Do You Judge A Business By The Actions Of An Employee?

Contributor: js250 js250
I am instructing my daughter on business management since she wants to work her way up to running my business. When I feel she is capable of maintaining my business--I will hand it over to her lock, stock and barrel.

We had a discussion last night about employees and if it is fair to judge a business by the actions, amount of professionalism or attitude of an employee(s). She felt it was unfair and that a business cannot be held responsible for the actions of another individual. I told her I feel that a business IS fully responsible for the actions of who they hire, and the employee is the face of the business. There are company policies that are put into effect governing the actions of a person hired or working for the business while they are on duty. These are put into place for a reason, because the person representing the company to a client is directly responsible for the goodwill or negativity that client feels towards the business.

We agreed to ask the opinions of others--and see how they feel about the issue. Help us out, please, this is an important issue to both of us.
06/22/2013
  • Save Extra 50% On Sexobot Attachment
  • Upgrade Your Hands-Free Play!
  • Complete strap-on set for extra 15% off
  • Save 50% On Shower Nozzle With Enema Set
  • Enjoy 50% Off Selected Items
  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • 5
All promotions
Contributor: snowminx snowminx
I do judge them by their employees. The boss can't be there 24/7 doing everything and that's why it's their job to hire professional and responsible people to work for them. If one or a few people working for a company mess up, exp if they are working directly with customers, it should show bad on the company because they make up the face of the company.

Also this goes even stronger with businesses (like restaurants) that are supposed to supply a service and not only standing around to help people when needed. The way someone feels their experience was while shopping or eating at a certain place takes a big role in wither that person comes back to that place or not.
06/22/2013
Contributor: Pixel Pixel
Quote:
Originally posted by snowminx
I do judge them by their employees. The boss can't be there 24/7 doing everything and that's why it's their job to hire professional and responsible people to work for them. If one or a few people working for a company mess up, exp if ... more
*points up* This! Well said, snowminx.

I definitely judge a business by their employees. If the employees treat me like crap? I'm not coming back, and more than likely writing a review on Yelp or a similar site, detailing their poor customer service.
06/22/2013
Contributor: bratcat bratcat
I too agree with snowminx. It is a companies responsibility to hier employees that will represent their company, standards and practices. And while some people can have good day or bad days, one's personal life and work are two separate entities and the former needs to be left behind while on duty/in, at or on the grounds of the business (on or off the clock). Being rude or disrespectful to a customer or shows favoritism/hierarchy over other customers, even if its only ONE employee, reflects badly on the company as a whole.
06/22/2013
Contributor: Wicked Wahine Wicked Wahine
Does anyone really not think that an employee represents a company? Really? It's often the whole idea behind who they hire & fire! Of course they represent them, it's why they have them wear uniforms, for a very simplistic example. I always judge a business based on who they hire and how they treat the customer. I care about how I'm treated & how they treat other customers in general. It's the basis behind so much of capitalism, I am surprised anyone would dispute it. Who will frequent a business that has poor customer service, especially when multiple complaints are going around? You get burned, you don't go back, but you also tell others & they don't even come in for the first time. So, if I had an employee, I would want them to be an asset, not a loose cannon.

EDIT: It occurs to me this might sound like it's in reference to something specific, it's not. I am really just answering your discussion with no hidden agenda, just to be clear.
06/22/2013
Contributor: epiphanyjayne epiphanyjayne
It depends on the situation and place I guess. It goes both ways. the place of business needs to fully train there employees to act in the manner that the company wants to portray them selves as. if they don't do as their supposed to then they should be terminated or given a chance. other then that I'm not sure.
06/22/2013
Contributor: edeneve edeneve
I believe an employee's amount of professionalism or attitude is a direct reflection on the company's management. Starbucks is a model for business success. their employees feel valued & it is reflected in their customer interactions. AND, guess what, everybody loves Starbucks even though their products are pricy. these customers happily return time after time. the big picture here? huge profits for Starbucks, employees that feel valued & love working for Starbucks, & a huge customer base. btw, do you have any idea of how many employees in a particular business feel valued & love working for that company? me? hmmm...
06/22/2013
Contributor: Woman China Woman China
I feel that yes, a company should be held responsible for the actions of their employees. These employees are representatives of their employers/ company. If the employee treats the customer like shit, then it does reflect badly on the company and the owner of the company.

