If I were a betting man, I'd wager that your local McDonald's ice cream machine has been "Out of Service" at some point in the recent past.
If your local McDonald's is anything like mine here in South Florida, you have been denied ice cream for over a month.
At first it's merely annoying...
But after a while, it starts to get a little exasperating.
Then, at a certain point, it becomes downright infuriating!
And on a certain level it certainly seems sorta pathetic.
I mean "come on guys!" Your sole purpose in the marketplace is to serve people ICE CREAM, among other fast food items.
Why is it so hard to simply do your job?
Such scenarios, which seemingly occur all around us at an increasingly alarming rate are a classic exposition of a lack of Self-Action Leadership on so many different levels. Furthermore, it's just plain bad for business. Not that I personally care that much about the coffers of the local McDonald's franchise owner; but I can't help but wonder how many thousands (or perhaps even tens of thousands) of dollars owners have been lost over the past several weeks because their ice cream machine has been broken. I even wonder (and my wife cringes to contemplate) how much money they've lost from our pockets alone!
If you think I'm being too harsh about this, I should note here that everyone deserves a mulligan. After all, it's totally understandable that machines will occasionally malfunction, or even break down entirely. But why in the name of all that is profitable and serviceable is a core component of a business's entire model being so glaringly neglected for so long, and by so many?
When a McDonald's ice cream machine is "Out of Order" for an entire month or more, there's nothing left to conclude except there is an embarrassing lack of leadership at play, and it's a shame for the customer and shameful for the establishment and its owners.
Consider the following scenarios I've recently experienced with local McDonalds in my community...
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| I confess: I'm a fast food/junk food junkie. |
Perhaps I should be ashamed to admit this, but the issue of my sugar addiction is a subject for an entirely different blog post. For the time being, let's stay focused on the matter at hand and face the honest and authentic truth of the matter: I'm a fast food junkie and I don't have any intention of placing a moratorium on these cherished cravings any time soon.
This being the case, you can imagine my chagrin at being told not once, but twice in the same half hour: "We don't have any ice cream."
"You don't have any ice cream?" "You don't have any ice cream?" "Are you kidding me!" "You are McDonald's for heaven's sake!" "Half your job is burgers and fries and the other half of your job is ice cream!" "Why do you have so much trouble simply doing your job?"
To my credit, I refrained from shouting all that to the drive-up attendant; although I confess I've mentioned bits-and-pieces of it from time-to-time. I recognize the person taking orders at the drive-up window usually isn't in charge and therefore isn't primarily responsible for making sure the ice cream machine is up and running properly. But after a while I start to feel as though it's both my civic and commercial duty to start sharing my complaint in hopes it might begin making its way up the ladder to someone who can and will do something to remedy the situation.
After dealing with this drama off-and-on for some time now—with the issue being unusually exacerbated the past month, I felt some hope when my family and I drove 100 miles last week to spend the Fourth of July holiday with my parents-in-law. Perhaps my faith in another McDonald's 100 miles away was ill-fated at this point, but you know what they say...
Hope Springs Eternal!
So, after arriving at my folks-in-law's home, I set off to a different McDonald's situated 100 miles from my home—eagerly anticipating the delicious Oreo McFlurry I was about to sumptuously savor. After arriving, I entered the McDonald's and surveyed their equipment to see if the ice cream machine was functioning properly. And oh the relief when I saw the tell-tale sign of functionality—those beautiful drops of melted vanilla! With confidence, relief, and joy, I stepped forward boldly to the counter to place my order.
Growing increasingly impatient, I finally spoke up in a clear and elevated tone: "Is there anyone back there that can help me?" Finally, the young man with the headset acknowledged my presence and made eye contact, after which he proceeded to look over at his fellow employee who was helping customers at the drive-up window and said, nonchalantly, "Hey, you busy?" In response, his coworker ignored him as she cast a casually annoyed glance back in his direction.
Realizing he wasn't going to get any help from his coworkers, he resignedly proceeded to ask me for my order, to which I confidently and with no small measure of relief, replied: "I would like an Oreo McFlurry."
Without any hesitation and with an air of supreme certainty, my young friend immediately shot back: "Oh, we don't got no Oreos."
