Professionalism part deux

[Deleted User 89]

and keep you center of gravity low

[Deleted User 75]

Employee survey time!

How do I throw management under the bus but in a professional way?

You don't.

[ousdahl]

every other staffer I've talked to is throwing the place under the bus. Everyone has for years. Perhaps the most common theme is emphasizing that the surveys are meaningless and upper management really don't care what employees think. Based on the fact I've been in the department for longer than all the other staffers combined and have whined in plenty of other surveys that didn't change a thing, I tend to agree.

Given my tenure and my role, there's really no way to keep my response truly anonymous, short of not saying anything, but what fun is that? I thought about owning it and saying simply, "we all believe these surveys are meaningless, but if you'd like to prove me wrong, just ask ousdahl to meet about ideas to improve this place."

This time I'm taking a different tone. Instead of taking the time to comment on all the cryptic questions of the survey, I'm just gonna include a constructive list of issues and suggested improvements that I've already been mentioning to management anyway. Just matter of fact-ly list them.

The only real dig I'm gonna put in there is at the end of the survey I'm gonna say, "convince the owner to accept an overhaul of the entire culture. Doing so would also fix most of the issues I've already listed."

[Deleted User 75]

My company does "anonymous" surveys too.....they're not anonymous at all other than you don't put your name anywhere...which is because you've got to log on to the company site anyway to take them....and then when there are overly critical responses the bosses know exactly who said what, they just don't tell anyone.....1 of the benefits of working at the main office with the Owner, CEO (son in law), CFO, GM, Attorney, and head of Audit/Compliance....learn all their dirty tricks....also learn that complaining is ineffective 95% of the time....better to kiss ass on your way up the ladder!

[ousdahl]

I knowww.

but at this point I think I’d rather be a staffer who keeps it real than a manager who just tells the uppers what they wanna hear. Don’t make me complicit in this culture.

(Oh, and after gratuities, I think I do as well or better than most managers anyway, and I don’t even think they realize it)

[Deleted User 75]

It's a common problem in nearly every industry.

The front liners know the customer base so much better than the upper mgmt type people....but the upper mgmt types don't usually listen.

[ousdahl]

I’ve worked a lot of service jobs in several sectors for several different size companies and managerial hierarchies. This place might be the worst.

Turns out, even if a fellow made himself rich with a ruthless culture in telecom, it don’t work quite the same for a guest resort.

[ousdahl]

Oh! Another common theme is fresher and healthier food in the employee cafeteria.

While we appreciate a shift meal, the often fatty salty processed frozen fried gut bombs tend to be inedible.

So, with that said, and to emphasize the quality and experience of the cafe, how many times is too many times to use the term “Hershey squirts?”

[jhawks99]

Is that the same food they serve to the guests?

Some of the restaurants where I worked served "family meal". A pre-service meal for the employees. It was usually something that needed to get used up or loose it. Every once in a while it would be something really good.

[DCHawk1]

So, with that said, and to emphasize the quality and experience of the cafe, how many times is too many times to use the term “Hershey squirts?”

The good news is that you definitely won't have that problem if they stock the cafe with organic sprouts and romaine.

[ousdahl]

Oh heyalll no it ain’t the same food they serve to guests.

It’s usually just some Sysco frozen chicken nuggets or egg rolls or something, fried that morning and kept in a hot pan for a few hours before it’s served.

Okay, sometimes they’ll put out some leftovers from a banquet buffet. It’s legally supposed to be thrown out promptly after a buffet, but we’re usually grateful for it cuz it’s so much better than overcooked egg rolls.

The worst meal I remember (aside from the also-frequent mystery meat roast) is when they took a bunch of old stale scones from the coffee shop, crumbled it up and mixed it with more flour and water and eggs, and served it as some new pastry casserole thing.

Oh this bite’s chocolate chip! And this one’s cinnamon raisin! And this one is lemon herb! And I think the last one was mystery meat! And how did scones get so crunchy?

[jhawks99]

lol

[ousdahl]

so I had the most curious interaction with management just now. Before I add my response or add context, I wanted to get some reactions...

me: so I have a friend who is a retail manager at a department store. She said a big part of her job is just getting staff up to speed about new product arrivals and other offerings. Do you think we could ever have a role like that here to better prepare staff?

Management: “well more than anything the problem here seems to be that staff just doesn’t give a shit...”

[Deleted User 89]

um, doesn’t you asking indicate that at least one person gives a shit?

and...perhaps if management showed that they gave a shit, then the other employees might start giving a shit as well

[TDub]

Id say the person in that interaction that doesnt give a shit is the manager. He/she seems to be on cruise control. Keep expectations low, keep effort low, convince upper management its a staff issue.....ride mediocrity to the retirement home. Sad but true reality for many many middle management types.

Go get his job oussie. Or move to montana and start a guiding company. Then you can get learned up on the territory and take me fishing.

[ousdahl]

Oh! Sorry, meant to reply.

Thoughts:

What kind of management perceives staff as “not giving a shit” yet does nothing to improve it?

What kind of management lets the staff dictate the culture?

What kind of management doesn’t take responsibility for staff not giving a shit?

And for the longest time I hoped to be a manager eventually, but the more time I spend here, the more I want nothing to do with the managerial culture.

And tdub I’d take you fishing either way.

[ousdahl]

But first, question time!


How often should a manager get to receive tips?

[jhawks99]

But first, question time!


How often should a manager get to receive tips?

Never

[PhDhawk]

But first, question time!


How often should a manager get to receive tips?

Just the tip?

Just for a second.

[Deleted User 89]

But first, question time!


How often should a manager get to receive tips?

if they're the one/s that interacted with the customer, it should be their tip

if they're trying to take a cut from someone else's tip, fuck 'em