tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11399622.post7437480633117246795..comments2023-10-23T10:37:45.163-07:00Comments on Dr. Write: Gender and CoffeeDr Writehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16408687271313205905noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11399622.post-18440322438704128062007-11-16T14:27:00.000-07:002007-11-16T14:27:00.000-07:00Wait a minute. I thought under the new world order...Wait a minute. I thought under the new world order, teaching WAS customer service.Nikhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15795554401570611521noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11399622.post-80628430612939651182007-11-16T14:26:00.000-07:002007-11-16T14:26:00.000-07:00I am woman. I want coffee. I want it now. But I gu...I am woman. I want coffee. I want it now. But I guess I'm willing to wait a bit if you have other things to do. I'll just be over here, looking at the CD's, wishing I'd just made coffee at home.Nikhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15795554401570611521noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11399622.post-6800817230242627722007-11-15T22:31:00.000-07:002007-11-15T22:31:00.000-07:00I never had a customer service job, really, except...I never had a customer service job, really, except for being a receptionist, sort of, at an office at BYU. Your discussion of it makes me realize how good it was I never was one. I would also have hated the skinny latte girls. College daughter, however, has some amazing stories about customer attitude. Both men and women. Assholicism knows no gender, apparently.Lisa B.https://www.blogger.com/profile/10646181766775405935noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11399622.post-69167930333974770982007-11-15T21:58:00.000-07:002007-11-15T21:58:00.000-07:00This is an interesting study. I can't stand bitchy...This is an interesting study. I can't stand bitchy woman or men for that matter. My only experience with customer service was my job in the toy department at ShopKo. During Christmas, it was hell. Now I am a pretty easy going person and I am one of those people who smile and are "peppy" however when there are tons of children running around screaming for a Teddy Ruxpin or pulling toys off the shelf I tend to lose my patience. Toy departments are not for the weak of heart. Anyway I think usually I was nice. I usually saw women with children. I found those completely inattentive moms to be the most annoying. But I think that if I were a barista and I had a grumpy customer I would chalk it up to caffeine deprivation. I mean the faster they get the coffee, the faster they leave-and the better their mood becomes right?? This study is interesting. I wonder if Starbucks was involved??<BR/><BR/>ErinaliceAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11399622.post-2800660776856612462007-11-15T19:22:00.000-07:002007-11-15T19:22:00.000-07:00This is pretty interesting. Customer service is so...This is pretty interesting. Customer service is something I have a lot of opinions about. I don't think I expect the off-putting Japanese department store approach (although I admit some men might prefer that from women), but, like Susan says, I expect the clerk to be professional and polite and I don't want any surliness or attitude. They should thank me for my business and they should get me through the line as efficiently as possible. I think these are pretty low standards, but it's surprising how infrequently they are met. I don't really care if they smile or not. Or if they fawn or chitchat... That just slows me down.<BR/><BR/>Now when I worked in customer service I responded to difficult people a couple of different ways. Usually I'd act concerned and try to get them out of the store as quickly as possible. But I do admit I'd go into foot-dragging mode if 1) I were in a bad mood, or 2) there was no line and it was just them waiting, or 3) the line was out the door all night and it was never going to go down. I don't think my foot-dragging was ever done across gender lines, but, hey, you never know.<BR/><BR/>So maybe these stats are the result of a few male baristas dragging their feet for a few seconds more when some "difficult" women order their fancy drinks. <BR/><BR/>I would like to see more studies like this.Condimenthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14810467235358163173noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11399622.post-35646818713925780442007-11-15T17:10:00.000-07:002007-11-15T17:10:00.000-07:00Hmmmm...I think some folks are better at customer ...Hmmmm...I think some folks are better at customer service than others, because they're willing to suffer fools. Which you are not. Which is good. I suffer them until I snap, which shocks folks. So maybe its better to be honest all along.<BR/><BR/>Also, I used to train folks to work at the library in B'ham, and I would remind them that you don't have to be nice. You do have to be professional. Smiling isn't essential (though in this sexist world, it's expected)--other techniques also work. A wee bit of eye contact. A verbal cue. And, for those young women who had trouble being intimidating--which you sometimes had to be when folks owed too much money or whatever to check out, rather than looking mean, one could look concerned. It's very easy to fake that--just knit the brow, incline your head, and say, "hmmmmm." Works with students, too. :)susansinclairhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12902873240114986043noreply@blogger.com