When Honesty Stands Out

Working retail at Rainforest Cafe (RFC) was my first non-summer job. I had been directionless in my studies at Emporia State, declaring 6 different majors in 3 years without much to show for any of them. I had decided to take a break from school and move back home, which meant I needed to come up with some rent money. I had previous retail experience through summer jobs at Target and Walmart, and my mom happened upon the RFC position in the local paper. After a quick interview, I was hired and started shortly thereafter.

Compared to cashier roles at the superstores, RFC was serious culture shock. I was used to having my feet firmly rooted behind my register. No stocking shelves, very little guest interaction unless they were standing in front of me; no responsibilities beyond the queue at my till. The retail segment of my Rainforest Cafe location was in a tight spot. I was one of three new employees hired at roughly the same time, bringing our full roster up to about 7. I was one of 3 employees, including the manager, who had closing responsibilities, meaning I was frequently the only employee clocked in.

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Several weeks into my tenure there, our location's General Manager, Jim, circled up the retail team after a meeting. He opened by asking how we were doing, and then he asked "How is it going so far? You all like working here?". As you might expect, there was the usual nodding of heads apart from one person who responded with "No, not really". I was surprised to realize the voice was mine, as Jim stopped in his tracks. "You don't like working here? Why?" "Well, I'd love to go to your office and talk about it", I replied. "No no, tell me now", Jim insisted.

"Okay, well I have a list of reasons. First, we're incredibly short-staffed; no one feels like they can be sick or take a day off. Second, our computer system is outdated. Everything feels like a manual process and the equipment has some issues". After listing a few other items, Jim responded to each one in turn and then asked, "So what do you want to do? Do you want to quit? Or do you want to stick around and try and make it better?". I told him I wanted to stick around, and he walked back to his office. Immediately, my manager expressed disbelief that I wasn't fired on the spot. "He asked me a question, so I answered him", was all I could say.

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This experience taught me several lessons I still carry with me. First, never ask a question you don't want the answer to. This is as true in life as it is in business. In the realm of continuous improvement, it could be said that you shouldn't ask for data or put something on a survey unless you're prepared to act on the results.

Second, if you ask a question, you've given up the right to be angry with someone who answers it honestly and reasonably. I didn't scream, I didn't yell. I didn't stomp my feet and say "I just hate it here!". I calmly stated specific, actionable items that I felt would improve the experience of myself and my peers; Jim responded by letting me know what was being done (or could be done) about each one. The expectation of my manager (and the rest of my team) is that I should've been marched out the door.

Lastly, it has been said that integrity means doing the right thing when no one is watching. But sometimes integrity means being honest when no one else will. I wasn't the only one who had the perspective I did; conversations with my co-workers made that clear. But by being the only one willing to speak up about it, I established my reputation early as someone who could be counted on to tell the truth, even when it might be uncomfortable. That 5-minute interaction set the tone for the next 3 and a half years I worked there, and it is a reputation I have tried to emulate everywhere I have worked since.