It's been a little while since I read any Ritzer but I was thinking today about how I felt about the interactions I have in my daily life and how that relates to Ritzer's theories of the McDonaldization of society.
For example:
As I walk to work, I pass a patisserie. Two or three mornings per week, I stop and buy a chocolate croissant. I've been doing this for over four months (ever since starting this job). There are always the same two women there in the morning when I stop in, and about 80% of the time, the older woman waits on me. For about the first three months, I found her to be abrupt and possibly grumpy towards me, but I observed her treating other people as "regulars" - remembering their coffee orders, which pastries they liked, etc. At first, I didn't want to be a regular, because I was in a bit of denial about my croissant habit and didn't want to have anyone keeping track of what I was eating. I felt that if she recognized me, it would be because I was eating unhealthfully too often, and I felt a bit guilty about that.
My second stop on the way to work on days that I buy chocolate croissants is at a convenience store. I buy a small container of milk there, because I like milk with my chocolate croissants, and they do not sell milk at the patisserie. In contrast, from about the 4th time (second week) that I stopped there, the man I interacted with to make my purchase would always ask me how I was, what I thought of the weather, and if I had any interesting plans for the weekend. He recognized me, and was making a personal connection.
I see myself as a fairly private person, and also as someone who is generally not good at making small talk (and I also feel I do not have time for it). So, I prefered my non-relationship with the sometimes grumpy woman at patisserie to my "friendly" relationship with the man at the convenience store. I preferred the convenience of simply getting through the transaction quickly without the personal interaction.
About a month ago, the woman at the patisserie finally started to see me as a regular. She told me that she knew she had seen me before but that since I was always wearing a different colored top, she didn't always know who I was. Yesterday, for the very first time, she had a chocolate croissant in a bag for me as I approached. Ah, the benefit of being a regular! She still was somewhat abrupt, so I felt I was getting the best of both worlds: my usual "order" was recalled, but I didn't have to engage in any small talk.
Now, I work in the service industry, and I talk to many different people throughout the day. Sometimes, people make small talk with me as we wait for computers to reboot or servers to catch up. Sometimes, people just wait silently or ask me other technical questions. Once in a great while, someone makes me laugh. The people who make me laugh are the ones who I remember speaking to and appreciate the most. Should I be more witty as a consumer? Would I have a better experience as a customer when the sales people appreciate my sense of humor? Is that just not who I am?
For example:
As I walk to work, I pass a patisserie. Two or three mornings per week, I stop and buy a chocolate croissant. I've been doing this for over four months (ever since starting this job). There are always the same two women there in the morning when I stop in, and about 80% of the time, the older woman waits on me. For about the first three months, I found her to be abrupt and possibly grumpy towards me, but I observed her treating other people as "regulars" - remembering their coffee orders, which pastries they liked, etc. At first, I didn't want to be a regular, because I was in a bit of denial about my croissant habit and didn't want to have anyone keeping track of what I was eating. I felt that if she recognized me, it would be because I was eating unhealthfully too often, and I felt a bit guilty about that.
My second stop on the way to work on days that I buy chocolate croissants is at a convenience store. I buy a small container of milk there, because I like milk with my chocolate croissants, and they do not sell milk at the patisserie. In contrast, from about the 4th time (second week) that I stopped there, the man I interacted with to make my purchase would always ask me how I was, what I thought of the weather, and if I had any interesting plans for the weekend. He recognized me, and was making a personal connection.
I see myself as a fairly private person, and also as someone who is generally not good at making small talk (and I also feel I do not have time for it). So, I prefered my non-relationship with the sometimes grumpy woman at patisserie to my "friendly" relationship with the man at the convenience store. I preferred the convenience of simply getting through the transaction quickly without the personal interaction.
About a month ago, the woman at the patisserie finally started to see me as a regular. She told me that she knew she had seen me before but that since I was always wearing a different colored top, she didn't always know who I was. Yesterday, for the very first time, she had a chocolate croissant in a bag for me as I approached. Ah, the benefit of being a regular! She still was somewhat abrupt, so I felt I was getting the best of both worlds: my usual "order" was recalled, but I didn't have to engage in any small talk.
Now, I work in the service industry, and I talk to many different people throughout the day. Sometimes, people make small talk with me as we wait for computers to reboot or servers to catch up. Sometimes, people just wait silently or ask me other technical questions. Once in a great while, someone makes me laugh. The people who make me laugh are the ones who I remember speaking to and appreciate the most. Should I be more witty as a consumer? Would I have a better experience as a customer when the sales people appreciate my sense of humor? Is that just not who I am?
posted by .-.lilie.-. at
5:13 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
Subscribe to Post Comments [Atom]
<< Home