Happy Workers

What are some Hawaii companies that treat their employees respectfully? I read a journal entry from one of our own (excellent) bloggers about the health coverage and scholarship opportunities provided by Zippys. Makes me want to be more loyal to this restaurant. I know that no workplace is perfect, but if the principles are in place, the company will generally do good for the community. Any other companies you'd recommend based on their business principles and ethics?

Comments

I've been told a number of times that Longs Drugs is a good company to work for... provided you pass some tenure mileposts, the benefits are good, and include (I think) profit sharing. Then again, I know a couple of pretty miserable Longs Drugs employees.

If there isn't an award for employers for employee management and benefits, there should be. (Although if there was, I suspect it'd be pretty tied to unionized industries.) I'm actually surprised I really can't think off the top of my head of a company that's known both as a good business to patronize but also a good place to work. (Compared to, say, Wal-Mart, which often sells its stores based on how happy its workers supposedly are.)

Hey Ryan,

Yeah - I think I heard something similar to what you're talking about regarding Longs. I also heard that Walmart has a good work environment, comparably speaking.

It's true. Beyond that, I can't really think of any place that has a reputation for treating their workers well. I'm hoping some hole-in-the-wall type shops or restaurants somehow appear on this board.

Ruth

Ryan, I must be psychic! Longs was the first thing that popped into my mind when I read Ruth's post. Sadly, I can't think of any other company that fits. McDonald's? I've heard some good things about the Burger King franchise owners here in Hilo - providing monthly incentives and quarter bonuses, annual Christmas parties for workers and their families...

Employees are what makes the companies work and in customer-oriented industries like retail and restaurants these employees are the "face" of their employers. A respected and valued employee is going to have a positive outlook and provide the best possible service to the customer. Training in itself is an essential part of providing good customer service but if the worker has no incentive to earn more than minimum wage than they'll always have the idea that "I could be making $15 an hour making beds at the Hyatt."

Out of curiosity, how many of you in the HawaiiStories community have worked in customer oriented jobs? Perhaps you have good/bad stories you could relate regarding your employers? How many of you worked for commissions and how did it affect your job performance?

I'd have to suggest the University of Hawaii system, CC's as well as UH-Manoa. Maybe that's a little off-side for a "Hawaii company", but it does seem to be a very comfortable place to work.

Raevyn, never have worked at a job involving "commission" and I'm grateful for that. :)

My one long-term (5 years) job here was for an insurance broker which has since been swallowed up by Marsh & McClennan. It was a pretty cool place to work, with flex time so I could start really early and be off by mid-afternoon, free bus pass each month, etc. ... and best of all, after hitting that five-year mark about $100 a month pension for the rest of my life. No complaints.

Hi,

Great questions. I worked at McDonald's when I was in high school. It is a great company with very strong principles. It's amazing how a company so large can have their principles trickle down so some 16-year-old in Waianae can actually sense it.

I haven't worked for a customer-oriented company since high school, but my sister does. She is a physical therapist assistant for a company called CareResources. I am amazed by how well the company is set up. They have voicemail communication and business process down to a T. They pay vision/drugs/dental, cellphone allowance and transportation. They allow ample time to do documentation correctly, and provide software to make it easier. Just recently, CareResources had an outing at Paint It Pottery, and not too long before that, they had an outing at UltraZone. Lots of cameraderie there. Not to mention that they are more service/patient-centered than their competitors. My sister finally feels as if she can truly think about the patient, as opposed to "efficiency."

Previous jobs for her, including Hale Nani and Therapists Oncall, cut so many corners, it weighed on the morale of the staff. I know Hale Nani burns through workers like a flame to a newspaper. Managers were tyrannical, and there was such a negative vibe there. I really think this reflects the mentality and state-of-being of the people on top. Sadly, I think beauracracy has done sad things to the healthcare industry in general.

Many companies don't even consider employee morale when building their foundations and figuring out operating costs. They know they *have* to pay for electricity and the lease and infrastructure, but they skimp out on all the things that would make people feel valued and optimistic. It's a sad story when the expendable cost is the well-being of your personnel.