I know my every action is held up to a very high standard here and my actions are reflected upon my school, my dean, the local government, the federal government AND my home country. And if this isn't bad enough, think about all the people who get fired because of their Facebook pictures or phrases.

When it comes to the way employees treat customers, how can they get all snippy and snarky and not expect the same treatment in kind? At a restaurant, I'd demand to see the manager. In a business, I'd demand to see the manager. A bad teacher, I'd demand to see the dean. And the funny part is, all these managers would listen to my concerns and deal with them, reassure me, and see if my issues are valid.
06/22/2013
Contributor: TJax TJax
Yeah, that's part of the responsibility of owning a business. The reason a CEO makes so much money is because of how much risk and liability he/she takes on. They become the sole public face of the company and are held responsible for everything that happens under their watch (even though in a big company there's a decent chance the CEO doesn't know the employees that are doing wrong, or has much of a hand in the day to day operations of a company).

People just have to have someone to blame.
06/23/2013
Contributor: a whole lot of birds. a whole lot of birds.
Quote:
Originally posted by js250
I am instructing my daughter on business management since she wants to work her way up to running my business. When I feel she is capable of maintaining my business--I will hand it over to her lock, stock and barrel.

We had a discussion last ... more
if employees are rude and terrible then yeah i probably will not be coming back. a great customer interaction goes a long way as well.
06/23/2013
Contributor: SourAppleMartini SourAppleMartini
I would say yes and no. Yes, the employer is responsible for his/her staff, however there is only a certain degree of authority one person can exercise over another, especially if we are talking about large companies where there is no direct constant between primary employer and the staff. What is more important is how CEO handles customer complains about his staff.
06/24/2013
Contributor: js250 js250
Great points! My daughter and I will sit down and read and talk about this post today. We appreciate the feedback--I didn't think about the larger companies when I posted this --that adds a lot to the discussion!
06/24/2013
Contributor: No-nita No-nita
It is sometimes difficult to separate the actions of an employee from your overall impressions of a business. Scenario: Something's gone wrong and I need to speak to an employee in order to correct the problem. The person I call is rude and flippant and hangs up on me. If it's a big company, I can call back and talk to someone else who will probably handle the situation better, but if it's a smaller operation and the only ones you can talk to are acting rude and unprofessional, it's a lot harder to forgive bad encounters because there's no one else to turn to who can "right" the previous person's wrongs.

In my several years of working in a customer service position, I have always been told that even if you're having a bad day, if you snap at one person, that's one customer who's never coming back - so don't do it. I've learned that it is best to walk away from the desk, put someone on hold or get back to them at a later date than it is to blow up at them.

I would also agree with Edeneve in saying it makes a great difference when the parent company (or in this case, the actual PARENT, haha) treats their employees well and makes them feel valued. If the employees are not treated well by their employers, they will inevitably become disillusioned with the job as a whole and it'll start to show in their performance.
06/24/2013
Contributor: Kitten B. Kitten B.
Personally, all it takes is one bad employee for me to not want to return to a business. Having worked in customer service for several years, I find it unacceptable. There are special circumstances of course, but I really just don't have the patience for bad customer service.
06/24/2013
Contributor: UrNaughtyaAngel UrNaughtyaAngel
Quote:
Originally posted by Kitten B.
Personally, all it takes is one bad employee for me to not want to return to a business. Having worked in customer service for several years, I find it unacceptable. There are special circumstances of course, but I really just don't have the ... more
I am the same way. I usually ask to speak to the manager.

And I do judge business by how its employees treats its customer why would I want to spend my hard earn money somewhere that that treats me lousy? Even if you do have great product or cheap prizes.
06/24/2013
Contributor: js250 js250
Quote:
Originally posted by No-nita
It is sometimes difficult to separate the actions of an employee from your overall impressions of a business. Scenario: Something's gone wrong and I need to speak to an employee in order to correct the problem. The person I call is rude and ... more
Yeah--kind of goofy, but she wanted to learn and manage the business. I believe she needs to start where I did at the bottom and learn all the aspects of it to be effective. She is doing soooo good--really proud of her!!!
06/24/2013