Final Job Memo - Kaitlyn Francel

Kaitlyn Francel

WRIT 340 – Clark Hansen

23 January 2019

Jersey Mike’s Subs Shift Supervisor

A job at Jersey Mikes is a sandwich. No, not a literal sandwich! A figurative sandwich with multiple layers of skill and expertise. What I mean is, being a Jersey Mikes employee isn’t just about making food. It requires the perfect combination of communication, timeliness, cleanliness & freshness, and customer experience. I will talk about each of these components below:

Communication

-Discussion between customer and employee

-Intercommunication among employees

-Small talk, friendliness

-Make correct order via verbal commands

Timeliness

-Get food done quickly

-Get to work on time

-Clean efficiently and effectively

Cleanliness & Freshness

-Clean and sharpen utensils

-Inspect store for clean floors, soda machine

-Wash dishes throughout day

-Wipe off countertops, cutting boards

Customer Experience

-Friendliness of employees, casual conversation

-Overall well-kept, beautiful atmosphere

-Good quality and taste

A normal day for me involves coming in for either a morning or evening shift. For this paper, I will discuss a night shift. I would arrive around 4pm and clock-in, followed by ensuring that my hair is pulled back, my apron and hat is on, and my register card is on hand. Then, I would check that the meat stations are stocked and ready to go for the night. I would check in with all my employees to ensure that they are at work on time and in uniform. Then we would build the perfect sandwich, with each person assigned a role:

Slicer – Takes the slabs of meat and slices them finely on to the bread.

Sprinkler – Puts on toppings and condiments, either “Mike’s Way” or custom.

Wrapper – Ensures the sandwich is securely wrapped in sub paper and placed in a paper bag.

Cashier – Finalizes the transaction, takes the cash and thanks the customer, ensuring that they had the best customer experience, and taking note of any complaints we may need to address.

***Any employee that is not doing one of these things (or is not on the “Front line”) is used to expedite, grab ingredients, or spot clean as necessary.

I absolutely love the customer experience part of this job, because every time I encounter a customer they have a different story! For example, I had a customer come in who went to USC! At the time, I had not yet been accepted to USC but I was waiting to hear back from them about my application. Once he came to the register, I complimented him on his Trojan gear. He asked if I had attended there, and I told him I was eagerly awaiting to hear back on their decision. The customer was so enthusiastic for me. Flash forward 2 years later, I went back to Jersey Mikes to work for a Christmas break, and that same customer came in. He remembered me and asked, “So, how’d the USC application go?” And I told him that I had been attending there for two years. Again, he was so thrilled for me. I was so touched that some stranger cared so much about my happiness, and it made me realize how many kind people there are in the world. Now I really look forward to my customer interactions every time I work any job!

Of course, the customer experience comes with pros and cons. With that, another more difficult skill to develop is that of “the customer is always right” mentality. I particularly struggled with these “difficult” customers when I first started work. An example of this is when I got a customer complaining that she had onions on her sandwich. She ran up to me at the register and started screaming at me that she deserved a new sandwich, etc. I got really fed up and incorrectly responded, “they’re just onions!” Shocked beyond belief, she screamed that she needed to speak to my manager, and my manager came over to take control of the situation. I was very lucky that I had a kind manager, who explained what I did wrong, and told me to never do that again. But I learned that to be in a customer service job, you need patience and that “customer is always right” mentality, whether you like it or not!

Yes, working at Jersey Mikes is simply a food service job, but I enjoy it. I’ve enhanced my skills on tidiness, timeliness, and social conversation. I’ve also met some great friends and very fun people along the way!