Tuesday, March 24, 2009

Poor Communication

I have held a few jobs in my lifetime, and although I have had a job since my freshman year in high school, I have had very few miscommunications in the work place. One of my jobs was as a neighborhood lawn mower, so miscommunication never occurred since I was the only one in my business. I always tried to make sure that the customer knew when I was going to mow/when they needed to pay. Only on a couple occasions was a person gone when I mowed their lawn, so I would have to prove to them that I had done it while they were away. Otherwise, no miscommunication occurred.

While at my job at Firehouse Subs, the only miscommunication that occurred was with customer orders. Although we were told to make a specific sandwich, sometimes the cashier would ring up the wrong sub and we would have to make an entirely new sub for the person. This miscommunication was very costly to the restaurant, especially during peak operating hours (mostly lunch time on weekdays). We would have to put that sandwich ahead of every one else's, causing a back up on tickets, and sometimes, causing people to leave because the line was long. The customer might receive a negative image about Firehouse Subs, but we would try to fix it with bringing the correct sandwich out quickly, and sometimes we would offer something for free to make up for the mistake. This miscommunication could have been prevented by the cashier taking his/her time to make sure the order was correct. By repeating the customers order, the customer could make sure that it was all correct before any mistakes were made, saving the customer time and hassle, and saving us from having to make extra subs.

Although this happened, it did not happen as often as someone would think, especially during the hectic times. I believe communication in Firehouse Subs was handled very well, and everyone within the business made sure everything was communicated properly and clearly. If anything was ever misunderstood, someone would clarify the situation and make sure the person would have the correct knowledge for future use.

I have been fortunate enough to not have to deal too much with miscommunication. I do believe, however, that if I was involved in miscommunication I would be able to deal with the problem very well, based on my experience with my lawn mowing business and Firehouse Subs. I know what it takes to solve the problems, and what customers expect, since I am also a customer and have been in their shoes.

Sunday, March 8, 2009

Online Portfolios??

Out of the final few presentations we had last week, I really liked Jeremy's the best. All of the presentations were good, but I really liked Jeremy's topic. I have been considering a tattoo for a while now, but I'm not sure as to what to get. His tips definitely helped out a lot. I never even thought about keeping my career intentions in mind when getting a tattoo, so that tip was definitely helpful. I also like how he said to make sure the tattoo has a meaning behind it. This is what has been holding me back. I'm not sure what to get, or if my parents will approve first. My brother got one a couple of years ago or so now, so that definitely had a little influence on me wanting to get one. I'll have to figure out something that I want and then use Jeremy's tips before I get it.

As for the online portfolios, the only thing that I think would be similar is the LRO (Learning Record Online) that I did in English 103 freshman year. I don't think it was a true online portfolio since I was just posting everything on to Blackboard, but I'm guessing it is somewhat similar, with posting everything that I have worked on this semester in one place. Although that was fairly recent, I would need to be refreshed on how to do everything, but I don't think it would be too difficult. When I did the LRO, it wasn't a bad experience, since I wrote everything for class and then just posted it on to Blackboard. I guess I will just need to be told what to do and how to do it. I don't think it will be too difficult to figure out; I will just need to make sure that I understand everything and I will need to make sure that I post everything correctly. I am looking forward to it.