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Tzippy
Oh, there were dumb rules, all right. Some I understood, as far as cleanliness and such, the Health Department is picky that way, thank goodness, but the management's rules sometimes 'take the cake'....er....so to speak.
posted by
Darson
on January 19, 2010 at 6:41 AM
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this story reminds me of a friend of mine that
worked at vons in the bakery, Every time I talked to him he had stories that would make me so mad. Same stupid rules that they come up with.
This is written in a very witty and cute style.
posted by
Tzippy
on January 19, 2010 at 6:39 AM
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abanerjee
Those were some interesting years, working for that chain. You should have seen all the eye-rolling that went on behind the scenes by the employees. Some of the things we were required to do absolutely defied logic. And, it would have been very humorous back then, too, had we not been right in the thick of it.
posted by
Darson
on January 18, 2010 at 8:43 AM
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Elyse!
Being in the thick of middle age, those words are lovely! I've done so much, because I have A.D.D. when it comes to deciding what I want to be 'when I grow up!' Everything from electrical contracting to daycare. Even I can't believe that...and, it makes me tired just thinking about it all! Creative I am, though...I'll own that...My sister Lauren always said she knew I'd be in the arts somehow...when I asked why, she said, "Because you've always been such a drama queen!".....Funny.
posted by
Darson
on January 17, 2010 at 6:40 PM
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Darson
Like Elyse said, you're the epitome of creativity and ambition. Along with that you stood up to the Big Wigs to make them look stupider than one looked in the dress they insisted be worn by you all at the bakery. The icing on the cake was when you tagged yourself to be Robber t(a) to a fazed customer. Hey, isn't that creative
? Like always, an excellent narrative, account of your real-life experiences.
posted by
anib
on January 16, 2010 at 10:18 PM
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LOL ~ I wish I knew you when I was younger ~ I certainly think you put spit in the fire at times. LOL...you are tooooo grandly 'right on'. Oh Darson, I can't imagine having to wear that garb - and I'm never short of amazed for all you have done in life. You're the epitome of creativity and ambition. Elyse
posted by
elysianfields
on January 16, 2010 at 9:44 PM
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WileyJohn
I used to tell the girls that scrubbing the walls gave people great abs...you should've seen them go! It was cute. We did have a lot of fun, but wow did we ever work really, really hard. It was crazy. We cleaned hundreds of units in the course of the two plus years I owned that business. We all got sort of dizzy on the fumes some days...because the best stuff to clean with was the deadliest stuff....
posted by
Darson
on January 16, 2010 at 9:28 PM
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Darson
You are wonderfully creative and would be a joy to work for, your experiences have given you love and compassion for your employees. I worked for myself for about 30 years but only had an employee once and while, mostly I worked alone. Nice post luv
posted by
WileyJohn
on January 16, 2010 at 8:53 PM
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TAPS
Yeah...it's like they can smell the fear and then they love to make those types jump through hoops for them, for their egos. I was not among that group. I got enough of being a subordinate growing up, and by adulthood had had my fill, I suppose! I could smell an egotist a mile away by the time I got out into the work force. Thank you, TAPS!!!
posted by
Darson
on January 16, 2010 at 11:59 AM
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Justi
...I'm good on my feet when I'm hormonal! It makes me fiestier. (Lucky husband #2 didn't have to live through those years with me!) I tried hard to be a really fair employer...I tended to go a little easier on my employees than I should have at times; they were cleaning rental units for crying out loud...they didn't need a boss riding on a broomstick to boot! We had a lot of fun, actually. We did a lot of venting as we were scrubbing. And we all got buff arms. Good times!
posted by
Darson
on January 16, 2010 at 11:57 AM
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I'm glad you didn't need that job desperately. That's the kind they do not fire--the ones who can stand up for themselves because they are not filled with dread/fear of being fired.
