Review the discussion question and answer below. Do you agree with the answer? why or why not? Give your opinion.

Discussion Question: Please think of a position and propose a strategy to best motivate the employee. For example, you could say that a commission pay structure is the best way to motivate a Real Estate Broker and state why.

Answer: There are so many different types of jobs, and so many different ways to compensate and reward those employees. Right now we will take a look at a way to compensate someone who is in customer service.

Now there are different types of customer service. From food service to retail, from tour guides to taxi drivers, the term customer service can mean many different things. The version of customer service that we are going to look at is those in the food service sector.

The food service sector is a very fast-paced and competitive environment. Fast-food stores such as McDonald's and Burger King offer a quick bite to eat at a reasonable price. Sit-down restaurants along the lines of Applebee's and Friday's are not as quite as fast, but still offer an affordable sit-down venue and a great outing for the family. In restaurants like the latter, service is much more personal than it is in a fast-food store. For sit-down restaurants, since the service is so much more personal since the server has to actually walk up and talk to the customer and serve them, the best way to encourage workers to do well is through the merit pay system as well as short-term incentives.

For the merit pay system, which awards pay increases based on performance ratings, the most important thing to think about is how to properly asses the performance of the employee. One of the easiest ways to asses the performance of a server/waiter/waitress is to have the customers fill out a quick survey. Most restaurants these days offer the option to answer a survey online for a free item for their next visit. A much more immediate and easier way to do it is to print a much simpler and quick survey (maybe a 1-10 scale question) on the bottom of the receipt that is given to the customer and to then have the customer show their answers to the person at the front desk. This way the feedback is immediate and is much easier for the management to collect. From there the managers can compile the data and come up with an average score for the employee. Then they would compare the average with a predetermined score and whoever meets or exceeds that score would receive a percentage increase in pay on the next scheduled pay raise. Now I do understand that customers might just be having a bad day and would sometimes take it out on the servers, so to help determine which are based on real, in-house experience and those that are just based on the customer's incoming attitude, management could also walk around and keep an ear out for the customers themselves. Invasion of privacy? No, not at all, just a manager making sure everyone visiting is having a good time.

The other way to judge for compensation is more for the whole team. Short-term incentives such as a higher profit goal for the year or higher ratings for the year. Let's say that at the end of every fiscal year for the restaurant, the management team reviews the customer ratings and compare them to the previous year's ratings. If those ratings are higher than the previous year's by, let's say 15%, then the whole team would receive a reward of some kind, such as an extra day off or something along those lines. If the yearly profits go up also by a predetermined percentage, then the team would receive another reward, maybe a slightly, very slightly, increased raise, depending on management decisions.

Now these are all coming from experience, and because my manager implemented something along these lines, it really makes a difference.