I went in the other day for my first shift. Right away training began. Skip the tax forms, skip the background check, skip it all! Because we're not paying you! The customers are!
This is a nice place. Clean, expensive, BYOB (which is a whole 'nother thing I won't even get into. I've never heard of bring your own booze to a bar... other than bringing wine for a $15 corkage fee or whatever.) So when I started getting a little more comfortable around the people who were training me, I asked, "So, I'm not from here, but whenever I've started a job, we've had to fill out tax forms and direct deposit slips and all that stuff..." and the girl basically said something to the effect of, "yeah, we're supposed to but we don't."
We don't get an hourly wage. We just make tips. Except trainees don't make tips. They make nothing. And training is 2 weeks.
Fuck. That.
I am not here in the hopes that one day I might be a skilled enough sushi server so I can live on the hopes that my tables are treating me well enough to make a decent living. My next shift isn't until Wednesday, so I am going to go in and ask, "So do I get paid at all for the shift I worked last week?" If they hand me a wad of cash, cool. I can deal with whatever little they pay me just until I find something better. If the answer is "No, you're a trainee," then I'll be heading out the door.
Hopefully I find something before then so I can skip it altogether. Well, I won't do that of course since there is a chance there's money waiting there for me, and I did give them 5 hours of my life, so...
I went to an interview yesterday. It was at this fun, hip restaurant/bar and the way I was dressed was not so fun or hip. I wore a suit. Everyone else applying wore jeans and a polo. My disposition was as stern and serious as always. I was told straight up that they hire people based on their personality.
Fuck. My personality sucks! When I first meet someone that is. And this guy just so happened to be very good looking so that didn't help me at all. I was nervous. Luckily, he was not only attractive, but a very nice guy. At this interview, I was given a homework assignment.
I'm new to Chicago, so there are a whole bunch of places I've never been to. This establishment is one of those places. Since I haven't had the chance to get to know the city that well, this handsome man was kind enough to extend me an offer: Come back in on Friday or Saturday night and get to know the vibe. Chat with the bartenders. Mingle with the people. Then I am to email him after that and tell him if I think I am a good fit for the restaurant.
Umm, duh. I'M PERFECT. I want the job!
So I'll go in tonight by myself, check it out, loosen up, have a merry ole' time, and then I will email the guy and tell him how much fun I had and how I'm going to be a great fit and how this place seems perfect for me, and how perfect I am for the place!
And then I will have my first shift and I will be stiff and nervous and hopefully I'll be able to loosen up a bit before they fire me.
And I feel like you might not want to read this block of text without pictures, so here's my roommate's cat helping himself to my glass of water.
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