Such a good read.
posted by
TAPS.
on January 16, 2010 at 8:45 AM
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Darson
Girl, you are good on your feet and pregnant at that. I thought this was a great one. You are a good employer I am sure. When you have been in the trenches, made sane decisions and you hire others to do the same you treat them as you have wanted to be treated. Be blessed.
posted by
Justi
on January 16, 2010 at 7:43 AM
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Pat B
Sooo the reason I've chosen to be self employed for the past....eight years? I'm not great at being an employee...I've had one too many bosses that were like Michael Scott on 'The Office'...! Congratulations on being far removed from that muck. I've never enjoyed the politics of the workplace.
posted by
Darson
on January 16, 2010 at 7:02 AM
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Reading this reminds me of the bureaucratic games that went on
back at the college. And confirms my joy at being retired!
posted by
Pat_B
on January 16, 2010 at 6:52 AM
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Nautikos
I was telling my daughter about this episode today....and when I was telling her, I just kept shaking my head, amazed that I never once got fired, or even reprimanded. It was complete and total defiance, to be sure. By all rights, they could have canned me.
posted by
Darson
on January 15, 2010 at 7:43 PM
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Darson
I absolutely love it! I would have told them (roughly) the same thing, except for the pregnant bit, which I don't think I would have been able to bring off, quite...Which is why they would have fired me, probably...
posted by
Nautikos
on January 15, 2010 at 7:37 PM
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adnohr
We must remember that I was rather hormonal at the time....I'm not always such a....a....character!
But thank you for the high-five. I will accept it!
posted by
Darson
on January 15, 2010 at 7:35 PM
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Lmao! Alright! Great, hilarious post. I can just picture you, standing there with the belly stuck out, giving those self-righteous dudes 'what-for'!! High-five to ya!
posted by
adnohr
on January 15, 2010 at 7:31 PM
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FSI
Welllll....I handled it, all right....they ran away!
posted by
Darson
on January 15, 2010 at 5:32 PM
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People like that can eliminate any little shred of joy a person has in working at a place. Very tough it is to be able to handle that sort of bureaucracy.
posted by
FormerStudentIntern
on January 15, 2010 at 5:11 PM
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LLM
...That's funny! Even the fact that you'd all come up with that shows your great humor. I bet you've had some laughs thinking about what you'd do if you got on there...! I love it!
posted by
Darson
on January 15, 2010 at 4:47 PM
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Oui, Merci, Darson! I LOOOOVE French bread. drenched in melted butter of course! Those paper chefs hats are ridiculous, and I certainly wouldn't have worn it!
I thought about taking a cake decorating class once, when our local Wal-Mart first opened. With the way my hands shake though, it would have looked more like a little kid had decorated it...and the table...and the walls...Hey, wait a minute...THAT WOULD HAVE BEEN FUN!
Becky and Roommie and I all once decided that we should audition with Gordon Ramsey to see if he'd let us have a run on HELL'S KITCHEN. Haha! Can you even picture how this would go? Three spastic gimps running round like chickens with their heads cut off while he yells and screams and swears at us!
If we didn't end up crying at his insults, he'd be in for some serious bitch slapping! (Between the three of us, there's enough hot temper-French, German, Irish, and Indian, to be exact-to cause SERIOUS INJURY to the man's luggage, if you catch my meaning...)
I tell you, if he were ever dumb enough to let us try out, HELL'S KITCHEN would meet the pearly gates! Can you say fire brigade?
I knew you could!
posted by
lovelyladymonk
on January 15, 2010 at 3:57 PM
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Kabu
Wow, I just thought of being pregnant as what added to my discomfort...didn't think about playing the pregnant card...yeah, I'm sure they felt guilt....wow, that's even better! Love it! The schmucks! Putting pregnant women in french bread hats...the nerve!!!
posted by
Darson
on January 15, 2010 at 1:24 PM
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How could you
here I sit ON MY DIET AND YOU WRITE ABOUT CAKES AND DONUTS AND HOT FRENCH BREAD AND ALL THAT STUFF.
Seriously love I do admire you standing up foryourself like that and you really had them ....I mean you just can't telloff an eight month pregnant little girl. Especially a tiny little thing.
posted by
Kabu
on January 15, 2010 at 12:23 PM
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