Welcome to the cKotch.Com blog. I’m Christopher Kotcher, and this is the job which ruined a summer.
Hopes for a Real Break
I was looking forward to the summer between high school and college.
While I did love playing high school football, early morning summer workouts could get to me sometimes.
Now I could stay up and sleep in. Now I could go on more vacations. My friends’ grad parties were also something to look forward to.
College orientation events would introduce me to my home away from home for the next few years. New friendships were sure to be made there.
Some of these hopes were well-met here and there. Unfortunately, I also wanted to get a summer job.
Earning Extra Money
I searched for a summer job for the typical reasons.
Make some extra money. Put a little toward school. Get some spending money in my wallet.
Thing is, my maternal grandma would be moving in with us, and she needed some help during the day while my parents were at work. I felt I owed it to her to provide that help. After all, she was my parents’ favorite babysitter back in the day.
Any summer job I found would have to be an afternoon or night shift. Nothing else could work with my schedule.
So, I found myself applying to be a bagger at one of the local grocery stores. I clearly stated my availability to be from 3:00 to closing.
My interviewer clapped her hands and said that was exactly what they needed.
I accepted the job, believing we understood each other. The place even had a union. Benefits seemed to be better than most summer jobs.
Then I was told my first shift would be Memorial Day morning. I wondered about this time at first, but management told me it would be a one-time thing. They apparently needed me there during the shift of one of the bagging trainers.
I shrugged my shoulders and gave the store the benefit of the doubt. My parents were off that day anyway. Grandma would have someone with her during this one shift.
Frustrations of a First Day
My former interviewer led me to the bagger who would train me. He put together a couple bags without any explanation. Then he left me on my own.
I blinked.
Working with this guy all day was the whole reason I had to be scheduled against my availability.
I shrugged my shoulders. Bagging could not be that hard. I just needed to follow basic rules from orientation. Meats go in their own bags. Hot items are not to be mixed with cold items.
Thing is, thinking about these things slowed me down.
Normally, this would be fine for a first day. The job will you cut some slack until your duties become second nature to you. You may even get a trainee version of your name tag so customers can cut you slack too.
Not this place.
Management expected me to be perfect from the first second.
Now, I get having high expectations, but they still need to be grounded in reality. This is especially true when the guy meant to help you get practical experience is on the other side of the store.
My other duties that day went even worse.
Cleaning bathrooms was too gross to even detail here. My lunch break kept getting pushed back due to rushes throughout the day.
Bringing carts back into the store was a sweltering nightmare. The store did not even have any straps or equipment to bind carts together. I had to link up as many carts as I could on my own and hope they stuck together.
Of course, management’s expectations were still based on numbers possible only with the missing equipment.
Then came the day’s crowning moment.
One of the managers gave me my schedule for the week. She had me working nothing but mornings. She had scheduled me completely against my availability.
Either my interviewer did not share my information or this other manager did not care.
I told the manager I could not work these shifts. She thought I was just being some lazy kid who wanted to sleep in.
I actually had to explain, publicly, in the checkout lanes, my home situation helping with my grandma.
Finally, she sighed and made a schedule I could actually work.
I went home bitter that day. I was ready to quit and find another summer job. There was plenty of time to find something else.
Then I calmed down. I told myself getting another job was not guaranteed. I thought I could just bear this out for three months. Things had to improve after such an awful first day.
Draining Job
Things did not improve.
I did all I could to pack bags quicker and bring in more carts. It was never good enough.
Any time I was given a new task I was expected to instantly know how to do it without any guidance.
Scheduling kept getting tossed between managers. None of them ever scheduled me according to my availability. I had to call them or have a meeting every single time.
You can imagine my annoyance when management put up a “Help Wanted” sign asking for someone willing to work afternoons and closing.
The union took a cut of my minimum-wage paycheck even without any union benefits taking effect for 90 days.
My friends’ grad parties really were the main consolation that summer. They featured everything from photo booths to pool basketball tournaments.
Of course, trouble soon arrived on this front as well.
The store kept calling me to come in on my scheduled days off for grad parties.
I refused. These parties were my last chance to see many high school friends for a long time. I would not miss those moments for my summer job’s sake.
Anytime I had something to do, I began to worry I would get a work call. I worried one day they would actually be convincing enough to keep me from something I loved.
Eventually my hours started increasing.
My parents saw this a sign my summer job valued my work effort. I would have preferred more hours at home.
Increased hours made me feel I was not doing all I could to help at home.
I wanted to spend time with family before college started. Hard to do that when you arrange your schedule for when everyone else is off.
Finally, I got my biggest week just before the end of July. Nearly a full 40-hour work week actually. I would just have to grin and bear it.
First day of that big week I got called to the second-floor offices.
It had been about 90 days. I was expecting my employee discount and union benefits.
Instead, I was let go.
Management tried to explain this was something to do with hiring more people than needed and seeing who works well.
Management assumed my silence meant I was devastated. Really, I was free.
Finding Something Better
The grocery store never valued me. I was glad to be gone. I was glad to be able to focus on helping at home and preparing for college.
Throughout college, I would have no other job beside helping Grandma, and I was fine with that.
After college, I found my way back to my old high school St. Mary’s. I worked in the dorms, and I subbed in the classrooms. I became a part of the school’s community.
This place appreciates me. Administration makes me want to work hard for them, and they actually reward that effort. I am honored they have made me a full teacher for this coming school year.
Honestly, if I ever make it big as a writer, St. Mary’s is the only job I could imagine keeping. I love the place. I love being a part of giving the current crop of students the experience I so fondly remember.
Kotcher’s Call to Action
A poem on this summer experience has been added to the cKotch.Com portfolio. Please enjoy “Memory of a First Job.”
And don’t forget, my new poetry collection Good Stuff: 50 Poems from Youth will be releasing soon. Be sure to pay attention to both this site and my Facebook page for when I announce its release.
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