Having seen the range of how businesses can be, I'm all ears when I hear success stories, since I know that doing the right thing is very, very difficult, yet honorable.

Ruth

i've been working for Zippy's for the past two and a half months now. I signed on to work for them BECAUSE of the benefits that they offer to their employees.

Not only do they offer medical/dental coverage and scholorship programs. But they also have 401k (doesn't kick in till you've worked for them for 2 years), opportunities to advance into management positions and an employee discount program (after you've worked 6 months).

Hey, you also get free meals whenever you work.

Sorry, but I must respectfully disagree with Ruth on McDonalds, unless they've changed a lot since I worked there back in '85... My first job was at the Koko Marina McDs and I found the managers to be consistently rude, sarcastic and violating common sense safety rules right and left. I remember I was told not to swear when I said 'Geez' and was asked to use a heavy shop vac to clean the men's room when the toilet overflowed. This last job involved lifting the heavy canister and emptying it into the sink when it was full. I had to empty it every other minute because I couldn't lift it otherwise, and there were other stronger guys who could do the job (I weighed 110 pounds at the time and am a female). Maybe it was just that particular McDs but I don't have too high an opinion of them as an employer.

Yes, Zippy's is a good place to work. Besides the great benefits, scholarship programs and 401K I have found that the Management at atleast two locations are pleasent to the employees and really do care about the customers.

It's funny you should mention Longs. When I first came to Hawaii I had an interview at the Longs in Ala Moana but turned it down after finding employment with Daiei.

BIG MISTAKE!

My co-workers at Daiei later blasted me for being so foolish since they all knew first hand about the way Daiei treated their employees.

Daiei which means "Big Prosperity" in Japanese is a company that deserves no Loyalty because they have none themselves, not for their employees or for their customers. The entire store is made up of part time employees, not because they want to work part time but because Daiei does not want to pay benefits. The back warehouse is a mess and if you spend enough time there you might find a few rats walking the sales floor.

The only one's prospering are the CEO's and middle management.

But Long's sounds nice and I'm definately loving the work at Zippy's.

Hi,
I enjoyed most of my 3 year bondage with Blockbuster Video. I had the benefit to work at both a medium (or high, depending on point of view) volume store and a low volume store. Although towards the latter part of my third year it got less enjoyable, something must be said for the fact that I didn't notice the first two years go by.

Work environment was great (even though we had several store manager switches). Both stores had great associates. The low volume store didn't have a lot of customers but we could focus more on the regulars who were there and the relationships were awesome. Higher volume store was a bit more hectic.

The first two years, the Company bought their employees (those that were fortunate to work on that day) Thanksgiving dinner and also gave employees a 5 dollar gift certificate on Christmas. Not a big thing, until it didn't come the third year. :P It was a great ride while it lasted.

Although I have no personal experience, I'd have to think 7train isn't alone out there. "Flipping burgers" is never a career to which people breathlessly aspire.

And seriously, KT, you're the first person I've ever come across who liked working for Blockbuster. I think you're lucky.

There's a whole teeming mass of frustrated former employees out there. And several sites devoted to its demise.

My wife was once a Blockbuster slave. One morning they called her in to threaten to fire her. I cheered out loud when she told me she said, "Screw this, I quit."

I read the horror stories James posted about his days at Daiei in his journal. I had no idea. I also, fortunately, haven't shopped there in a long time.

Hmm. This thread might devolve into a rantfest. So until the pent up frustration prompts someone to start a separate "Unhappy Workers" topic... are there any other bastions of devoted and fulfilled employees out there?

I'm especially curious about the visitor industry. Service is key to success, and happy employees make for good service. Are there hotels where the workers almost universally love their jobs?

Hey Ryan, I guess I am one of the lucky ones. I think if there's a good store manager and assistant managers, it makes all the difference (CSR's too). Of course, I left before they re-did their operations and that's when I heard things just sucked.

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