Hi Michael - Cold-hearted right-winger tho' I am, I am always dismayed to read this kind of thing. I know of many similar incidents from other restaurants and retailers. The "front lines" are often the most shabbily-treated employees (ask anyone who ever worked for Eatons!) - which makes no business sense, if nothing else, as consumer businesses increasingly move to lowest-cost, don't-give-a-monkey's part-timers etc.to man the front lines. The $ saved in labour cost is more than wasted in destruction of the brand promise, bad PR via negative word-of-mouth, and at worst the kinds of problems Wal-Mart et al are facing. Why would service businesses scrimp on service?
Maybe the low end chains think their clientele are such losers that they'll put up with demoralized, apathetic Soviet-style service.
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