I was recently hired on after a 4 month contract-to-hire at the coolest place I’ve ever worked. Hooray!!! I’m sure one day I’ll move along, but until then I’m remembering the steps along the way, and the things I’ve learned.
My first job was at a call center, telling old folks why I interrupted their dinner (around 4pm) to talk to them about long distance. They were always so happy to talk to me. I’d call them sir or madam. They’d call me dickhead or asshole… God, old people are sweet.
What I Learned: Some old people really are paying way too much for long distance because the rates weren’t competitive back when they signed up. Oh, and they don’t give a fuck.
I switched to a job working for a friend’s mom, but when I decided to start fudging my hours, that was short lived.
What I Learned: If you’re going to say you were at work, maybe going out to eat during those hours where your coworkers may be is a bad idea. Consider picking up Taco Bell.
Wendy’s hired me to be the back room bitch. Peel onions, take out the trash, mop the floors and wash the dishes.
What I Learned: The chili is made from yesterday’s hamburger patties that didn’t sell (they are stored in a drawer throughout the day) and the “frostys” aren’t made of ice cream, but some weird liquid in a bag.
In a fairly small town, the big news was the new Super Wal-Mart. I started in layaway, which was a sweet gig. We would hide out in the storage, occasionally do weird crap like try out pepper spray as a floor cleaner or race the scissorlift. Strictly professional, of course. Before I got fed up and quit, they made me a cashier.
What I Learned: When you delete stuff from your layaway, the staff rarely bothers to remove it from your box, so you still get it without paying for it. Within a limited range, the cashiers can just okay a price difference. Some are just bitchy. You can make your own coupons by scanning the barcodes from real coupons and photoshopping your own.
For a short time, I delivered pizzas. In a nutshell, I learned that you can make some pretty decent money, but you might get held up for it later that night (not me, but it happened a lot).
When I first moved to Indianapolis, I went to work for Great Expections cold calling people and making them feel like losers for being alone. I didn’t stick around long…
What I Learned: Places like this make you bring a credit card as proof of ID, then run it to see how much you can spend on it and charge you accordingly.
I’m sure there are plenty more bits of knowledge to pass on, but I’ll save that for another day.
What have you learned from a previous job?
Oh, sick. Remind me never to eat Wendy’s chili again.
Suburban Sweetheart´s last blog ..10 Rules for Blizzard Living
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February 8th, 2010
I worked at Abercrombie and Fitch for two shifts. I had to wear there clothes. I learned that their skirts are too short to be anything other than a belt on my tall ass. Also, they can’t tell the difference between their clothes and those of Sir Eddie Bauer. Douches.
After many years in a record store, I learned that some people consider Shabba Ranks “classic reggae.” Also douches.
Elly Lou´s last blog ..Search Optimization-ish
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February 8th, 2010
liquid in a bag? that just ruined my month.
i haven’t learned dick from any of my jobs, but i could go on for days about the wisdom i’ve obtained from dates….
gingermandy´s last blog ..Memoir Monday: My lighter days.
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February 8th, 2010
@Suburban Sweetheart – done. Furthermore, the chili is made with canned beans, and we were told you MUST drain the cans or it can make you sick. Guess how often that happened…
@Elly Lou – oh I’m so sorry to hear… did you ever get the smell of that store out of your hair? Your belt line was great!
@GingerMandy – I can say that both jobs and dates can lead to sex, if that helps.
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February 8th, 2010
Don’t ever believe your boss when he says he sanitizes the pole (he doesn’t)
Miss Spoken´s last blog ..Roll It Like a B-Side: The Interviews
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February 8th, 2010
I worked for Cottage Inn Pizza taking orders and making pizza in high school and college. I learned that although food service is the most thankless job you can ever have, the people you meet are awesome. It was the most fun I have ever had at work.
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February 9th, 2010
Oh man, I have had so many jobs… the one thing that made them all tolerable? The people.
mepsipax´s last blog ..Panic at the deli
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February 9th, 2010
not the customers…they sucked
mepsipax´s last blog ..Panic at the deli
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February 9th, 2010
Great blog – this one really got me thinking. At the end of a long list came: What did I learn from working in local government? That everyone’s too busy covering their backs and following (or writing) the rules to ever, ever, do something just because it would make the world a better place. What have I learned from writing? That you don’t always measure what you’ve learned, what you know and how you feel about it all until you put it into words.
Hmmm… (strokes imaginery beard)
BrokenBiro´s last blog ..Where do you get ideas from?
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February 10th, 2010
@Miss Spoken – I KNEW IT! What a bastard. I’m going to quit this place as soon as I get cured off the Wild Turkey.
@Kater – I did meet a lot of interesting people delivering pizza. Some of them were mostly nekkid, or trying to sell me weed, or having sex with the windows open when I arrived with pizza. Actually, those people didn’t answer the door… I just saw cheeks.
@Mepsipax – Customers suck in almost all occasions. People, in general, suck in most.
@BrokenBiro – Indeed, indeed. (lights imaginary pipe)
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February 11th, 2010