6th November 2023
Listen
Listen
So, 2026 is basically around the corner and Christmas is even closer. I thought a good way to cap off 2025 would be to reflect on my experiences. Specifically, I want to discuss my experience in customer service, offering some personal insights and other experiences I’ve learnt about during my time. I also want to broaden this to customer service and consumption as a whole, since I do think we as consumers can often take certain things for granted. I know a lot of people around my age work within customer service roles, so hopefully this should address any issues you may have faced.
I’ve been working in KFC since last July, a journey which has honestly flown by. It feels like it was just yesterday I was doing my e-learning on the iPad and refining basic math skills through transactions carried out on the drive-thru window. Now, I would say I feel more comfortable in my abilities, building upon both my collaborative and independent nature during my shifts. I particularly have enjoyed it since writing for LGSM, discussing my work here with colleagues and friends.
This has been possible due to having so many relatable and friendly individuals around me when in work, with most either around my age or not much older. We can see KFC embracing younger figures to gain employability through championing their Youth Foundation, which “creates opportunities for young people that inspire and empower them to fulfil their potential and build a positive future”.
However, this wasn’t my first rodeo in terms of customer service. Previously, I had done 2 weeks of work experience in Year 10 within Asda during June-July 2022 and also worked as a temporary retail assistant in Quality Save (now known as Home Bargains) in 2023. This was between September and December; I think it was very useful when discussing challenges I had to overcome during my initial KFC interview, since I already had relevant experience.
What I will say is I don’t miss the minimum wage during that time, since it was only £5.28. Of course, getting the chance to earn an honest wage and be self-sufficient financially was very rewarding but the money wasn’t much.
In the time I’ve spent working, I think there can exist a subtle resentment regarding customer service on both sides.
Allow me to explain.
A lot of the time when working for a business, some things may not happen as intended, which can cause some tension or unease. Employee calls in sick, supply begins running low, demand exceeds the business’ limits, etc.
In my case, we may run out of syrup for a particular drink, or not have enough Pepsi Max bottles to meet demand. Because of this, there is a pressure when considering appropriate responses to the customers and the concern of not knowing the correct reply. This type of informative conversation is known as functional/ideational conversation, a fundamental element of customer service, since verbal communication serves as a utility.
Again, these are small discrepancies but can be enough to frustrate consumers, diminishing their overall satisfaction. When we as employees are required to defuse these frustrations, it can cause an emotional burnout, with multiple occurrences perpetuating a mental struggle.
I think a large reason why many consumers react in the way they do is due to almost a ‘consumer tunnel vision’, where their main objective is to acquire products without considering the production process, involvement and their actions.
Before I worked in fast-food, I would always ensure I minimised the mess caused by eating. Now that I work in this servicescape, I didn’t realise the amount of mess which could be created. The dominant ideology is that younger people are the ones who produce more mess due to being seen as less mature, and I can partly agree but it honestly just depends on the context.
We can see this consumer tunnel vision within customer service transactions.
For instance, a month or two ago, I was taking an order on the headset, and a customer asked me for a Mini Fillet. Now, this may seem normal at first but as part of our menu, we must specify if they would like a Mini Fillet Strip or Burger; this helps avoid misinterpreted orders and maximises speed and productivity. I asked politely and they responded in a slightly hostile tone, saying that when they usually come to the drive-thru, the staff know that this specific person means a Mini Fillet Burger.
However, because I had never interacted with this individual, I was unaware of said preference. To be honest, we aren’t paid to memorise specific customers’ orders – unless it is a replacement – but to reflect the customer’s order once communicated during the order-taking. I think if we did, we would become incredibly overwhelmed and almost overanalyse every single order, which would become mentally taxing.
Another time, a customer asked me if they could have a Stranger Things Burger Box Meal at the front till; due to the buns and sauce required not being delivered until next week, I informed the customer of the situation. They stated that presenting the Box Meal on our TV screens was illegal, due to not having any in at that moment.
I calmly responded by asking if they would like any other alternative Box Meal, with them replying that they would have a Zinger Burger Box Meal. Instead, I think it being deemed ‘illegal’ is a bit absurd, since the buns and sauce would arrive at the end of next week. In my head, I wonder if the same principle could be applied to running out of napkins or salt packets.
These are just two of my experiences, but there are others I could probably think about. Additionally, I’m sure those who have worked longer than me have experienced far worse.
A friend of mine works in retail and yesterday, I went to visit them around 9:50 to acquire some chewies, with the store opening at 10am. To my surprise, there was a flock of people stood outside waiting impatiently, while I could see them busy stocking the shelves.
The people’s facial expressions showed genuine annoyance, which did honestly make me laugh a little bit. I just found it ridiculous how seriously irritated they were that the store was still closed. Perhaps this is ritualistic for them or is due to how close we are to Christmas, but it didn’t seem like a normal thing to partake in.
Once my friend opened the doors, the group rushed towards the entrance excited; it was like seeing a group of kids going on a rollercoaster at Alton Towers. Crazy.
My friend in the past also had a difficult experience with a customer during their shift; essentially, my friend finished serving a customer and saw that this woman was the only person in the queue. So, they replied “Next, please” but the customer remained stood in their position. My friend had other tasks to complete – with not much time due to closing soon – but waited for the woman, repeating “Next, please” in a louder pitch. The woman replies “I’m coming, I’m coming”. She laughed and turned back around, then finally reached the till.
The woman had a trolley filled with items, with one of these being an ornament. She asked my friend if they had anything to wrap it up with. My friend offered to have a look. They returned with kitchen roll to wrap it up and the woman remarked “Oh, I hate people”. This comment made my friend feel victimised, despite not doing anything wrong.
