Survival Jobs and the impact they have on how we view the Service industry

[the captians wench]

I was listening to a radio interview of a guy who was once some fancy shmancy somebody in some important 9-5 office but found himself taking a job as a janator because his company let him go. He talked about the initial feelings of resentment and that "I'm better than this"ness but that he soon realized that not only was it a tough job, but one that is deserving of more respect than he used to give them.

Many of you know I've been a McEmployee for going on 5 years now. In that time I've faced a lot of predjudice against my position. I can't tell you how many times I've heard "but what do you really want to do with your life" or "when are you going to get a real job". I'm looked down upon many times a day. Called stupid at least once a week. And snubbed on an hourly basis. A lot of people (especially when I was at the store located in the ritzy business district) just seem to have this over all sense of being better than me just because I am in a position of service. Hey some one has to make that double cheeseburger you stuff your face with!

But since the economy has been on a steady decline I've noticed an improvement in the quality of applicants we get. We are not getting people who have worked behind a desk for the past 5, 10 sometimes even 20 years and now find themselves in desperate need of work. They are also (with a few exceptions) finding that this job is deffinitly demanding, tho maybe not in the same way they are used to. A certian level of respect forms in them for those of us who have been at it a while, as that first layer of shame for taking such a job sheds and they find that they can take pride in this work as well.

This leads me to wonder if we will see a new found respect for this position as CEOs are finding them selves bagging groceries at the local Piggly Wiggly. Even if it is brief. Will this job desperation result in a respect for the service worker? Or will things just continue business as usual?

 

[ecstaticsub]

Maybe..I would certainly hope so.

I have a question for you. If an ex CEO or other 9-5 er came in and applied and also a high school graduate who decided they wanted to be at McD's as a career who would get hired?

 

[Keroin]

Do I think, after the economic dust has settled, that people will suddenly realize how valuable service workers are, how difficult their jobs are, and how deserving of respect they are? Sadly, no.

I’ll admit I do have prejudices. If I’m talking to two people and one tells me they’re a chemical process engineer and one tells me they work at a fast food restaurant, I’m likely to be more impressed by the former. Shameful but true. This from someone who has held lots of service jobs from scrubbing toilets to serving food, (not, BTW, at the same time).

However, when I meet people who are on the job what impresses me is not necessarily the type of job they do but the level of dedication and hard work they put into it. When I take on a job, any job, I give my all. I don’t care what my wage is and I don’t care what the job is. If I take a job as a toilet scrubber then I will work my ass off to be the best damn toilet scrubber in the world. Taking pride in one’s work seems to have become almost a bad thing in our society, something to ridicule, but I don’t care, I like how I feel when I work hard.

I’ve seen plenty of CEO’s who are useless, lazy, and unmotivated. I have no respect for these people. Also, I’ve long held the belief that everyone should have to serve food to other humans and clean up after them, at least once in their professional life. The way some people treat employees in service positions is disgusting – I’m sorry you have to deal with this kind of abuse, Wenchie.

Recently, I met a fellow who is quite high up the McChain in my home province. He said the company has treated him very well over the years – he started as a fry cook. That’s cool. (And he gave me some coupons for free burgers when I get back home, which will be my guilty little treat).

 

[the captians wench]

Maybe..I would certainly hope so.

I have a question for you. If an ex CEO or other 9-5 er came in and applied and also a high school graduate who decided they wanted to be at McD's as a career who would get hired?

I have not done hiring yet. But if it were up to me, it would depend on what position they were aplying for.

Both aplying for crew, they both would get the job. We always need crew. However, depending on experience in their previous job, the CEO might have his aplication passed on to a supervisor or other higher up to see if maybe we could provide him a position more suited to his talents.

If they were both aplying for management, well I'm not sure either would. It's not likely the CEO/9-5er is going to stay with us long, they will be looking for something more like what they had before. It costs a lot to put some one through the training to be a manager, both in time and money. The highschool grad would have to have some pretty impressive stuff on his app to be accepted into the program right off the bat. But then, almost every one wants to be a manager.

But I have not studied hiring as a system yet. And there are a lot of other things we go by as well as the application they first file. So it's not a cut and dry answer.

 

[the captians wench]

Do I think, after the economic dust has settled, that people will suddenly realize how valuable service workers are, how difficult their jobs are, and how deserving of respect they are? Sadly, no.

