By MICHAEL RODRIGUEZ
Managing Editor
editor@sbnewspaper.com
Michael Rodriguez
Believe it or not, I’m often asked my opinion on a wide-range of topics, from current events to local matters to personal problems. I decided to address a couple of them this weekend in a fun and casual letter format. Who knows, maybe I’ll incorporate this in our Wednesday editions.
Dear Mike,
I would like to inquire about a problem that I know doesn’t necessarily fit the criteria for publication you’ve mentioned before, especially since it’s concerning a sort of business practice that doesn’t affect the entire community, but it’s important to me.
I work at a restaurant in San Benito where customers always walk in just a few minutes before we close. Of course, they expect to be served until they’re finished with their meals and whenever they’re done gossiping about other people.
Employees don’t get paid overtime for the extra hour they have to stay nor are they repaid the time lost with their families.
The owner is a very nice man who doesn’t like refusing business to his customers, but this is also something that his employees are unhappy about.
How should I approach the owner about this?
Sincerely,
A miffed employee
Dear Miffed,
Since I’ve never been involved in the restaurant business, besides eating my way through nearly all of San Benito’s eateries (the best and the worst), I can only offer advice from a customer’s perspective and what I would do as a manager.
Try resolving this particular situation by presenting it to your boss as a way to reduce company costs. You’re obviously more concerned about how the matter is solely affecting you and perhaps the rest of the staff, but if you offer your boss a compromise that’s both reasonably understandable to customers and mutually beneficial for the restaurant and employees alike, you’d be perceived as someone with a great idea as opposed to someone with a complaint.
What kind of idea?
Well, I would suggest informing your patrons who arrive mere minutes before closing that the kitchen is closed, which it probably should be at that point anyway. Be apologetic and offer them a beverage and even a few coupons for a return visit.
If you think about it, the owner is probably paying more for that extra hour he’s staying open (in employee and utility expenses) than the customers are paying for their meals.
Remember, the customer is still always right, but that doesn’t mean your business must always be wrong when adhering to company policy, which in this case would be opting to close your kitchen at a reasonable time.
Dear Mike,
I just wanted your thoughts on the Rolling Stone magazine cover controversy. Do you think it was wrong to put the accused Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev on the cover of a publication that embraces popular culture? Do you think it glorified Tsarnaev?
Sincerely,
Just sayin’
Dear Just sayin’,
Rolling Stone did nothing wrong. I don’t consider being referred to as “The Bomber” and “a monster”—which is how Tsarnaev was labeled on the cover in question—a form of glorification.
Much of the controversy has to do with the cover photo appearing stylish and appealing, I suppose because the kid bears somewhat of a resemblance to Bob Dylan and Jim Morrison in the pose. Still, I don’t recall the New York Times, which published the same picture on its front page in a recent edition, suffering the same backlash.
Being that the magazine is primarily read by young adults, I’d venture to say that Rolling Stone has an obligation to highlight such a story. Wouldn’t you want America’s youth exposed to profound journalism in between whatever drama is occurring in the music industry or in Hollywood?
I know I would.
1 comment
Brilliant!