What a response to our recent story about “the employee who was too good”! (Go here to see original story.) Some readers called for a boycott, some lashed out at management, and one lashed out at HR.
Although most readers heaped lavish praise on Mr. Foster, one reader wasn’t convinced that he was such a good employee after all.
‘Mr. Foster personifies the ultimate customer service!’
One group of readers focused on what a good employee Mr. Foster was:
“Mr. Foster should be director of training. Where is this man now? Maybe I can hire him as a consultant!”
“Mr. Foster sounds like an exceptional employee. He should have been rewarded and given a pay raise.”
“Shame on that company. This is a person who should be rewarded and held up as an example to his co-workers.”
“Exceptional customer service … is becoming so rare that when some one does encounter it they write a book or a story about it.”
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Boycott Foster’s Employer
Two readers called for a boycott of the restaurant where Foster worked:
“We should vow that when we go to Atlanta we will not use the services of [the restaurant]. But we should stop and tell the manager what we think! I know I will take the extra step to do so.”
“Stories like this one make me angry and I retaliate by refusing to spend further money in their establishments.”
‘Going the Extra Mile Doesn’t Put You Ahead Any More’
Three readers felt the tale was symptomatic of what is wrong with America:
“From our school systems to our social systems to our work places, going the extra mile doesn’t put you ahead any more, but it alienates you from the group. Those who excel are punished while those who only put forth minimal are rewarded.”
“It was easier to ask people to be ‘status quo’ so the managers did not have to encourage other employees to meet a higher standard.”
“I suspect poor Foster was the victim of a metrics push, and since the core function of the job was to clean tables, perhaps Mr. Foster didn’t react as quickly or clean as many tables as his do-nothing counterparts. In today’s workplace, it’s not about how well you do your job or please your clients, it’s about the number on the metrics chart.”
‘From top to bottom this story is about a management issue’
A number of readers blamed management for failing to appreciate Mr. Foster:
“Good waiters, busboys, etc. are trained, not born. If the ownership trained laziness, they got laziness … do-nothing employees are created by slacker ownership, management, and trainers.”
“This seems to have happened because of a lazy or unaware manager. It was easier to tell Mr. Foster to work less hard than to get the other workers to perform to his level.”
“I think we have all seen this attitude, ‘slow down, you’re making the rest of us look bad.’ The question is, do you care about your customers enough to care about your employees?”
“If employees have no way to differentiate themselves from the herd of mediocre workers, everything and everybody achieves a lower, flatter, blander mediocrity because the real stars move to a better universe.”
“This is a situation where HR could and should have stepped in … or maybe HR is the problem.”
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Maybe Mr. Foster Wasn’t that Great
One reader saw another angle:
“On the face it appears that the employer is the bad guy, but what do you do when an employee expands his job description under the guise of enhanced customer service at the expense of other job functions? What if customers were uncomfortable with his attentiveness and the undercurrent that perhaps a tip (How much is enough? You tipped $20) was required?
“Perhaps the employee was not being effectively recognized for doing the expected job functions. But you come along and tip him $20. What behavior will he continue to exhibit?”
Finally, one reader added, “This was an excellent, thought-provoking story that I will use to underscore the need for timely, reasonable and relevant reprimands and rewards.”
Amen to that. Have more comments? Use the Share your comments link below.
Andy Andrews, who contributed the original story, may be reached at www.Andyandrews.com.
Mr. Foster’s behavior is an uncomfortable example of subservience in the customer service industry. I, for one, would never expect another human being to wait on me with that degree of solicitude simply because I was paying. I find it repugnant and would probably go out of my wait to avoid that server. I imagine I am not the only one.
That said, I believe it would have been in the best interests (better interests) of management to attempt to bring him in line with the rest of the staff, with their bottom line, and with their customer wishes. It sounds as if they tried — after all, they hired him back — but it was not a good match. While I feel saddened by the fact that a hardworking individual (who, you imply, had some physical disabilities) was let go, management was probably not the villain you imagine it to be.
I too have been confronted by co-workers about my work. Once I was taken into an office and the co-worker stated that I had set such precedence, that none of the other co-workers would ever be able to catch up to my standard of work. I let him know that I was NOT going to do poorly or less of a good job, just so he could look good.
One day I came into work, and I approached a co-worker regarding a job I was working on, She politely told me to sit my happy a– down. With a smile on my face, I bounced back to my seat.
