhard, Walkie Talkie Wanker, Champion of the Change Bucket, Coupon Collector, Irritating Discount Inventor, and Intoxicated Idiot further diminish the time I can spend with you, the Joe 6-Pack.
Optimal Time: 8 Hours Actual Time: 4 Hours

2. Stock the entire cooler. This is not optional. If they made it hard to find, I don't waste my time trying to find it.
Optimal Time: 2 Hours Actual Time: 1 Hour

3. Clean the food service area. This is not optional, since the food service area is inadequately staffed.
Optimal Time: 1 and 1/2 hours. Actual Time, 1 hour.

4. Get griped at by my boss for trivial things, usually relating to how I cut corners in order to make my job humanly possible. This is not optional, though I wish it was.
Optimal Time: None. Actual Time: 30 Minutes

5. Clean the parking lot, mop floors, take out trash, clean restrooms. If I treat this as optional, I will get fired.
Optimal Time: 1 Hour. Actual Time: 30 Minutes, restrooms get a quick spray & wipe, caveat emptor.

6. Fill Ice Machines, Stock Shelves. I often treat this as optional, despite the fact that I really shouldn't, but have no other choice in the matter.
Optimal Time: 2 Hours. Actual Time: 50 Minutes, shelves partially stocked.

7. Close Register, Shift Report (involves accounting), Very Not Optional, good way to get fired if done poorly.
Optimal Time: 30 Minutes Actual Time: 10 Minutes, all errors may not be fully rectified, I have to hope that the beancounters find 'em and I don't get in trouble.

What this gets you:
An overworked, underpaid, genuinely miserable individual who really, really needs a vacation.

Solutions:
Hire more people, pay higher wages.

What should be done:
Stop shopping at businesses that provide this level of service or start making intelligent calls to corporate offices requesting policy changes that will improve working conditions, employee morale, and service all at the same time.

What will most likely be done:
Absolutely nothing. Retail workers will continue to be exploited, and suffer through it because they give enough of a rat's fundament to work instead of getting on the public dole. Top tier bosses will continue to squeeze workers under them to improve the bottom line while they live like rock stars. Lower tier bosses will continue to squeeze the workers under them so that they can have a living wage for their 70 hours a week. Service will continue to be poor.