My Point of View/By Rolando Larraz
As I have said before, I do not allow closed doors in the office, so when someone comes in with a complaint, a suggestion, or anything of that matter, I always hear from my office what their problem is.
If they ask for the manager, the boss, or whatever title they want to put on me, before they finish asking I am walking to the front counter and trying my best to solve whatever problem there might be.
That is why I cannot understand the new system companies practice nowadays where the supervisors or managers cannot be bothered, or the employees are scared of the supervisors, while the supervisors think they are God’s gift to the world or they’re just afraid of facing conflicts and/or aggravations.
Because of the way I am, I cannot understand how the so-called “new system” of companies work nowadays and how they can get away with it.
If anyone in my organization tries to interrupt a conversation between me and a customer, I can assure you that they will no longer be working for me.
I was at Southwest Medical the other day, and one thing that really bothered me is that when you approach the counter, instead of being greeted with a “Good Morning” or “Good Afternoon,” the first thing that comes out of their mouth is “Insurance card and ID,” so I answer them with a “Good morning to you, too.”
On the same trip to Southwest Medical, I needed to speak to the manager on duty and the first thing that came out of the employee’s mouth was, “Why? It is Saturday and the manager is off today.” I wonder if there is a reason why a customer (in this case a patient, me) cannot only not speak to the person in charge, but that they must also involve a rank-and-file employee in my conversation with the supervisor?
“The manager is off today” she told me. “What do you want with the supervisor?” (Not “How can I help you?” but “What do you want?”)
Look, when I am off (gone from the office) there are two other people who can take my place. I am sure that there has to be someone in
authority available to speak with me. So, finally, after a few minutes of back and forth, someone came out of the back room and spoke with me.
The same thing happened at one T-Mobile store. I sat there for almost twenty minutes waiting to spend my money there, and when a Black man
walked in, he was immediately brought to the front counter.
I got up and asked the man at the door for the manager, but he told me that “he is in a meeting,” yet I saw the manager coming out of the restaurant next door with a bag full of food.
I told the “doorman” that he is lying to me, that the manager was coming out of the restaurant next door with his lunch in hand so he knew he was caught in a lie and he said to me, “Well, we all have the right to eat lunch; if you don’t want to wait, there’s the door.”
And yet another sad experience at another T-Mobile store: I walked in with cash to pay my bill and the man at the counter took my money and
was ready to ring up the transaction when a short, yet big overweight lady came up behind the man at the register and asked me if I had an ID to prove that I am the account holder.
I explained to the scary-looking lady that I was not asking for money back; that I was paying cash for my account, and there was no need for
me to identify myself.
“I am the manager and I want to see your ID. I want to see who you are, so you either show me your ID or there is the door!” the scary lady told me, a customer of twenty-two years standing with ten telephone lines.
That unprofessional and rude attitude made me wonder why it is that we need to show an ID to see a doctor, we need to show an ID to pay a bill, we need to show an ID to deposit money in the bank, we need to show ID to even use a public bathroom, but the Democrats do not want people to show their ID when they are going to vote. How does that make any sense?
If the people going to vote are authorized to vote, why not show the proper documentation. If they are voting legally, why not prove it right up front? Why make an issue out of this? Better to allow you to give money to someone to pay a bill without showing who you are than to get away with casting an illegal vote because no one cares who you are or if your vote will be legal or not!
I hope that life will change a little, going back to the days of respecting each other and treating each other with normal human regard. Do unto others… will never go out of style.
Las Vegas used to be a city that spoiled its customers and its neighbors. I remember those days with nostalgia because service was the most important quality or feature of our city.
I remember when, at the Sahara Hotel, valet parking used to have a little dish for my tiny puppy to drink water from; at the Thunderbird,
Moe used to keep my car at the front door so I didn’t have to wait for my car to be brought to the front; the Riviera allowed me to bring my
little puppy to the restaurant to eat with me; and I remember the Sands, where all the valets used to be happy to see me and welcome me
with open arms.
I could go on and on about every hotel on the famous Las Vegas Boulevard (the Strip), but my time is up because I am already over the
limit my editor allows me to write in this column. Hopefully we can turn Las Vegas around and once again make it “the best city of them all,” as the late Forest Duke had named our wonderful city.
My name is Rolando Larraz, and as always, I approved this column.
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Rolando Larraz is Editor in Chief of the Las Vegas Tribune. His column appears weekly in this newspaper. To contact Rolando Larraz, email him
at: Rlarraz@lasvegastribune.com or at 702-272-4634.
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