Even when I was in high school, there were classmates that hated me because I was going the extra mile and happy while doing it.
I have tried to teach my children that a job worth doing is a job worth doing well. Have fun, make it a game.
To Nathan, who takes the employer’s position and asks what we should do when an employee expands his “job description” (although taking the initiative to do more than required does not expand a job description in the least), we should say “bravo” to that employee. You state, therefore assume, that that initiative is at the expense of other job functions, but nothing in the article points to any other functions that were sacrificed. Indeed, Mr. Foster seems to have taken the role of “busboy” and did the very most he could with that job description.
Also, according to Mr. Andrews, Mr. Foster’s behavior was consistently focused on a high level of customer service whether he was rewarded or not. So I cannot agree with the supposition that his behavior was altered out desire for tips. In fact, the opposite seems to be true.
What Nathan’s comment does point out (and very clearly) is the faulty current mindset of too many of today’s managers … that an employee’s excellence “cannot possibly” be genuine and that any initiative he or she takes to expand their roll (especially, heaven forbid, when it is focused on the customer) must mean that this employee must be failing in other areas.
Perhaps managers’ expectations and assumptions of mediocrity cause them to look much more diligently for it than is deserved, and too often to create it where it does not exist.
I think we should all forward this article in our companies in order to make them think about he treatment of their employees and how that is linked to the company’s overall performance.
After reading the story, I actually suggested we publish it in our monthly news letter and ask our employees if they see themselves in Mr. Foster.
NW Jersey said:
I believe it would have been in the best interests (better interests) of management to attempt to bring him in line with the rest of the staff, with their bottom line, and with their customer wishes. It sounds as if they tried — after all, they hired him back — but it was not a good match.
You can’t be serious, you have an employee who is going above and beyond and is being compensated, (okay not by the company) and you want to him to do less, so he is in line with the rest of the group?? Okay to be professional about this…
I would be very disapointed if my employees felt they needed to do less than they could, just so they would all be (the same) this only leads to creating an average employee.
I say raise that bar, give the employee a raise and tell the rest of the employees you want more money… then show me you are worth more money!!
Evidently the company Mr. Foster’s was employed by dropped the ball on the principal of raising the bar for expectations and reward.
Mr. Foster come work at my company… I will find you a spot!!
Remarkable customer service and faith. HR certainly should have been more involved with his performance and developing a source for him to be a mentor to others and set some training for those who were less motivated. Some people are just born do gooders or by some very well upbringing. His faith might have had a part in his manners and from an employer and reglious prospective, the “God Bless You” may have offended people who were atheist or of other demoninations? Even tho, he was rehired, what were the reason behind his rehire and what were the conditions. He certainly should have been utilized or just let alone to do great customer service and/or redirection.
Mr.Fostor having passion, honesty & intergrity goes a long way in my book. First impressions are always important especially when those individuals are on front line and provide a good job that reflects back on the company. If we didn’t have these types of individuals on jobs, customer service is seen as a failure in that company & provides a bad repretation towards that company.
Not knowing the logistics of both sides to the story, he may have just had a jealous supervisor & reported back to HR in a negative way. However, it seems to come down to communication. The upmost important you need to suceed in a business. HR should always be alert and know their teams & their ethics.
I, myself, have been a version of Mr. Foster. As a Recruiter, going above and beyond means putting in late hours and weekends to source, identify and interview candidates at all times of the day or night. At Mercy Medical Center Redding, I was “downsized” for what ended up to be no real reason but I did find the timing strange that I had all but eliminated most of their openings. Yes, that’s true…I filled nearly all of their openings (we were as high as 220 open reqs at one time). What happens to people like me who don’t fit their bosses’ political schemes and plans? The Fosters of the world, like myself, can go on giving 120% all they want but in the end, most employers today are about “not making waves” and doing just enough not to get fired. They say they want excellence but they wouldn’t know excellence if it hit them in the face.
I am no longer with Mercy anymore and I’m really glad and relieved. I am onto a very exciting venture for myself with a start-up recruiting firm where I get to make my own calls and not have to listen to people who have no idea what they’re doing but think they do. I think there’s no real reason for the Mr. Fosters of the world to go above and beyond… yet they do. And so will I no matter what anyone else thinks. Fosters of the world, don’t give up hope.
Sung N. Kim
Managing Partner
Servane Cross, Inc.
Redding, CA