Smiling Might Not Be Such a Safe Way to Treat Safeway Customers - Essay Example

Management realizes this predicament. More precisely, the management of Safeway Supermarkets understands the importance of this issue. This is why management introduced the “Superior Service” policy. The intentions of this policy were very clear, but in reality, there are some challenges that prevent the policy from staying in place over the long term. Now that some workers are complaining against the policy, Safeway Supermarkets will have to revisit this policy and try to change it in a way that suits the privacy needs of its employees but also makes sure that the customer is being looked after.

Main Issues The main issue here is that these are unionized workers and they are being forced to do something that they are uncomfortable with. The Union Food and Commercial Workers Union should focus on the point that the policy introduced by Safeway Supermarkets encroaches on the privacy of some of its privacy. Put more specifically, it is not the actual policy that causes this, but rather the actions of those customers who misinterpret friendliness for something else. As a Safeway Supermarkets produce clerk, Richelle Roberts, testifies: “…hit on every day by men who think she is coming on to them” (Associated Press, 2012).

This confirms that it is the actions of the employees that are being misinterpreted rather than the actual policy encouraging this kind of behavior. Analysis This is a strange case because both the employees and management do not share sole responsibility for this situation. From the management’s point of view, they have every right to expect that their employees are courteous and polite to customers. No one would expect anything less. Also, using undercover shoppers to try and catch employees out is legal because it can be considered as a type of performance review.

The employees working in the customer sales department need to be tested on their ability to interact with customers, since this takes up a large part of their job. On the other hand, employees should have the power to selectively choose when to smile at a customer and when not to. If a timid female employee noticed a large, overpowering man, then she might feel uncomfortable by smiling towards him. Employees should not be punished if they choose not a smile at a certain customer. If an employee feels intimidated or scared in any way, then they should not have to make friendly gestures towards that particular person.

Of course, if it was discovered that an employee was not being friendly to any customers, then management would have the right to pull them up on it. Methods There needs to be a discussion between the management of Safeway Supermarkets and The Union Food and Commercial Workers Union about how a compromise can be reached. As discussed above, employees should not be forced to smile at every customer, and there should be no punishment for not doing so. On the part of the employees, they should have to be polite to at least 75 percent of the customers who walk into a store on any given day.

Of course, it would be up to the individual employee to choose who to smile at and who not to. This way, employees do not have to feel threatened by customers and also a friendly image is being displayed by the company for the most part. Conclusion Issues