Muthafucka say WHAT!?

The Core RPGC Main Forum
1

At my job, since I’m heavily bored, I tend to read documents which employees are not supposed to read. Mostly memos from the Sales Associate Director to the owners of the franchises. Sometimes I stumble onto trivia which is always good to know, sometimes I stumble onto something worth noting, but sometimes…

…I stumble onto the most evil thing to ever grace the planet - propaganda. Not political propaganda (thank heaven), but propaganda nonetheless.

As some of you may know, I work in an Esso station. The most polluting gas company of them all, actually. Esso is a subsidiary of Exxon Mobil Corp., one of the petroleum giants. What I’m going to talk about is Exxon’s transponder - the Speedpass.

Only two petroleum giants in North America have transponders, Shell and Exxon. Shell’s autoPAY, and Exxon’s Speedpass. I was reading up on a franchise owner’s document for promoting the Speedpass, and…inside was the biggest load of bullshit ever.

According to that document, which was signed by one of the bigwigs at Esso, we must force onto ANY customer an adhesion form for the Speedpass.

I am disgusted. Utterly appaled. I understand that many owners do not apply this. Mine doesn’t. However, he is relatively new, and may be swayed by the bigwigs who’ll most likely promise him certain fat bonuses the more we force onto customers (already, a station that manages to have 100 adhesions gets 150$ to split between the cashiers).

Plus, it lists means of making your employees be “motivated” to force them onto customers. Such as offering to pay pizza for everyone if they get a certain objective (which is utterly childish), offering a prize for the most Speedpasses in a month (which destroys working climate), and so on and so forth.

Everyone knows the doctrine of relative filth? Well, this is based on that. Keep in mind, I already knew we were considered brainless for getting those jobs, but to be considered like ANIMALS by the big shots down in Toronto is pretty fucking insulting, if you ask me.

Then again, it’s not like I can rant at my boss, who’ll find out I’ve been reading shit I’m not supposed to, so…I do it here. But by god, if you ever find someone with a speedpass, just fucking destroy it. It’ll be better for him in the end.

2

So, like, what IS a speedpass? You said it was a transponder, but I don’t know what that is either :stuck_out_tongue:

3

Transponder? You know, it’s like a flux capacitor.

4

Entering space time continuum thir!

The part that confuses me is the adhesion form. What is it?

5

I used transponder 'cause that’s what was written. No joke.

Basically, it’s a keychain ornament that stores account info (which is related to Esso/Exxon), in which account therein lies a credit card number and an Esso Extra (fidelity program based on points) number. The thing doesn’t store any credit card information, but what it does is storing account info. Wave it in front of a proper reciever, and bingo, the Esso HQ is contacted and the transaction you were doing is billed to your credit card account. Basically, it makes transactions faster and more efficient. The gadget is free to order.

The adhesion form is basically a form you fill in to get one if you are genuinely interseted in getting one. I’m not against the program per se, however, what I’m against is that they’re trying to force us to force people into subscribing to their program.

The gadget per se is, quite frankly, the future of credit card transactions (if consumers get even dumber than they already are).

6

A keychain, huh? I suppose the idea of persuading the consumer into tattooing a barcode on their foreheads didn’t go over well. :stuck_out_tongue:

7

All businesses do shit like that. Why are you even surprised?

8

There’s a difference between appalled and surprised. I’m not surprised, I’ve seen this shit happen. However, I’m appalled by it because as I have a direct contact with the customer, I’m appalled that they don’t know that said technique does not work. They act all high and mighty, yet they know nothing. Big business once again.

In addition, they keep the franchise owners in the dark as much as the employees, something I don’t understand.

Oh, for anyone seeking to do a terrorist act on gas stations, attack the price bureau of any company, that’ll do more damage than anything else.

9

This is why everyone should read Jennifer Government.

10

All big companies treat their employees like livestock, the problem is that they are very crappy farmers. Some of these “motivation” techniques might have worked a few decades back, it’s just that the bigwads haven’t figured out they became obsolete.

Gotcha. I’ll get a few friends from Colombia to do the job.

11

I think you’d be surprised how often tactics like that DO work, unfortunately. Also, I think you’d be appalled by ANY business’s code of ethics (or lack thereof) when you dig down deep enough.

Yay capitalism!

12

I’m a business major and I guess I’m not quite understanding what the big deal is. From what I’m gathering, you are uncomfortable with having to ask your customers to sign up for one of those key chain things. What’s so bad about asking, “Would you like to join our Speed Pass program?”, to each of your customers? If corporate is willing to give some sort of bonus to those who sell the most, great for them. I guess what I’m saying is don’t be so aggravated by it, just do your job. If you get someone to sign up for the program, great, if not don’t get bent out of shape about it.

13

Boo!

:hahaha;

14

If it was only that, I wouldn’t mind. However, they are asking that we give EVERY customer the adhesion form, whether they want to or not. If I do that on the street, it’s unwarranted sollicitation and I can get arrested, if I do that in a business, it’s “perfectly legal business procedures”.

Fuck capitalism.

15

I fail to see why this gizmo is so evil. Correct me if I’m wrong, but it sounds like a way to speed up transactions to entice customers to only use that particular gas station. Of course they’re going to push this on the customers, and unless there is some aspect of this that I’m missing I see no ethical issues whatsoever. In fact if it speeds up transactions I would call that good customer service.

16

In other words, you aren’t angry about the fact that they are doing it, you are angry about HOW they are doing it.

17

That sounds just like Petro-card for Petro Canada…

They asked me if I want to make one, each time my answer ‘no’ (eventually made it, after about 6 months)

I don’t see too clearly what’s so bad about that…?

18

You all fail.

My point isn’t this. My point is that whether the client accepts the offer or not, we are supposed to give him, and coerce him into accepting (without taking NO for an answer) the pamphlet when it’s CLEAR that he doesn’t want it. As I’ve said, if you do this on the street, it’s unwarranted soliciting and they can fine you for that. Inside your business, it’s a perfectly legal tactic.

Is it just me, or am I the only one who considers good customer service to be actually servicing to the customers?