[Army_of_One]

I'm sitting here at the sonic in Larnard. (I have an aircard..) Not only was the order taker clear and concise but very friendly. When she brought my order out she also offered me the morning paper. (Nice touch if you ask me) and told me to have a great day.

I have been thinking about the service in Dodge. If it was true that all young people are jacked up it would be everywhere. Have you ever been to the McDonalds in Pratt? It's excellent. I believe it begins and ends with the management. I'm going to go off on a military style rant here but....THE manager and assistant managers are ultimately responsible for everything that happens and doesn't happen at their establishment. They hire the people that work there and train them. If they have lax standards then the employees will mirror the same. If the manager trains them, motivates them and such then it will show in the service with pride and team work. First and foremost is enforcing the standards and the uniforms. Walk into McDonalds and look at how people are dressed....untucked shirts, baggy pants, dirty clothes, hats on sideways...this is where it all starts. When I worked at a Mcdonalds we had to have our uniform on right or we couldn't work. In Dodge I have more than once told a kid to fix his hat before he took my order because the manager won't do it. If a manager either doesn't care or won't enforce a basic standard like the uniform then it's all down hill from there. You don't let the prisoners run the prison. Why can you go to Arby's and the employees are neatly dressed, clean and polite...I would say because of the management. Those employees are drawn from the same employee pool as McDonalds or Burger King...just better management I would say. If you have a problem don't blame the employee, blame the manager for letting it happen. I usually talk to the manager and ask him "is this your standard"? Because if it is then that's the end of the conversation right there and I won't go back. If it's NOT the standard then it may be fixable.

Gotta hit the road...Headed to Great Bend, Wichita then back to Dodge...ugh.