I’m very grateful to the mystery guest shopper bloggers who recently provided us with Vodamoan and PC Whirled. Tales of bad service abound and it’s worth giving them the light of day. These stories are not uncommon and can galvanise us into demanding better service when we see that we’re not alone. And it doesn’t always have to be like that…
First Pharmacy
Recently I’ve had to make a few visits to my local chemist First Pharmacy, to get some painkillers for some relief from a particularly angry shoulder muscle. Everything is now under control and I’m waiting for some time with the physio, but for over a week the situation worsened, hence the need to make a few trips.
So what?
On each visit I was served promptly (I had to queue briefly a couple of times), and on my third trip Valarie served me again. While I was waiting for my prescription to be sorted out, I noticed the staff were all talking with each other and their customers while they worked. There was a sense of humour in the air and at one point Valarie made a joke about being bullied at work to one of her colleagues, and they all fell about laughing. ‘I don’t normally hear laughter as a by-product of bullying’ I said, and Valarie replied:
‘We like to have fun in our work. It helps us do our jobs well and it seems to put a smile on the faces of our customers, we think that’s important too’.
I don’t think I’ve heard the employee and customer experience so well summed up in a long time. I left the shop with Valarie’s words bouncing around inside my head ten days ago and I can recall them with crystal clarity.
I’d love to tell you that First Pharmacy are some mega global brand and that their employee and customer connected ethos goes worldwide. They are not. Yet.
photo c/o Dvortygirl
I do wonder if enjoying your work environment is easier to do when you’re not a big multinational? There seems to be a perception associated with a big beast that having a sense of enjoyment or similar at work is simply not done.
Great question thanks Sukh. I hope not and yet when I worked at BT one of the questions I was asked most often was ‘how do you manage to have so much fun at work?’ The tone was always disbelieving and sometimes disapproving. I don’t think good work and the enjoyment thereof can be separated.