To Jean, my boss: OK. You were wrong. Little Mat and I weren’t “chatting” when you came to the front counter. Believe it or not, we were discussing customer service. (A gentleman had ordered “a cone” and I initially gave him just the cone; some people do order that, and Little Mat and I were discussing how I had apologized and explained this to him in order to clarify that I wasn’t being sarcastic.) Yes, I realize it’s startling to realize that your teenage employees put thought into how to be polite and efficient to your customers. So I understand your mistake.
However, I take very strong exception to you talking over me when I was explaining the situation to you, and informing me that I was lying. I might not be the perfect employee, but I do not make up stories to get out of correction.
On what basis do you dare question my honesty? Have I ever, ever in the two months I’ve been working for you attempted to weasel out of an upbraidal? Have I ever been anything but decent and respectful to you? Just where do you get off?
To Little Mat: I understand you when you say it doesn’t make sense to get worked up about it. But my boss, who controls whether I eat next month, has convinced himself that I’m a dishonest weasel. He’s also insulted my honour in front of customers and other employees, and that’s the sort of thing people used to fight duels over. So we’ll compromise, and I’ll just post a pit thread about it.
Leave matt alone. Don’t you realize he’s the best employee you have. Let’s not try to have a little fun here. Let’s make an ice-cream stand atmosphere as serious as a fucking heart attack.
Really, it wouldn’t have been galling to be upbraided for chatting. What really bothered me is that we weren’t chatting, but talking in the context of our jobs, and he thought I was lying when I told him this. That’s what made me mad.
I guess I just don’t get it matt_mcl. You are highly intelligent and erudite and can apparently design a nice web site and you put with an oppressive work environment for the privilege of selling ice cream? Are good jobs for intelligent people that scarce in your neck of the north woods?
Get a better paying job as a web monkey somewhere and tell her goodbye.
Sorry, but weren’t you previously campaigning for political office? I would have thought that that automatically cast a permanent shadow over your honesty…
