What has happened to public service?

We had a day off Wednesday and I rode my bike up to Subway with a friend to get a midday snack. I walked up to the counter and and the gentlemen behind asked, "What?" I was taken back by his remark and stood dumbfounded. I was raised on how to be polite and this was definitely not it. Finally my friend began ordering his sub. After he was done, it was my turn. The man continued with his display of how not to have good customer service.

It didn't get interesting until I started to pay (with a gift card). Subway has its customers that are buying with a gift card use the credit card terminal. Nothing seemed to be odd until I was about done. A question popped up on the terminal that read, "Were you satisfied with your experience today?" I was millimeters away from tapping "NO" when I realized he was watching his own computer screen. He gave me a dirty look and it was obvious he didn't want to stand here waiting for some little punk to pick whether he was satisfied with his experience or not. He reminded me of someone who wasn't working because they needed money, but more of someone who was working just because their parole officer had said they should. I didn't want to mess with the guy, so i ended up pressing "NO."

It got worse as the day went on. I rode my bike to football so I also had to ride home. I had some cash left on me from Subway and I decided to stop at the Shell station for some powerade. Again, as I was being rung up, the man being the counter was completely ignoring me. He didnt even tell me my total! It came up on the screen and he just expected me to realize this and pay! I guess a little bit of my moms Irish stubbornness came out because I said nevermind and put it back in the fridge.

It was not until I began to write this blog that I truly thought about the culture aspect of it. It must have something to do with the "me" culture. I wonder what customer service is like in other countries, especially "we" cultures.



An image of the "Dirty Domino's Workers":