At this point, the ridiculousness of this entire on-going saga began to settle, allowing me to extract a vestige of humor from the situation. "Of course, you don't have any Oreos," I sub-vocalized to myself. Still, I remained hopeful since at least their ice cream machine wasn't broken. So, I ordered an M&M McFlurry for my kids and a plain sundae for myself. It wasn't exactly what I had come for or what I was ideally hoping to get, but it would suffice under the circumstances. As you can see, one begins to lower one's expectations when one's expectations are so routinely thwarted!
I also ordered a couple of single-serving pies for my wife and mother-in-law, but I would have to wait 12 minutes for them to make those (of course), so I ordered a cinnamon role instead, which wasn't ready yet (of course), but would only take 3-5 minutes to make.
As I've reflected on my growing collections of such experiences at fast food restaurants and elsewhere where customer service is lacking, I've asked myself the following question:
What are parents teaching their kids at home these days?
And what are students being taught in school these days?
I'll tell you what parents and teachers are teaching...
They are teaching anything and everything except for what the students actually need to learn most; namely, those life skills and traits of character that boys and girls will so desperately need as men and women in the real world after they leave home.
FREEDOM FOCUSED exists to remedy this glaring and ongoing issue throughout American society—and beyond. For the past 20 years, I've dedicated my career to creating a comprehensive program of instruction for this very purpose. Ironically, after 20 long years, the call has still not come to unleash the potential of a pedagogy of Self-Action Leadership. Fortunately, I'm a patient man with plenty of time and energy left in the tank. At 43-years old, I'm still just starting out in my career in many ways.
Four years ago, I published two comprehensive volumes of SAL theory, practice, and instruction. The goal of these two texts is to serve as vanguard in the proliferation of leadership, life-skill, and character education initiatives throughout the United States and World in the twenty-first century.
Click HERE to buy the SAL Textbooks
Beginning September 6, 2023, I will be publishing these two volumes in serial fashion, one chapter (or section) at a time, until the entire program is accessible online from anywhere in the world. This mammoth task will take between two and three years to accomplish and will be available in its entirety sometime in the year 2026.
I am giving this material (my life's work) away for FREE in hopes that someone, somewhere, will eventually see the wisdom and exercise the proactivity to begin providing it to students. Perhaps someday, the service at McDonald's will be a little bit better and their ice cream machines will be up-and-running a little more often because their employees have been properly trained in Self-Action Leadership-related principles and practices.
More importantly, perhaps someday students all over the world will begin to more fully maximize their potential for character development, personal and professional achievement, and existential growth because they were educated in SAL.
And perhaps the world will be a better place for everyone because of it.
Postscript: This afternoon, back in my own neighborhood, I visited the McDonald's whose ice cream machine has been broken for over a month. When the drive-up window employee asked to take my order, the first words out of my mouth were: "Is your Ice Cream machine broken?" To which the employee predictably replied: "Yes." To which I replied: "Of course it is!" I followed this comment up with a great big belly laugh. To the credit of the employee on the headset, he joined me in laughing; he obviously gets what we were both laughing about. Yes, he knows.
When I picked up my ice cream-free lunch at the second drive-up window, I saw a guy whose age and clothing suggested he might be a manager, so I started querying him about the Soft Serve McDrama. He proceeded to "blah, blah, blah" about mechanical failures and meetings and then ultimately said to me: "We probably won't have any ice cream until the beginning of next month at the very soonest." Perhaps this fellow is legitimately powerless to do anything about the situation. Perhaps he is just another mediocre leader who refuses (or doesn't know how) to be proactive. Most likely it is some combination of the two.
It is still early July. Looks like I shouldn't even harbor any more soft serve hopes at that particular McDonald's until at least the first of August. But I can always hope for the future, and other McDonald's franchises where managers and employees exist with a greater semblance of SAL training and character.
—Dr. JJ
Author's Note: This is the 332nd Blog Post Published by Freedom Focused LLC since November 2013 and the 155th consecutive weekly blog published since August 31, 2020.
Click HERE for a compete listing of the other 331 FF Blog Articles
Click HERE for a complete listing of Freedom Focused SAL QUOTES
Click HERE for a complete listing of Freedom Focused SAL POEMS
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Tune in NEXT Wednesday for another article on a Self-Action Leadership related topic.
Great post.
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