I’ll admit I do have prejudices. If I’m talking to two people and one tells me they’re a chemical process engineer and one tells me they work at a fast food restaurant, I’m likely to be more impressed by the former. Shameful but true. This from someone who has held lots of service jobs from scrubbing toilets to serving food, (not, BTW, at the same time).

However, when I meet people who are on the job what impresses me is not necessarily the type of job they do but the level of dedication and hard work they put into it. When I take on a job, any job, I give my all. I don’t care what my wage is and I don’t care what the job is. If I take a job as a toilet scrubber then I will work my ass off to be the best damn toilet scrubber in the world. Taking pride in one’s work seems to have become almost a bad thing in our society, something to ridicule, but I don’t care, I like how I feel when I work hard.

I’ve seen plenty of CEO’s who are useless, lazy, and unmotivated. I have no respect for these people. Also, I’ve long held the belief that everyone should have to serve food to other humans and clean up after them, at least once in their professional life. The way some people treat employees in service positions is disgusting – I’m sorry you have to deal with this kind of abuse, Wenchie.

Recently, I met a fellow who is quite high up the McChain in my home province. He said the company has treated him very well over the years – he started as a fry cook. That’s cool. (And he gave me some coupons for free burgers when I get back home, which will be my guilty little treat).

They've treated me well. I started as a part time opener, now I'm in a middle restaraunt management type position. I have suffered some abuse under my store managers, but that can happen in any job.

When I do get snubbed, especially by family, I like to remind them that I've seen St. Patrick's cathidral in person. No one in my family can claim that. Not even the snobish of them. *shrug* Just one way for me to prove to them that they should not judge a book by it's McTitle.

But I personally think you're right. While there might be a short lived change, I don't see it lasting too far into the future.

 

[wicked woman]

Afraid I have to agree with Keroin, 'sadly, no'.

You know what they tell you about assessing a date - pay close attention to how (s)he treats the service staff. It tells you a lot about their character.

There will always be people who realize that it takes all sorts to run this world. That it matters more that you find a job that you love and are good at than what the actual job is. That there are good and bad people in all positions. A better paying job or a better education doesn't make you a better person.

There will also be people who can only feel good about themselves by looking down their noses at others.

It's not going to change. But we can hope that a few more people will learn that each one of us is a person - worthy of respect.

 

[ecstaticsub]

I have not done hiring yet. But if it were up to me, it would depend on what position they were aplying for.

Both aplying for crew, they both would get the job. We always need crew. However, depending on experience in their previous job, the CEO might have his aplication passed on to a supervisor or other higher up to see if maybe we could provide him a position more suited to his talents.

If they were both aplying for management, well I'm not sure either would. It's not likely the CEO/9-5er is going to stay with us long, they will be looking for something more like what they had before. It costs a lot to put some one through the training to be a manager, both in time and money. The highschool grad would have to have some pretty impressive stuff on his app to be accepted into the program right off the bat. But then, almost every one wants to be a manager.

But I have not studied hiring as a system yet. And there are a lot of other things we go by as well as the application they first file. So it's not a cut and dry answer.

Thank you, I appreciate your answer. I asked because I know a few people who have lost their jobs and are getting to the point where they will do anything just to have a job. Jobs are even getting rarer in hospitals. We had a pharmacist applying for a pharmacy technician position just to be able to work at our hospital. (we did not hire them, we wanted to hire someone who would stay for a while)

 

[the captians wench]

Thank you, I appreciate your answer. I asked because I know a few people who have lost their jobs and are getting to the point where they will do anything just to have a job. Jobs are even getting rarer in hospitals. We had a pharmacist applying for a pharmacy technician position just to be able to work at our hospital. (we did not hire them, we wanted to hire someone who would stay for a while)

And that right there is why a lot of these people will have trouble finding jobs and end up settling for position "beneith" them. No company wants to put time or money into a person who is only going to be there a short time.

Our target is 90 days. That's probably pretty quick turn over compaired to other industries. But they figure if we can keep an employee for 90 days, it's more likely they'll stay longer, perhaps even be a life-er.

However that does mean that we are in an almost constant state of hiring, especially for crew, but I have seen a lot of calls out for managers, and even salaried managers on the McState site. It's just the nature of the business.