However, they ignored the comment and continued scanning the woman’s things. They politely asked “Would you like a bag?” and she ignored them. Once all of the stuff was scanned through, the woman asked “Can I have a bag?” and my friend replied “Yeah, which one would you like?”.
Do you see the point which I’m getting at?
There is an almost self-entitlement attached to transactions, which can trigger indirect insults or remarks about employees and lead said employees to create judgements about certain customers as a coping mechanism. People become so focused on their own lives that they become ignorant and intolerable. No one should have to feel this way when coming into work.
It’s moments like this which call into question the adage of “The customer is always right”.
This is because businesses can end up tolerating malicious customer behaviour, with approximately 82% of customer-contact employees working in the hospitality industry facing violent or rude customers. While this dysfunctional customer behaviour – a term coined by Lloyd and Reynolds in 2004 – is more commonly associated with environments which supply alcohol, the disruptions caused by this deviancy in non-alcoholic-prone settings are just as damaging.
People being loud and noisy, bringing in bikes/scooters which may block customer seating, vaping in their seats, littering. It’s a growing inconsiderateness. And what does this cause for the employees? Psychological stress, low self-esteem and extreme self-regulatory behaviour.
For myself, I have faced many times where I’ve been under distress, due to the high-intensity environments, such as orders on every screen or waiting for the fryers to cook the food. This is made worse by the sustained gaze of eager customers and delivery drivers, impatiently waiting for said food. I believe this growing need to satiate one’s hunger can lead us to disregard the humanity of the employees, reducing them to almost machines that must conform to demand, even when supply begins to run low.
I have also experienced this mental exhaustion during closes, where customers will turn up between 9 and 10 in order to eat in, despite our policy being that orders between this period are take-away only (this is because of the lobby close, where all of the tables and seats must be cleaned, arranged, doors must be shut and the floors must be mopped).
I think because it is fast-food, people associate the conventions of McDonalds with KFC. A funny example of this is people assuming we have a second or third window and driving forwards without collecting their order. However, this just isn’t the case at all; I think turning up this late is actually quite unfair on staff, since they have homes to get back to and shouldn’t be expected to serve someone so late. I understand some people may be busy all day but they should make the time before completing tasks to engage in customer service.
On the other hand, we as employees because of this can grow wary of customers, due to these former experiences shaping our perceptions. While of course we know not every individual acts the same way (with some being incredibly lovely, like this woman Karen who I met on the drive-thru), former negative portrayals of behaviour will lead us to be cautious and apprehensive. The more one encounters pessimism, the more tired one’s mental state becomes.
To be honest, even some of the ‘worst’ customers in terms of attitude I suspect are more so just driven by a physiological need for food and drink. And some are just bad sports. Especially when they litter or argue back. This highlights the nature-nurture debate that explores human behaviour. It just depends, with this unpredictability an unspoken convention of customer service; although, I do think nurturing is far more impactful on human behaviour.
At the end of the day, I think the customer often has a grasp of what they want, and our consultative role fluctuates, by guiding them to the provided services if they so wish. But, the employees themselves have lives, friends and families. They are not merely just tools to ensure one is catered for.
A way I try to deal with this is through a friendly and cheerful public persona, which I express to my colleagues in order to make them feel more comfortable and reduce any potential worries. It is also important to me to ensure the people I work with are doing alright, so I try as much as I can to inquire about how they’re feeling.
Moreover, I think digital developments such as kiosks helps streamline this process and enhance efficiency. This is something which I as a consumer prefer, compared to the slower, verbal, communicative process. Regardless, the idea of the customer always being right certainly evokes discourse in terms of its relevance today.
Customer service to me feels like a tug of war regarding Erving Goffman’s Face concept, something I learnt through sociolinguistics during A-Level English; to Goffman, face refers to ‘someone’s public image, characterised from everyday expressions such as “losing face” (one is embarrassed/humiliated) and “saving face”‘.
This quote is taken from Goffman’s On Face-Work: An Analysis of Ritual Elements in Social Interaction, published in 1955:
“Just as the member of any group is expected to have self-respect, so also he [she] is expected to sustain a standard of considerateness: he [she] is expected to go to certain lengths to save the feelings and face of others present, and he [she] is expected to do this willingly and spontaneously because of emotional identification with the others and with their feelings” (pg.215)
In terms of customer service, the customer should show consideration to the employee and vice versa.
He goes on to establish 2 categories:
Now, let us consider theorists Brown & Levinson, who built on Goffman’s Face Theory through Positive and Negative Face:
When employees correctly identify the suitable product for the customer, this boosts the employee’s Positive Face and serves as a FSA. When employees misunderstand, this is a Positive FTA, by damaging the extent to which the customer sees them as competent.
A customer asking for additional items besides their originally placed order (e.g – dips, salt packets, sachets) arguably does present a Negative FTA against the employee, creating a temporary unequal power dynamic.
Now, I must iterate. Humans aren’t perfect, and we within customer service may misunderstand customer requests. This Christmas, make sure you appreciate those presents, especially the more tangible items. Someone out there worked very hard to ensure this product was available both via delivery and its actual production.
The key is to display politeness and respect to those around us – especially when these things happen, as treating people with fairness is a fundamental British value.
All opinions expressed are my own and my friend.
Any questions? Feel free to contact me on johnjoyce4535@gmail.com!
Check out my last piece: Disaffiliation: Leaving the National Union of Students UK
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https://www.liverpoolguildstudentmedia.co.uk/category/opinion
