Do what I say, and not as I do
I'm a punitative authoritarian and I'm the boss of you
I like to punish, and I have no trust
I have no awareness and some think I'm unjust...
But don't be afraid, although I'm the boss
My style is smooth and my rhymes like Rick Ross
Saturday, December 11, 2010
Thursday, December 9, 2010
Das Blog
Personally, I felt the blog was an innovative way to get people in the class to communicate with each other outside the classroom (especially since nobody uses discussion board). On one hand where the blog did force me to discuss the activities in class, I also thought it was a good way to discuss topics regarding management without having to do a lot of outside reading and papers. For future reference, I would definitely keep the blog assignments a component in this course, however I would also suggest several revisions. Instead of making it so that we have to reply to 3 separate blogs, one or two would be more efficient because we would be able to work on the quality of our responses more than 3 meaningless responses because we need x amount of quantity. Also for those who might not feel comfortable putting a website up with pictures of themselves (not including myself, but just an idea...), an alternative assignment might be appropriate. Finally, I do not see myself using this blog in the future because I cannot see how it would be of any beneficial use when there are so many other (more efficient) ways of social networking now.
Monday, November 15, 2010
Doing it dirty at McDonalds....
It’s 10:30pm in Long Island and pulling into the parking lot there’s not a soul at the McDonalds. I put the car in park, contemplating whether or not it’s even open and as I walk to the door I laugh to myself about the insanity of what is about to go down. The door swings open and the smell of burgers and fries flies around my face like a tornado. As I walk up to the counter and look around there’s not a person in sight…until I turn around and all the staff is sitting at the tables like a lounge. They look around to see who’s going to get up and finally a women walks slowly behind the counter and says “may I help you?”
As I placed my order, I tried to explain that it was vital for them to be as specific as possible on the receipt. I told the lady I would like a small cheeseburger with exactly 5 pickles, well done fries and a side of big mac sauce. She places the order (yells to the staff who walk to the grill), and as she puts the order into the POS machine, I explained that I needed the 5 pickles to show up. After 5 minutes of arguing because she said this was impossible, another lady came over who tried to explain how it could not be done. I asked them to push the button 5 times, which they refused until finally playing around for a little they realized how to make 5 pickles appear on the receipt. Everyone else (other staff members) watched me as they shook their head and the manager was simply standing in the corner watching the whole time without saying a word. The burger came, receipt was printed and to my surprise the order was perfect.
When I first learned about this assignment I thought it was going to be a lot more difficult than it turned out to be. Convincing the staff member that the pickles could be shown on the receipt was possible seemed to be the most difficult part, however, once that was accomplished the rest was simple. Although they don’t seem to be the “best” at customized orders (as such), they handled the situation a lot better than expected. However, If I was the manager during this situation, instead of standing in the corner doing nothing, I would have come over to the counter and either spoken to the customer or the staff member to try and solve the problem more efficiently.
Communication between the staff members seemed to be efficient (most was in Spanish so I could not understand it all), however I’m sure if this had been done at 2:00pm in union square with a huge line, this would not have been as smooth of a scenario. They also seemed to be accustomed to picky customers, because when placing the order they did not seem too surprised, and almost acted as if this was a normal occasion. As far as communication between the staff members and the customers, I do not have too many recommendations for improvements.
Regarding training, because it took two of the staff members to figure out how to get 5 pickles to show up on the receipt, I would say that training for the POS system could be more in depth so that they would be better able to handle customized orders more efficiently. They didn’t seem to be too familiar with the system, which is surprising to me since they use it all day long. I’m sure McDonald implements an initial staff training with the systems, but why was one of the staff members able to figure it out while the other stood there completely baffled? One good suggestion I would have would be to have a “updated training” either monthly or bimonthly just to make sure that all the members of the staff are well trained and equally competent regarding their systems.
There was no sign of true “leadership” in the restaurant, although the one woman who was able to help could be commended for standing up and conquering the pickle escapade. The one individual in which I feel could have done more to be a leader in this situation was the manager. Because he did not even attempt to help the situation, where he clearly saw me arguing with this lady for about 5 minutes, I feel a lot more could have been done on his end, such as trying to come over and work the machine himself.
All in all, the experience was exhilarating and I’m sure I will tell my kids and they will tell their kids and the story will live on forever. The burger was salty with a strong taste of pickles, and the fries were soggy from the sauce, yet crispy from being well done. I left with a smile on my face, but a sad realization hit me when walking to my car in the parking lot…I can no longer go into that McDonalds during the night shift without being known as the 5 pickle guy. Damn…
As I placed my order, I tried to explain that it was vital for them to be as specific as possible on the receipt. I told the lady I would like a small cheeseburger with exactly 5 pickles, well done fries and a side of big mac sauce. She places the order (yells to the staff who walk to the grill), and as she puts the order into the POS machine, I explained that I needed the 5 pickles to show up. After 5 minutes of arguing because she said this was impossible, another lady came over who tried to explain how it could not be done. I asked them to push the button 5 times, which they refused until finally playing around for a little they realized how to make 5 pickles appear on the receipt. Everyone else (other staff members) watched me as they shook their head and the manager was simply standing in the corner watching the whole time without saying a word. The burger came, receipt was printed and to my surprise the order was perfect.
