Oh Boy!-cott

I feel another boycott coming on. Those who know me well understand that I will cut my nose off for principles' sake. Dumb, but I can't help it. There is a Western Bagel one block from where I work so a few times/week I pop in usually just to buy a single bagel. Then I go to the deli counter at the grocery store and buy the meat I want to put on the bagel, et voila! a sandwich. Like everything else recently, the price of a bagel has increased 20% (.75-.90) in the last couple of months. Annoying but understandable. Today I go in and ask for a sesame bagel sliced and toasted (I had previously purchased cream cheese and strawberries at the market to decorate my bagel.) They asked me for $1.20. When I questioned the price difference they said they had to charge an additional .30 to slice and toast. Well, as you might imagine I flipped a lid. Of course it's not the 30 cents (however, I find it hard to swallow that it took .30 worth of labor and energy in the 5 seconds he spent slicing and toasting). The supervisor concurred and said it is a corporate directive so I should level my grievance with them. Granted they don't make a bunch of money off me but what ever happened to giving a customer the pickle*?!!!

*the "pickle" is a customer service training hook referring to the post-retirement career a famous CEO launched after he received a letter from a loyal customer who said he wouldn't be returning to his restaurant after many years because the waitress charged him for an extra pickle. The gist of it is GIVE 'EM THE PICKLE!

The truth is the cost of poor customer service is incalcuable. I will be writing to corporate headquarters with my complaint. In it I will suggest not only that they locate the "pickle" training materials but also post the additional slicing & toasting charges on their menu & ensure that if this is truly a policy that everyone conforms. I have NEVER before been charged extra for slicing and toasting, even as recently as Monday. In this highly competitive, service-oriented climate with everyone touting service as their competitive advantage where's the ____ pickle?