THE OBSERVATORY - ENTRY # 0016: GRATUITY
By TWEAKNEE
August 22, 2009
Listen up servers, hosts, restroom attendants, etc...
This is just a pet peeve of mine...
Do you provide above average quality customer care? Are you honestly going above & beyond what is expected of you? Do you really expect a tip every time?
Those are the questions I ask myself when I’m faced staring at the tip jar. For the record, I'm not trying to be a jerk, I'm just trying to pick apart this particular phenomenon.
When a waiter, waitress or the order taking sentient from the donut shop gives me mediocre service, something I’m okay with by the way, I always wonder if they feel they deserve a tip. I question whether or not they feel they did their job well enough to warrant some extra coin.
Of course, I would never think twice to stiff those service reps who are truly obnoxious or oblivious to their “customer service” title.
Shouldn’t a tip be left for those who do more than what their job asks?
Maybe I should walk around with a tip jar and jingle it around every time I give someone advice, bad or good.
Now will I?
No, of course not. But you can bet that me and countless other customers would definitely want to.
I honestly feel that an average rep that performs the basics of what his or her job asks should not get praised. After all, it's their job and they are getting paid to do just that. Those who add extra cheer or make your coffee exactly to your overly-detailed specs should be applauded and awarded. And those who just plain do it half-assed should get a reboot in customer service skills.
Unfair? Sure, but oh well...
When you visit a place religiously, you SHOULD leave a tip. They WILL remember you and the correctness of any future orders most likely will depend on your last tip.
When all is said and done, it’s only spare change for that guaranteed sweet mocha bliss from my friendly neighborhood Barista!
Oh, for the record... Yes, I do tip. Sometimes very generously. So step it up!
Great...now I have nothing left for the parking meter.
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Observations
THE OBSERVATORY - ENTRY # 0015: A LONG TIME AGO...
BY: MRAM
August 15, 2009
Was it that long ago when a certain film ultimately changed the lives of so many people? The images of spaceships racing across the stars in a galaxy far, far away captured the imagination of moviegoers and hasn’t let go since. All through my childhood, images so wild were only seen in fragmented views in my craziest dreams. Yet in an instant, I was literally beside myself as explosions rocked the speakers of the movie theater while the heart-thumping soundtrack made my heart race from anticipation with each passing scene.
May 25, 1977...
Until that unforgettable day, my impression of an “out of this world” character was found in the form of a 25-foot mechanical shark named “Bruce” that terrorized the shores of Amity, Long Island. Or a troubled young office worker who commanded rats and even an African-American Dracula! Now who could have ever imagined what was in store for us next?
There were so many movies that dealt in harsh reality or the dark side of the human mind during the mid-1970's. Now don’t get me wrong, there was absolutely nothing wrong with many of those films. Who wasn’t entertained by watching the lives of the Corleone family, or to witness the horror of the effects of demonic possession in a little girl? But unfortunately, that was it. Somewhere along the line, we lost our innocence. The eyes that we used to view the world as a child was slowly closing shut. Our ability to dream of far away places, rescuing damsels in distress and to cheer on a band of heroes that were determined to defeat a powerful villain were close to non-existent. It wasn’t fashionable anymore, I guess.
The closest thing we got to a Science Fiction or a Futuristic based movie was watching a space station’s computer go berserk on it’s crew, a band of white suited, black bowler hat-wearing thugs that bathed in a cesspool of Sex & Ultra-Violence and a planet overrun with a civilization of hybrid primates. (…ah, those damn dirty apes.)
After so many movies showing a bleak or a post-apocalyptic view of a possible future, we needed an alternate view to lift our spirits, even if it meant watching campy television reruns of the voyages of the U.S.S Enterprise. Even though it’s 5-year mission only lasted 2 seasons. =)
The irony of this particular science fiction movie was that it was set not in the future, but in the PAST! Now how’s that for a twist?
In one afternoon, everybody became a kid again. We remembered how to dream and to actually feel good in the post-Vietnam years. It was hip to root for the “Good-Guys” once more. There was a breath of fresh air and optimism for the future of our children, as corny as that may sound. How many kids were inspired from what they had seen ultimately became Astronauts, or Scientists? Not to mention countless others that went on to become Movie Makers, Designers, Computer Programmers, Illustrators and even Toy makers?
Well, I was one of those kids.
Over 30 years ago, a dreamer from Northern California with a far-fetched idea turned his vision into reality. Thanks to that man, I am proud to say that my own little world, called the CYNIK UNIVERSE, is a result of my childhood experiences, and subsequent inspiration of events that happened A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away…
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Observations
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