8 replies to this topic

[Glitcher]

God, I have the worst possible luck when it comes to finding work. I've been unemployed for over four years due to a string of mishaps and bad arrangements. Either I'm in Belgium and I don't speak Dutch, or I'm in Ireland and there's no work in the countryside. But anyway, I moved to London to fund work and I finally managed to snag a job at an upmarket restaurant. I was hired by a recruitment agency and was told I'd start off on a trial period before becoming permanent. The first day on Saturday went fine. Everything rolled smoothly and I picked things up quickly, always appearing proactive and polite. Sunday started pretty much the same, but about halfway through I had one of my trademark unfortunate mishaps. The counter was out of scones, so I decided to get some more from the patisserie in the kitchen. Because the plate was burning hot from being under a heating lamp all day and I had no oven gloves, I soaked a cloth in cold water and used that to pick up the plate. On the return trip, the plate was so hot that it ended up burning my hand through the cloth. Since I was in a corridor and there was no table nearby, I had no choice but to put the plate down on the floor if I didn't want to injure myself. And would you believe that both of my bosses were standing right in front of me when it happened!

I apologised profusely for the accident and they told me to ask around for oven gloves to dispose of the couple of scones that had fallen off the plate in the process. Back at the counter, this asshole colleague refused to tell me where the oven gloves were and insisted that I ask the chef to bring out the scones. Even though I didn't want to get more people involved in this, I told him about the plate and he said he'd bring it out himself. Because he didn't know which scones had fallen off, he ended up serving the whole batch to the customers.

Today, when I spoke with the recruitment agency, they said I wasn't going to be working there any more because I was rude (What?! Where did they get that from?) and I had served dirty scones to customers. Furious, I called up the manager to explain that I never served those scones. True I admit I was forced to put the plate down and I tried to clean up that mistake, but it was the asshole colleague who wouldn't tell me where the oven gloves were and served the scones himself. Naturally, the guy would never admit to serving those scones if only to cover his ass, and the manager was obtuse beyond belief over the situation. "Sorry, I can't help you any more" was his catchphrase. So thanks to that stupid accident, a shithead colleague and a narrowminded git of a manager, I'm back looking for work after thinking I've found relief for two days. I hate my life.

[Inhibitor]

Wow....that really sucks man. I had to admit though, I was loling at the part when you said both of your bosses saw you put the plate down. Ah well, don't let this whole fiasco get you down. As one door closes, another opens. I'm sure you'll find a occupation you'll really enjoy.

[Glitcher]

I was loling at the part when you said both of your bosses saw you put the plate down.

I swear, I have the worst luck when it comes to these things. In my last food service job in Switzerland, my shirt was slipping out of my trousers and I needed to adjust them in private. So I went into the parking lot out back and unbuckled my belt to tuck my shirt back in. And just then, my boss walks out and sees me with my pants down next to a black BMW. Her black BMW. Needless to say, I didn't last there long.

[Inhibitor]

Holy crap man...THAT is ridiculous. You don't have any black cats at home, do you? I can't believe stuff like that happens to you so much.


Speaking of cats, how about a random lolcat?

ohhh aren't they just adorable? :3 In all, serious..ness I have to say that had to be uber embarrassing. How did things go after that? I'm sure you could have explained.

[chief]

That really does suck. But here is a tip for future reference. A wet cloth transfers heat faster then a dry cloth. If the cloth were dry you wouldn't have had a issue. Chef's tip #1. Even a cloth napkin, few paper towels, etc etc will keep the heat out more then enough. Especially if it was just under a heat lamp. Wetting them down is by far the worst thing you can do, actually ends up being worse then if you were to just grab it with your bare hands if you held it long enough.

[Vlad Yvhv]

Next time, try cursing at the plate and dropping it on the floor? Taking the time to set it on the floor seems a bit like a "if you had time to sit it down, you had time to sit it somewhere else" situation...

[furrykef]

I think it was an "Oh crap I gotta do something and I don't have time to think about what" situation.

[Glitcher]

Next time, try cursing at the plate and dropping it on the floor? Taking the time to set it on the floor seems a bit like a "if you had time to sit it down, you had time to sit it somewhere else" situation...

So instead of putting the plate down and dropping two scones, I end up breaking the plate and dropping all the scones. I can't say that will win me the employee of the month award.

[Vlad Yvhv]

Next time, try cursing at the plate and dropping it on the floor? Taking the time to set it on the floor seems a bit like a "if you had time to sit it down, you had time to sit it somewhere else" situation...

So instead of putting the plate down and dropping two scones, I end up breaking the plate and dropping all the scones. I can't say that will win me the employee of the month award.

Perhaps not, but it certainly conveys the "This damned thing burned my hands!" a lot more than sitting the plate down.