So yesterday I ran into my old GM from 9 to 11 years ago from when I worked at Taco Bell. I remember being a typical 20 year old that knew more than everyone else and knew customers were stupid. I resented working with her because a lot of us had developed a series of shortcuts within the processes that we felt were OK and she did not permit such acts. She was no fun and made everything more difficult. What she really did was give me my first opportunity at being a manager, put up with the BS of some 20 year old know-it-all kid and taught that kid the values of putting the customer first, doing things the right way (even if its not the easy way), having the patience to deal with challenging issues, and taking ownership in what you do. Many of the better business principles I have I owe to her, even if I didnt realize it at the time. I realize its important to serve a customer quality food at 3:58am when you close at 4am (thats why theyre open until 4am, not 3:57). I realize it is important to chop up a quesadilla using the rocking blade instead of the spatchula so the ingredients dont splatter and the cuts are consistent, even if it adds 3 seconds to your drive thru times. Sometimes we all get caught up in the little things and the small details of the job like drive thru times and food variance, or how many files we can get out in a day, or how many phone calls we make... but that doesnt define how good we are at what we do. Ultimately, the bigger picture matters. Making your customers happy matters. What is a customer? A customer is someone that pays you for the value of a certain product or service. So by making customers happy, I dont just mean the people that come through the lines at Taco Bell but also Taco Bell itself (including your coworkers). When you take ownership in your job, youre never working towards the clock but instead towards a series of goals. Were all essentially self-employed serving many customers (your boss, your coworkers, your company, and the people you interact with on a daily basis). When you have ownership in what you do it becomes easy to see that your customers success becomes your own. If you own what you do and its easy to love what you own, therefore you love what you do. As they saying goes, if you love what you do you never work a day in your life. These principles dont apply to just business, but in life itself. Good values dont just apply from 9 to 5, why not live your values? I just want to say thank you Christine Garcia Folley for investing in some 20 year old kid not just as an employee, but ultimately as a person.
Posted on: Sat, 29 Mar 2014 15:43:36 +0000
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