Carrie from California Pizza Kitchen, This is for You

One of the things I hate doing the most is tipping. Not cow tipping, but money tipping. (STOP glaring at me, I do not tip cows) Not only do you have to pay (sometimes) a ridiculous amount of money for your food, but you also have to give an extra 15% to the person who served it to you. (BTW who sets the percentages and keeps raising them because I want to slap that person) I think this is a ridiculous concept! Let me remind you, servers already GET A PAYCHECK. They get a standard rate for their services. When you tip, you are giving extra money to them that you technically don’t have to!

Please stop your whining. I know someone reading this right now is saying “But they have to constantly get your drink and bring out your food.” While this is true, let’s inspect some other jobs. People in retail stores (Macy’s, FYE, Ruehl, Target) have to deal with customers all day. They look for the products that customers want, they have to ring it up, desensitize it and package it up for you. They need to clean up the store and deal with a wide variety of customers, some nice, some mean and sometimes weird/creepy/perverted ones. But do you tip them? NO. I bet your reasoning is, “But that’s their job.” Well, EXACTLY! It’s a server’s job to serve; it’s in their freaking NAME.

This leads me to my point. In the past couple of months, I have been changing my perspective. I’ve been tipping properly and complaining about it less. I started to feel bad that perhaps my server was taking care of 5 tables with an average of 4 people in it, but Carrie from CPK has reverted me back to not wanting to tip at all. Everything with my meal was going well, until the check came. I paid in cash and was expecting my change, but she never came back to the table. I sat there thinking, “Maybe she’s very busy.” Nope. She stared at out table and was probably thinking, “Why aren’t they leaving?” I wasn’t leaving because I wanted my change!

In case she’s forgotten, the general rule is, unless the customer specifies, “keep the change,” COME BACK WITH THE CHANGE. I know the money left was almost equal to the proper tip, (it was actually higher by $2, which means I over tipped, which means I’m pissed), but it’s good manners to come back with a person’s money. Here’s a real tip for you Carrie, don’t take liberties with a customer’s money, give it back and allow them to tip you.

(btw I know you’re thinking $2 isn’t a lot, but it’s the principle of the thing!)

[Such a George Costanza moment.]

If I could tip like Dick from 3rd Rock, I wouldn’t have a problem with the whole concept.

The Dreaded Two-Weeks

So you’ve got a job! You work the job for a month and realize that it’s not quite what you intended. Let’s just say, there’s a reason that job was still open. (Not to belittle your own accomplishments and qualifications.) Fearing that you might be trapped at this dead end, life-sucking job for all eternity, you decide to chuck it. I QUIT!

It’s not that easy. I recently gave my two weeks notice to my job. I am a department head in a large forensic lab, or at least I will be until this Friday. Quitting was the hardest part of my job so far. This isn’t saying goodbye to the Dairy Queen. This is quitting a full time, salary paying job, where you have to have a formally written letter and exit interviews.

Life-After-College Lesson: Upper management makes or breaks a company. While they promise their support, they always let their own authority supercede. In my case, everyone was encouraged to take their orders from HR and our company bosses rather than their direct boss, me. With no stable authority and new responsibilities being shoved off on just me, I knew that it was the end. With authority and responsibility comes obligation– obligation to stick with a job that’s providing your income and screwing you over at the same time.

You’ve got to cut the cord, folks. I don’t care how much money you are making or how great of people you work with. You’ll never go far with a company that doesn’t take care of it’s employees. If you think they don’t take care of you now, wait until you ask for a recommendation. You’ll never get anything out of this kind of job, not money, not experience, and definitely not respect.

Loyalty is really important in the working field. Having a company train you and teach you, only to loose you to a higher paying position is a risk that good companies don’t always take. A company that takes care of it’s employees even when they are interns or entry-level will be the kind of company that is still taking care of their employees 10 years down the line. Saying goodbye is harder the deeper you get into the company and the more time they’ve invested in you, the more they’ll want in return.

I’m lucky to have learn this first-hand so quickly. I hope for everyone else that this step is avoided. Choose wisely and don’t be afraid to make a clean break when the company’s true colors have been revealed.

Racial Profiling’s got nothing on this.

As a recent college grad on the hunt for the ever elusive perfect job (the one that will break the ‘you need experience to gain experience’ cycle), I’ve had my fair share of interviews. None holds a candle to the one that got me the job I’m working right now.

I would never (and probably in contract legally am not allowed to) say anything negative about my bosses or the company. They really are some of the nicest and most intelligent, yet well rounded people I’ve met. That said:

While trying to feel out whether I would be a permanent resident of the area, as opposed to a flake who picks up and moves a month after getting a job, my soon-to-be-boss caught on the fact that where I live currently is home, mommy and daddy home. The tone of the interview took a immediate turn and the boss began describing the type of person who deserves a job. Essentially, he meant someone who doesn’t mooch off of mommy and daddy. . . he decided to be more politically correct with an analogy of ‘rubber hitting the road.’ At that point, I’m sure he was ready to say goodbye and deposit my resume in his trashcan that is a ’special filing bin.’

Stereotype #1:
People who live with their parents are couch potatoes. WRONG (mostly).

First off, I moved home just over six months ago after having living independently since the age of 16. Second off, someone who is looking for a job is most likely short on money. Home = free rent. It’s only sensible to save money when you can, so you can take a chance at that horrible-pay/entry-level job which will give you the experience for something better. Who is this guy to make the assumption that I don’t deserve his job because I live with my parents?

I made it abundantly clear that the ‘rubber has hit the road.’

After knocking the wind of out me with one stereotype, he kept the punches coming with, yet another shocker. Seeing that my bachelors degree was in physics, he hit me with his best shot:

‘So are you social? Do you make friends and communicate with others?’
‘Excuse me?’
‘Well, do you find it hard to talk to other people, carry on coversations, interact with people?’

Stereotype #2:
People who hold physics degrees do not hold social skills. WRONG (mostly).

While I can’t chastise the guy for questioning this stereotype, I can point out the gall he has to actually ask it out loud. Well, you’ve been talking to me for the past thirty minutes, what you do think? Is this question necessary? Is it respectful? Is is smart? Come on. Give me a break. Sure, some smart and science-brained people tend to keep to themselves and get lost in their work. But here I am, a professional, personable, and quite funny person who you’ve been talking to for half an hour. It’s insulting.

First, I’m a dead beat and now I’m a socially inept dead beat. Employers everywhere, I’m an ideal candidate for your company.

If all interviews were this peachy, I’d never get a job. Come to think of it, this catastrophe was the only decent job offer I received. Maybe all of my interviewers should viciously profile me.