 

[Netzach]

I was listening to a radio interview of a guy who was once some fancy shmancy somebody in some important 9-5 office but found himself taking a job as a janator because his company let him go. He talked about the initial feelings of resentment and that "I'm better than this"ness but that he soon realized that not only was it a tough job, but one that is deserving of more respect than he used to give them.

Many of you know I've been a McEmployee for going on 5 years now. In that time I've faced a lot of predjudice against my position. I can't tell you how many times I've heard "but what do you really want to do with your life" or "when are you going to get a real job". I'm looked down upon many times a day. Called stupid at least once a week. And snubbed on an hourly basis. A lot of people (especially when I was at the store located in the ritzy business district) just seem to have this over all sense of being better than me just because I am in a position of service. Hey some one has to make that double cheeseburger you stuff your face with!

But since the economy has been on a steady decline I've noticed an improvement in the quality of applicants we get. We are not getting people who have worked behind a desk for the past 5, 10 sometimes even 20 years and now find themselves in desperate need of work. They are also (with a few exceptions) finding that this job is deffinitly demanding, tho maybe not in the same way they are used to. A certian level of respect forms in them for those of us who have been at it a while, as that first layer of shame for taking such a job sheds and they find that they can take pride in this work as well.

This leads me to wonder if we will see a new found respect for this position as CEOs are finding them selves bagging groceries at the local Piggly Wiggly. Even if it is brief. Will this job desperation result in a respect for the service worker? Or will things just continue business as usual?

The idea that these jobs are "easy" is positively insane. They're probably some of the hardest ones out there, that's what kills me.

I'm a big smiler, a fat tipper wherever there's a jar, and it's because I could not hack it at a lot of those things. I don't know if the whole culture will change, but I do know that maybe the people who pass through from the desk job world may be changed if they've never done that kind of work before.

M and I are kind of indicative of some of the people you're talking about. He's worked McD's and he's worked director of IT for an ad firm and he's worked selling shirts and ties and he's worked project management. I've painted walls, assisted traders, phone sexed and sold my art. I think you'll see more people without career paths in one direct line like us, and I think, or like to think that the breadth of experience builds more respect and understanding for different kinds of work.

My mom taught me always to tip hotel maids well - she was one.

 

[Netzach]

At the deli where i work we have a poorly labeled charity jar near the register... and our register's charity jar gets more donations than any 3 jars through out the rest of the store, because people think its a tip jar.

Anytime anyone actually mentions something about it, i force a smile and say;

"we're union; we don't get tips, we just get paid more."

Which is true, but it really irks me that the store's pet charity profits through this subterfuge.

"oh thats a shame" people usually say... but I know for a fact that if you consider our benefits, we make far more than the baristas at the starbucks just outside the store, even with their fat tips.

sorry... side rant (i'm a union supporter)

OMG, I would love love love to see a union versus a tip economy take hold. 15 percent auto add and a normal wage. I know a lot of servers would shoot me, but no one in the EU seems to be unhappy about the fact that they can go to the dentist and pay rent OK.

Not gonna happen here though. We'd rather starve than do anything pinko.

It pisses me off that the starbucks in Target and BN doesn't let them get tips and I bitch about it in their suggestion boxes and whatnot.

 

[FurryFury]

I've never looked down on the service industry. I've always been aware of how hard it is. I'd work for McD if I needed to in order to make my payments and I'd do it well, with pride.

 

[VelvetDarkness]

I trained and worked as a nurse for 8 years and before that I was a care assistant working mostly in elderly care homes. I know that nursing commands perhaps more automatic respect than burger flipping but I put up with my share of asshats. As a teenager working in care homes I was treated like shit by more than a few of the residents' relatives and even the qualified nurses who worked above me were often condescending and rude. People just could not understand how I could gain any satisfaction or self respect changing adult nappies (that's diapers in yankee) and hand feeding dementia patients.

I got all the 'but what are you going to do with your life?' questions too. After finishing my A-Levels at 18 I had a minor mutiny and put off going to uni for a couple of years. In those two years I went from a care assistant to a senior carer and then care manager of a 70 bed secure unit for elderly mentally ill people. These were people who were physically fit enough for their mental problems to make them too disruptive and violent for a regular care home. There was one particular little lady who had to be gently restrained by three people before she could be washed or bathed because she would fight tooth and nail. I was in a position of real responsibility but the money was still crap (as a youngster, I was promoted in large part because I was cheap) and still nobody I knew viewed my job with any real respect.