When I first learned about this assignment I thought it was going to be a lot more difficult than it turned out to be. Convincing the staff member that the pickles could be shown on the receipt was possible seemed to be the most difficult part, however, once that was accomplished the rest was simple. Although they don’t seem to be the “best” at customized orders (as such), they handled the situation a lot better than expected. However, If I was the manager during this situation, instead of standing in the corner doing nothing, I would have come over to the counter and either spoken to the customer or the staff member to try and solve the problem more efficiently.
Communication between the staff members seemed to be efficient (most was in Spanish so I could not understand it all), however I’m sure if this had been done at 2:00pm in union square with a huge line, this would not have been as smooth of a scenario. They also seemed to be accustomed to picky customers, because when placing the order they did not seem too surprised, and almost acted as if this was a normal occasion. As far as communication between the staff members and the customers, I do not have too many recommendations for improvements.
Regarding training, because it took two of the staff members to figure out how to get 5 pickles to show up on the receipt, I would say that training for the POS system could be more in depth so that they would be better able to handle customized orders more efficiently. They didn’t seem to be too familiar with the system, which is surprising to me since they use it all day long. I’m sure McDonald implements an initial staff training with the systems, but why was one of the staff members able to figure it out while the other stood there completely baffled? One good suggestion I would have would be to have a “updated training” either monthly or bimonthly just to make sure that all the members of the staff are well trained and equally competent regarding their systems.
There was no sign of true “leadership” in the restaurant, although the one woman who was able to help could be commended for standing up and conquering the pickle escapade. The one individual in which I feel could have done more to be a leader in this situation was the manager. Because he did not even attempt to help the situation, where he clearly saw me arguing with this lady for about 5 minutes, I feel a lot more could have been done on his end, such as trying to come over and work the machine himself.
All in all, the experience was exhilarating and I’m sure I will tell my kids and they will tell their kids and the story will live on forever. The burger was salty with a strong taste of pickles, and the fries were soggy from the sauce, yet crispy from being well done. I left with a smile on my face, but a sad realization hit me when walking to my car in the parking lot…I can no longer go into that McDonalds during the night shift without being known as the 5 pickle guy. Damn…
Wednesday, November 3, 2010
The Power of Vision
For most people, graduating can seem frightening. Entering the workforce in an economy like this can be one of the most difficult things, especially without a specific vision on what you want to do with the rest of your life. For me, I cant wait to graduate. I currently work at a telecommunication and data networking firm and once I finish school, I can really start working and making an impact on my career. Some goals I have set in my head already are to go into sales, however, in order to do this successfully I need to learn everything there is to know about the company. You cannot sell something you know nothing about (at least not successfully). After sales, and working in the company, I would like to take some of my earning and start an independent company myself (not necessarily in the same field however). This would give me the opportunity to not "put all my eggs in one basket" and allow me to move around more freely throughout the workforce. Additionally, on top of these two goals, I would like to start a family with a wife and kids by the time I reach the age of 30. However, I would like to be financially secure before doing so. These three visions I have are far ahead of me now, but I feel they are completely attainable and if I set my mind toward them, there is nothing that can stop me.
Sunday, September 26, 2010
Culture Shock (Topic #1)
Recently, I was discussing with a friend of mine (who is originally from France, and I met in NYC) the difference in social-economic attitudes between different cultures. Having never been to Europe myself, I found it interesting to hear the opposite mentality that people had when it came to presenting their economic status in France and the mentality Americans hold. Here in the U.S. social status is of great importance to people, for people here money symbolizes success, power, independence and sometimes even happiness. Even more disturbing, sometimes if people do not posses a higher status economically they will present themselves in a manner that gives the impression that they are "well off" just so that in the social eye they can make that impression of "dominance". In contrast, for people in France, to be economically successful is negatively associated with bourgeois, snobby attitudes, and lack of general motivation for the well being of society. Where as people in the U.S. would flaunt their monetary success, people in France would try to hide all signs of high economic status, because otherwise would be socially taboo. So why such a difference in mentality? Is one better than the other, or are both just opposite sides of the spectrum and the optimal position would be somewhere in the middle?
I'm curious about other opinions on this topic, so please feel free to leave comments and join the discussion.
I'm curious about other opinions on this topic, so please feel free to leave comments and join the discussion.
Tuesday, September 14, 2010
Welcome!
Hello fellow rhymer!
The name's JC and my opinion is what you have come to see, so now let me tell you just a little about me. I aim to please and I do it with ease, because whenever you check out my blog your computer freeze....just kidding.
I am a marketing major at Baruch with a minor in psychology. I just currently turned 21, and when I'm not taking classes full time I work at a networking and data communications firm in New Jersey. I am relatively new to this game (this being my first blog) so I hope you enjoy, and feel free to drop me a line anytime!
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