Shake Up The Customer Dynamic!

This happened about twenty years ago. Every night, about one hour prior to closing (about 1 AM), the milkshake machine would be taken apart and cleaned and the remaining liquid would be heated to guarantee there were no germs developing in the sealed container.

In comes a regular customer of ours who always finds something to complain about.

Regular: “Hi there, can I get a strawberry shake?”

Me: “Unfortunately, the machine has entered the cleaning cycle. Shakes will be available in about three hours’ time from the drive-thru.”

Keep in mind, the machine is in full view, and he can see that it’s taken apart.

Regular: “You are just lazy and don’t want to do your job, get your manager!”

What follows is a rant to my awesome manager. By the time he is done, we have about fifteen minutes until closing.

Since the customer is hell bound on having his shake, my manager complies. He assembles the parts of the machine needed (takes about five minutes) and takes a step back before he pulls the lever to dispense the oh-so-precious milkshake. A huge cloud of steam and boiling liquid comes out.

After about a minute, my manager comes back with thick oven gloves, puts a lid on the boiling hot cup and hands it over to the customer.

Manager: “Free of charge, enjoy!”

That customer’s face was worth the additional cleaning; never saw him again.