If I thought that three years of uni and qualifying as a nurse was going to improve things, I was often mistaken. I look much younger than I am and as a result, people think they can talk down to me and intimidate me. When I proved my skills, did my professional development courses and went up through the nursing grades, people just got even more incredulous and assumed I didn't know my elbow from my ass. It's hard to deal with that every damn day without getting combative and bitter. Also, people in the UK have ambivalent feelings about the NHS and many of them vent at medical staff about political issues, cutbacks, staffing levels and all manner of shit that they can do nothing about. In today's litigation-happy society too, it often felt like the whole world was just waiting for me to put a foot wrong so they could sue my ass off. It can be demoralizing and depressing and it's a large part of why so many trained nurses/midwives wind up leaving the profession as I have.

I can't remember where the quote's from but there's a popular saying that if you want to know someone's character, look at how he treats his subordinates, not his betters. I cannot stand people who are rude to waiting staff, it's such a cheap shot. I've gone from nursing to owning a cafe so I still have to put up with people's shit. I'm 29 and look about 17 so virtually everybody assumes I'm a clueless teenage waitress rather than the damn proprietress. Every now and again I get the chance to make an arrogant shit choke on his words though, doing my bit for karma.

 

[jockdom]

The first job I got, when I was still was at school, was McDonalds so I know how hard the work is and how much crap you have to take from the customers.
I have also worked in my fair share of resturants (Back of house) where you have to put up with crap money, split shifts, antisocial hours and bad conditions.
The job I have now Janitor/Groundsman/Gardener suits me, I get left alone as long as the work gets done.
In short I have a lot more respect for working people flipping burgers than these parasites in the City who have caused this Financial crisis.

 

[the captians wench]

OMG, I would love love love to see a union versus a tip economy take hold. 15 percent auto add and a normal wage. I know a lot of servers would shoot me, but no one in the EU seems to be unhappy about the fact that they can go to the dentist and pay rent OK.

Not gonna happen here though. We'd rather starve than do anything pinko.

It pisses me off that the starbucks in Target and BN doesn't let them get tips and I bitch about it in their suggestion boxes and whatnot.

This was something Jounar and I discussed while I was over there. Almost imidiately actually.

Before we ever stepped foot in a place to eat he told me "Oh, by the way, tipping isn't required here. We don't just tip everyone." I looked kind of puzzled because I had already seen him tip the cabbie who drove us fromt he airport to the hotel. And from then on I watched as he tipped every one every where we went. So after a meal in which he insisted that I not leave a tip because the service was bad I brought the subject up a day or two later and again we debated it.

I've always been told that the theroy behind paying wait staff shit is that they work harder for tips, so that they can meet rent and eat and stuff. But from what I saw, the waitstaff every where we went got tipped just as deciently as any deserving waiter here....they just start out with better pay and benifits. So, you still have the tip as a motivation, but you're not starving if some one like oh say my mom the $2 tipper comes in.




And you know, it's not the ones who are rude to me that bother me so much. People who are rude to me at least acknowledge my pressence. Looking down on me acknowledges that I am there at least. It's the people who are totally dismissive that bother me. The ones who don't get off their damn phone when they come thru the drive thru, or some one who doesn't acknowledge and apreciate their glass being refilled. The people who I am totally invisible to, those are the ones who bother me.

I remember an episode of "1900's house" where they explored how the staff were ment to be invisible. Not seen and not heard. The maid was cleaning in a part of the house, and when the mistress of the house walked by, the maid quickly ran into a cornor and turned her back on the woman with her head down like a child being punished. They also went into the emotions behind that for the maid. But I guess if it's something you're used to the emotion might not be as dramatic as it was for her.

The funny part about it is that I used to be one of those people, which would have been in my teens. I had even worked in a fancy pants hotel as a busser. That may even have been what shaped my view. There I was invisible. I did my work, I filled glasses, and I was always over looked. I was there to serve and that was it. So when I went out to dinner, I carried the same attitude that those weathly business men who normally frequented the hotel did. But now, I almost never miss a chance to say thank you as my glass is refilled for the 4th time durring a meal.

Maybe I feel more like an equal now than I did then, even when I'm the one being served. But it is a change I noticed in myself, and I'm wondering if it's one that will spread, even slightly when things "go back to normal". I even wonder if my attitude might revert back if I were in a different possition and statis. Would I become dissmissive again, or is that feeling imbeded into me so deeply that I will never have that sense of superiority again?

