Taken from Summer/1998 issue of the ZEITGEIST Client Newsletter
    
 
Customer Service. Everybody's talking 'bout it. Everybody's looking for that "silver bullet" idea that can transform a staff of mopes into a Disney-esque troupe of performers.
 
Today's minimum-wage workforce isn't interested in being "in service" to anyone. One needs only to listen to Nirvana's rock anthem "Smells Like Teen Spirit" to know the reason: "Here we are now, Entertain Us" is more than just a lyric...it's reality for today's teens and young adults that have been raised on the everchanging tube.
 
How to break through? Here are a couple examples that don't cost an arm and a leg that we've discovered on our travels:
 
FLOR-A-BAMAS
First off, if you're ever in Mobile, Gulf Shores or Pensacola, you gotta go to Flor-A-Bamas. This is the ultimate honkey-tonk with multiple bands playing on different levels of the joint, oysters on the half shell, long neck beers by the truckload and the ability (hence the name) to buy a drink in one state...then walk across the room and buy one in the other.
 
But beyond that. Flor-A-Bama's Sunday nights are dedicated to SIN.
 
That's "Service Industry Night." Hey, Sunday nights are slow in any destination as the tourists head for home and the replacements don't yet know the lay of the land. So why be empty?
Flor-A-Bama's invites their peers for a night of half-price drinks, food and fun. And the hospitality staffs up and down the coast get to let down their hair and have a blast.
 
The concept works on two levels. First, it gives the hospitality workers throughout the region the chance to commiserate, have fun and build a cross-promotional esprit de corps. Second, for Flor-A-Bamas, it fills the house on a slow night. SIN Rules.
 
 
CULVER'S FROZEN CUSTARD
On a completely different tack, this Wisconsin-based "fast-food" purveyor is known for burgers that are to die for and custard treats that are from heaven.
 
But they must rely on teen workers as well. One Culver franchisee, however, turns that potential negative into a positive by partnering with the new worker's parents!
 
Shortly after the teen begins work, the owners send a letter to the parents, telling them that they look forward to working with their teen and helping their new employee learn a heightened level of customer service, management and responsibility.
 
This one works on two levels, too. On one hand, it's a classy thing to do. But, on the other, it brings the parents into the process. After all, after they've been "partnered," what parent isn't going to take a more active interest in their child's appearance and punctuality when it's time to head to work?