Head Tale

A recent post in a Regina Rant & Rave group on FB got a lot of attention.

Basically, a disabled person went to a Co-op gas station to get air in a low tire but couldn’t get it to work.  They talked to the manager who didn’t help.  But then a sixteen year old gas jockey named Joel came over, tried to help but also couldn’t then OFFERED TO CHANGE THE PERSON’S TIRE.

The manager reacted negatively and said it was beyond their job duties and a liability issue so that didn’t happen.  But when the person with the flat tire offered to buy the kid a tank of gas as thanks, the kid said “Nah, I’m good – I live with my parents and don’t have many expenses so don’t need it.  But my coworker is struggling a bit – would you buy a tank for them?”

Ninety-nine percent of the replies were supportive of the young gas jockey – what a well-raised kid!  That’s how we do it in Saskatchewan!  Make that kid the manager! and stuff like that.

One lone business owner chimed in to say he sided with the manager who prevented the kid from going *way* above what anyone would expect out of concern for both liability and probably setting an unreasonable expectation if word gets out that your local Co-op gas bar also changes tires.

One thing I often think about is how a standard interview question at Regina Public Library is “Tell us about a time you went above and beyond to deliver great customer service” but then, how some of the stories I hear are ones that I know certain managers and others in the hiring process would think “Whoa!  Not like that!” (imagine if Joel came in and told that story?  Would you think that’s an amazing story of going above and beyond and that kid has great ethics as a bonus?  Or would you see that kid as a risk?)

For that reason, I’m not going to list all the things I’ve done to go “above and beyond” in my library career.  But I have done some Joel-level things for sure.  🙂

But I also worked as a gas jockey at the Indian Head Esso when I was sixteen and that’s where I learned some of my first (and best!) lessons about good customer service.

Maybe it was a different time (and I admit I never changed anyone’s tire or even offered to) but I and my coworkers did all kinds of things that pushed the limits of our duties:

* we were a full serve station but that meant three core things:  fill with gas/wash front windows/offer to check oil.  But we regularly would wash back windows and/or all windows if asked or even if it was quiet and we noticed they were dirty.

* We did basic mechanical things – from putting on windshield wipers to inflating tires (again, no tire changes) to boosting cars.  I remember some of the full-time employees who were more mechancially inclined doing more than that – installing a belt or replacing a battery or filling an overheated radiator or whatever.

I mean, I also had my moments of poor customer service – which tended to happen about ten minutes before closing on a Sunday night for some reason.  But that’s a post for a different day!