 

[WriterDom]

One of the first women I met online in 96 had a masters in art history but absolutely loved working at McDonalds. She made good money as an assistant manager and I wouldn't be surprised if she was with corporate now or a store owner.

 

[ZRT]

Everyone should work in some sort of frontline service biz at some point or another in their life, just to get an appreciation for the labor involved and the abuse taken.

Humans are innately competitive and tend to find some place where they can feel and express superiority over somebody somewhere. I appreciate that competitiveness, but I fucking hate when it's used to club some clerk at a store. Those assholes need to pick on somebody their own size, because it's one of the most obnoxious displays of chickenshit commonly enacted, bullying in its basest form.

Meh. Major pet peeve of mine. I can get pretty wound up about it.

 

[ZRT]

As for the current troubles inducing people to be more respectful to service industry- nah, I don't see an explosion in social awareness. There'll be some who'll talk about 'Man, it was so rough I had to flip burgers' and their friends will coo because obviously such menial labor is below people of their education and station. There'll be a few who actually get it. But by and large, the world will go on as it always has.

 

[the captians wench]

Everyone should work in some sort of frontline service biz at some point or another in their life, just to get an appreciation for the labor involved and the abuse taken.

Humans are innately competitive and tend to find some place where they can feel and express superiority over somebody somewhere. I appreciate that competitiveness, but I fucking hate when it's used to club some clerk at a store. Those assholes need to pick on somebody their own size, because it's one of the most obnoxious displays of chickenshit commonly enacted, bullying in its basest form.

Meh. Major pet peeve of mine. I can get pretty wound up about it.

Case in point:

asshat come through the drive thru. Something was wrong so he came inside. He had the cutest little 3 year old girl with him in sunglasses, so I was cooing at her and did not realize at first that he was already holding a happymeal bag. When he reached the counter I very polietly greeted him and asked how I could help him. He looks at me, opens the bag and says "does this look like a double cheeseburger? Did they change the menu and I'm not aware?" I looked in the bag and there was a four piece nugget.

Now I bagged the order myself, so I knew the issue was that the kid in the bag wrang up the wrong thing. So I go through the usual, I apologize and call back the correct sandwhich, I explain the issue to him and again apologize for the mistake. Now by this point most people have been won over and are at least not fuming anymore, but not this guy. So I go an extra step and get fresh fries, and a new happymeal bag complete with another toy and bag the new order. He's still not impressed so I again apologize and offer him an apple pie or dessert or new drink. He snatches the bag out of my hand and says no thanks.

Then as he's walking out the door he says, in a voice just loud enough for every one up front to hear, "this isn't that hard of a job. I guess they just hire any idiot."



The kids working that evening were very noteably upset. I had done everything except offer to let him ass fuck me and the wanker was just settled to make us feel stupid. And I was forced to shrug it off infront of the crew and tell them how it's just something to be expected, that some people just are not satisfied unless they can make other people feel small. And at the same time I'm feeling everything they are.

It kills me when people do this. I was overly nice, appologetic, and I reacted quickly, but some people just have such low self esteme that they have to try to make me feel lower to make them feel good about themselves.

 

[Cattypuss]

I've done "McJobs" and I've done professional jobs. Both are hard in different ways.

A major pro for me with the "McJob" is that you do your hours (or get paid extra if you do more) and that's it. By contrast with the professional jobs I've had, I end up working a lot of unpaid overtime and it also stays with me mentally when I'm not at work (I found that however stressful, hard and frustrating a day I had in the Mc jobs (and I know full well how hard etc it can be - especially with asshole customers to deal with courteously), it was easy to let go of it at the end of the day. With my professional work however, (a) it's very intellectually demanding, so unsolved intellectual problems play on my mind outside of work, and (b) I always have a "to do" list as long as your arm. The work is never-ending and the nature of the work means I can't ever see the end of a day as the end of my work. I deal with a constant backlog of work, which haunts me and robs me of any feeling of "I deserve this weekend/evening off; I did everything I needed to do today".

I stay with the professional jobs cos they pay hugely more and I have mortgage etc commitments. I was however happier and healthier when I had jobs where I would turn up, work very hard for a set number of hours, feel I'd done a good day's work, and go home again.

