A few years ago, I got a summer job at a landscaping business. Landmark Lawn Care - I see no reason not to use real names here. It was owned by a Latvian guy and his brother, who I found to be both quite inscrutable and awkward to talk to. The very first day, they trained me to use one of those huge, ride-behind motorized mowers controlled by two levers - I fucked up at first, but after a few hours, I got the hang of it and was able to do a large lawn in nice straight rows. I thought, this isn’t too bad. The next day we went to a very upscale neighborhood to do weed trimming with weedwhackers. This time, I fucked up big-time, not only butchering the lawn but butchering the wrong lawn (I let myself get distracted staring at the mint-condition 70s Mercedes coupe in the driveway.) The head guy had to step in and fix all the mistakes I made, obviously pissed. The next day, in the middle of the day, he said, “you can go home early today, we only need a few guys for this job. Imi will give you a ride back.”
So Imi (his brother) gave me a ride back in the truck. On the way, he said, “Hey look. I don’t think this job is going to work for you. You are a good guy and everything, but we need someone who is going to hit the ground running without needing to be trained. So we will have to lay you off. But since we don’t want to screw you over, I know of another job that you can do. They are always hiring at Chapmans (a very fancy restaurant) for waiters and catering people. The job is easy and it pays very well. I bet you would like it a lot. I used to work there and I know the manager. Go there, ask for Chet Cherry, and tell him that Imi Vitols sent you.”
I thought, hey, that sounds way better than this job. Alright, I’ll go do that. So the next day I went to Chapmans, dressed in a nice outfit, and asked for Chet Cherry. They said he would be a minute, even though the restaurant was completely empty. I waited there for like 20 minutes. Eventually the guy came out, and gruffly asked me what I wanted. I told him I was interested in the job there. "Imi Vitols told me to talk to you.
…pause…
“Imi Vitols?”
“Yeah, Imi Vitols. He said he worked here.”
…pause… “Hmmmmm…uhhh…hmmmmmmm…let me think…”
Uh-oh.
“Hmmm…well, I’m not sure I know who you mean. But anyway, you can pick up an application at the front desk.”
I didn’t even bother. What the fuck? The guy made it seem like he knew this manager really well and that just mentioning his bizarre Latvian name would open the golden shining door of this high-class joint. But he didn’t even know who the fuck I was talking about!
It was a totally embarrassing and frustrating experience. Has anyone else had this happen to them?