An Open Letter to ALL Fast Food Restaurants That Penalize Customers For Liking to Dip. Dear Fast Food Restaurants: You are alienating me and a large portion of your customer base. I like sauce. I like to dip various components of my meal in sauce; not just chicken nuggets, chicken strips or chicken wings. I didn’t think this was an outrageous request. I spent my hard earned money at your establishment. Your service was ok, I guess. But when I asked for more sauce or some sauce, I saw a different side of your staff. I was mocked. I was jeered. I was side-eyed for my love of dipping. I asked why and you told me sauce is only for this or that. Have you forgotten the age old adage: the customer is always right? Now I get it, and I’m wise enough and mature enough to understand that the customer clearly isn’t always right. Me included. But what I will say is that they are ALMOST always right, especially when making REASONABLE requests of you and your establishment. Extra sauce would certainly, in my book, fall squarely within this realm. Let’s examine two of the main anti-fast food chains who have bucked the fairly recent trend of extra-sauce-shaming made popular by such fast food behemoths as McDonald’s, Burger King, and Popeyes to name a few. (I also acknowledge I’m giving way too much information about my eating habits lol.) Those two “other” chains would be Chipotle and Chick-Fil-A. A recent report was published that indicated Chick-Fil-A’s sales have now surpassed KFC and CFA is only open 6 days a week and has about 50% fewer stores! Now KFC isn’t necessarily in the extra-sauce-shaming business but I think it’s interesting commentary on how if you don’t adapt AND treat your customers royally, your business can die or at least whither before dying. Oh, and by the way, I can ask for 10 extra sauces at CFA and get. Every. Single. One. Now let’s look at probably my favorite anti-fast food establishment, Chipotle. They charge extra for nothing!!!! And at the time of this writing, their stock price was...
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Of course we’re all familiar with the nature inspired reflex to remove, systematically and hopefully thoroughly, the physical clutter that fills our personal spaces. Our desks, bedrooms, laundry rooms and garages alike. But how many of us take the time to clear the mental clutter from our most precious area–our mind–is a much different story. I’ll be the first to openly admit I have more than a few personality traits I need to purge, and purge now. This “mental spring cleaning” of the personality can actually be done anytime, but when better to do it than now? The flowers are starting to bloom again, my landscaper just called to schedule the first grass cutting, there’s more sunlight each day and the birds are singing beautifully in the morning. So let’s take this time to take stock of how our personality looks to those we interact with, and let’s make the pact to be better. Here are a couple personality traits you might want to get rid of, along with some of that physical clutter; I know I do! 1. Being Judgmental or Overly Critical. We each have something that we do, that we’re not proud of. We’ve all done things in the past that we wouldn’t necessarily broadcast to people we’re just meeting. Why, then, do we turn right around and bring attention to the next person for their faults? And I don’t mean just silently judge the person or chastise them under our breath. So many people go and talk to the next person instead of giving the person in question the benefit of the doubt, or giving that person the benefit of the doubt AND some feedback to help. Or do we not actually care about them? It’s much easier to just judge what the next person does that you don’t agree with, instead of being quiet, and/or initiating a conversation with this person to find out why they may have done what they did. Do this, but don’t judge them! People who are overly critical can, ironically, be among the worst at accepting their own faults, but have the nerve to talk about someone else. This doesn’t win you any friends. It actually makes you critical...
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