For the record I am always extremely courteous to all people I come into contact with. To me everyone is a human being and equally deserving of respect.

 

[Netzach]

Case in point:

asshat come through the drive thru. Something was wrong so he came inside. He had the cutest little 3 year old girl with him in sunglasses, so I was cooing at her and did not realize at first that he was already holding a happymeal bag. When he reached the counter I very polietly greeted him and asked how I could help him. He looks at me, opens the bag and says "does this look like a double cheeseburger? Did they change the menu and I'm not aware?" I looked in the bag and there was a four piece nugget.

Now I bagged the order myself, so I knew the issue was that the kid in the bag wrang up the wrong thing. So I go through the usual, I apologize and call back the correct sandwhich, I explain the issue to him and again apologize for the mistake. Now by this point most people have been won over and are at least not fuming anymore, but not this guy. So I go an extra step and get fresh fries, and a new happymeal bag complete with another toy and bag the new order. He's still not impressed so I again apologize and offer him an apple pie or dessert or new drink. He snatches the bag out of my hand and says no thanks.

Then as he's walking out the door he says, in a voice just loud enough for every one up front to hear, "this isn't that hard of a job. I guess they just hire any idiot."



The kids working that evening were very noteably upset. I had done everything except offer to let him ass fuck me and the wanker was just settled to make us feel stupid. And I was forced to shrug it off infront of the crew and tell them how it's just something to be expected, that some people just are not satisfied unless they can make other people feel small. And at the same time I'm feeling everything they are.

It kills me when people do this. I was overly nice, appologetic, and I reacted quickly, but some people just have such low self esteme that they have to try to make me feel lower to make them feel good about themselves.

That's a total douchebag. I feel sorry for his daughter.

M would be your dream boy, he chats at the window every time. I'm always like "honey these people are busy, come on."

I used to kind of view waitstaff as wallpaper too, till I started dining out with T. I was a decent tipper and friendly enough, but I saw how much it's to your own advantage to ask the server what's good and what they like and engage them. Everyone's happier and I get to practice my fake-extrovert skills.

Having been a pt I can't imagine not applying this to one's nurses. OMG, I had great nurses and I did my damndest to win them over.

 

[ZRT]

Then as he's walking out the door he says, in a voice just loud enough for every one up front to hear, "this isn't that hard of a job. I guess they just hire any idiot."

Kinda guy I'd love to bird-dog all day long and point out every little mistake he makes. And I'll bet you good money that he probably doesn't work a job that is particularly hard by a lot of people's thinking either.

 

[ZRT]

That's a total douchebag. I feel sorry for his daughter.

M would be your dream boy, he chats at the window every time. I'm always like "honey these people are busy, come on."

I used to kind of view waitstaff as wallpaper too, till I started dining out with T. I was a decent tipper and friendly enough, but I saw how much it's to your own advantage to ask the server what's good and what they like and engage them. Everyone's happier and I get to practice my fake-extrovert skills.

Having been a pt I can't imagine not applying this to one's nurses. OMG, I had great nurses and I did my damndest to win them over.

See, I've always been a front-line slob at heart, even when I'm in a job that isn't at the so-called 'functional end' of a business. So when I'm out there dealing with the service staff at an establishment, hell, these are my people, of a type that I work with myself, and I relate to them naturally.

It's the front-liners, the clerks and the waitresses and the ditch-diggers and what have you, they're the ones who make the world work. Paperpushers of all stripes can facilitate their jobs and sign the checks, but without the functional end, no company makes money.

As for nurses, well, with my unfortunate history of landing in the chop shop on an entirely too-regular basis, I've learned how to get on well with them. The trick is to be in good cheer and remember that it was probably something really dumb I did that landed me in there, so whatever intense discomfort I'm currently experiencing is no reason not to try to be pleasant and courteous. Nurses I usually get on well with. Doctors, on the other hand, are a totally hit-or-miss proposition. There was one time when I was getting my foot sewed back together, and the doc was schooling a brand-new nurse and commenting to him that if only more patients could be cheerful and friendly like me, ER would be a lot better job. Made me happier than the circumstances would otherwise dictate, let me tell ya.

(Mind, there still wasn't a damn person on the floor who could tell me when tetanus vaccines were developed.)

