Tough Cookie Taylor

The LA Now blog received a comment on Jesus Sanchez's post about Claremont Mayor Pro Tem Ellen Taylor going mano a mano with a gang of Girl Scouts.

The comment said if Ellen had studied up on her Girl Scout badge requirements she would have learned that one of the lessons of the cookie selling experience is learning how to deal with people, including tough customers:

Obviously, Ellen Taylor is not familiar with the requirements for the Cookie Connection badge. In dealing with her, the girls could practice the part of the badge requirement under "Tough Cookie:"

"Knowing how to deal with people is an important part of being a salesperson. Always be polite and say "thank you," even if someone doesn't buy anything. With your troop or group, think of several situations that might come up when you are selling cookies and how you will handle them."

Thanks for providing the link to the Girl Scouts' web page!

Taylor's behavior really points up what's been wrong with the Claremont 400 way of doing things and why issues in the community have become so contentious over the years. The Claremont 400 continually says with a chuckle, "Oh, that's just Claremont." Recall that former Councilmember Karen Rosenthal, who was Mayor during the Irvin Landrum crisis, once said of Claremont public meetings, "It's like herding cats."

But, like selling cookies, the business of city councils, city commissions, and city staff is customer service. Would you go back to a restaurant that refused you service, served other people ahead of you because they didn't like the way you talked, insulted you, brought you half-cooked food, and charged you double what other restaurants charged for the same things? Of course not.

In Claremont, that's been precisely the kind of official response that citizens (other than the preferred ones) have received time and again.

This attitude gives a perfect illustration of precisely why the Claremont 400 and their action arm, the Claremont Area League of Women Voters, should not be in the public service business at all. Their operating philosophy is not one that allows them to see the public as customers. Rather, they treat the public as children, as Taylor treated the Girl Scouts.

It's top-down philosophy that says, "We here at the top of the pyramid have spent years studying these things. We know better than you, and we know what's good for you. Don't tell us how to run things." What they miss is the idea that if you provide good service, you don't get complaints in the first place. Think about the very best restaurants. It's not just the food. The servers are invisible. Glasses, plates, utensils, food, drinks just appear without the servers drawing attention to themselves. In the best restaurants, it's all about the customer and the food. No prima donna waiters.

In Claremont, it's the opposite. The waiters give themselves bronze plaques. Poor customer service is rewarded. So, why shouldn't we be complaining? If we wanted to pay for being insulted, we'd go to Vegas and catch a Don Rickles show.

Poor service has a price. Unlike restaurants, you can't boycott your city government. You're stuck with what you've got. So, voters got tired of the old treatment, and beginning in 2001 they started voting in new faces, primarily as a response to the Landrum shooting, but also because of resentment over tax matters and the city's refusal to implement a conflict of interest referendum that passed with 54% of the vote.

Things really began to change after Glenn Southard, knowing that he'd long ago worn out his welcome, resigned as city manager in 2005. New city management brought a new management culture that really does seem much more customer-oriented. However, there are enough holdovers on the city council, on commissions, and on city staff, to keep us from completing the transition from poor to good or even great service.

Taylor, however, will never change. She's our decider, a defender of Claremont's past, inflexible and intransigent as ever. Her declaring to the Girl Scouts that she is the "deputy Mayor" and calling the police on the girls shows that. Yet, she will be rewarded with the title of Mayor on Tuesday, March 25th, not for good customer service, but for being a member of Claremont's elite.

And Claremont will be the worse for it.