Hey, the Profits Are Down Here!

After visiting a fast-food establishment for coffee and a breakfast sandwich, I left shaking my head and wondering who makes the decisions here? I was second in line at the only open register and had to wait alomost five minutes to get waited on (and there were about four more people behind me in line). The person taking the orders was a little confused, couldn't find a coffee lid and had to repeat the order of the person ahead of me several times.

More than ten other employees behind her were standing around and talking or handling the drive-through window. Why didn't someone else jump in and open another register? They just stood there ignoring the problem the girl was having. This was not the first time I have had a similiar experience at this store or others like it. I'm sure many of you have experienced similiar situations and it's very frustrating.

Many of the top management people never know what's going on at the bottom level of the organization where the money is really being made. Instead of just looking at the numbers they should be aware of where the cash flow is coming from and the problems that can occur. Don't let this happen in your business, know what's happening at all levels of your company.
More on customer service in chapter 16 of my book "90 Days to Success as a Small Business Owner".