 

[Netzach]

See, I've always been a front-line slob at heart, even when I'm in a job that isn't at the so-called 'functional end' of a business. So when I'm out there dealing with the service staff at an establishment, hell, these are my people, of a type that I work with myself, and I relate to them naturally.

It's the front-liners, the clerks and the waitresses and the ditch-diggers and what have you, they're the ones who make the world work. Paperpushers of all stripes can facilitate their jobs and sign the checks, but without the functional end, no company makes money.

As for nurses, well, with my unfortunate history of landing in the chop shop on an entirely too-regular basis, I've learned how to get on well with them. The trick is to be in good cheer and remember that it was probably something really dumb I did that landed me in there, so whatever intense discomfort I'm currently experiencing is no reason not to try to be pleasant and courteous. Nurses I usually get on well with. Doctors, on the other hand, are a totally hit-or-miss proposition. There was one time when I was getting my foot sewed back together, and the doc was schooling a brand-new nurse and commenting to him that if only more patients could be cheerful and friendly like me, ER would be a lot better job. Made me happier than the circumstances would otherwise dictate, let me tell ya.

(Mind, there still wasn't a damn person on the floor who could tell me when tetanus vaccines were developed.)

I'm definitely a front liner, don't get the impression otherwise. My resume reads more like "Nickeled and Dimed" than anything else. I'm also an introvert though, and I'm from a culture of hurry. I remember mostly having supervision breathing down my neck at any given moment in those frontline jobs and personality meaning much less than my numbers and I remember that when I'm faced with another in those jobs.

I liked being engaged by people, but MN goodbyes and Southern hellos are not my normal MO.

Damn am I glad I did those sales gigs though. It's helped me SO much when I'm at craft shows hawking my own things.

 

[the captians wench]

I've done "McJobs" and I've done professional jobs. Both are hard in different ways.

A major pro for me with the "McJob" is that you do your hours (or get paid extra if you do more) and that's it. By contrast with the professional jobs I've had, I end up working a lot of unpaid overtime and it also stays with me mentally when I'm not at work (I found that however stressful, hard and frustrating a day I had in the Mc jobs (and I know full well how hard etc it can be - especially with asshole customers to deal with courteously), it was easy to let go of it at the end of the day. With my professional work however, (a) it's very intellectually demanding, so unsolved intellectual problems play on my mind outside of work, and (b) I always have a "to do" list as long as your arm. The work is never-ending and the nature of the work means I can't ever see the end of a day as the end of my work. I deal with a constant backlog of work, which haunts me and robs me of any feeling of "I deserve this weekend/evening off; I did everything I needed to do today".

I stay with the professional jobs cos they pay hugely more and I have mortgage etc commitments. I was however happier and healthier when I had jobs where I would turn up, work very hard for a set number of hours, feel I'd done a good day's work, and go home again.

For the record I am always extremely courteous to all people I come into contact with. To me everyone is a human being and equally deserving of respect.

See I don't have that benifit any longer. My day is no longer over at the end of 8 hours, and if I work an extra 2 or 3 hours I don't get paid any more. Ah the joys of salary.

Infact, if I did a skills based resume (which I am in the process of) it would read a lot more like a 9-5er than a Mcjober. I do invintory taking and trouble shooting with that, accounting and clericle work, customer service and relations, motivation and moral building, team leading, project coordinating.....and so on. But when I went looking for a less physically demanding job, they took one look at the Mc in the headline and dismissed me.

I get the physical and the mental stress and I still get looked on like I'm the fry girl.

 

[the captians wench]

That's a total douchebag. I feel sorry for his daughter.

M would be your dream boy, he chats at the window every time. I'm always like "honey these people are busy, come on."

I used to kind of view waitstaff as wallpaper too, till I started dining out with T. I was a decent tipper and friendly enough, but I saw how much it's to your own advantage to ask the server what's good and what they like and engage them. Everyone's happier and I get to practice my fake-extrovert skills.

Having been a pt I can't imagine not applying this to one's nurses. OMG, I had great nurses and I did my damndest to win them over.

Kinda guy I'd love to bird-dog all day long and point out every little mistake he makes. And I'll bet you good money that he probably doesn't work a job that is particularly hard by a lot of people's thinking either.

I don't mind when they treat me like shit so much anymore. I just don't stand for when they treat my crew that way. If you want to insult me, fine, but don't insult the teenager working beside me. That's just too easy a target.