Now Hiring (Amelia, Quintin, and Joey)

Good morning!  I hope you are ready for a new mini series.  This one is a lot of fun to write because I got to be really creative and create a lot of different characters.  I also wrote this one a little different because this is from a first person perspective, not third person like I normally write.

This is categorized as Adventure.  Enjoy!

Now Hiring

Seasonal work for Portside Doggie Daycare.  Starting at $10 an hour, part and full time positions available.  Must be able to work as a team and work well with other people and pets.  Feel free to come in and inquire about a job. We would love for you to join our team!

Amelia

I remember walking out of my office to see this girl sitting on the couch.  She was dressed to the nines; stunningly nice blazer, red button up top, perfectly pressed pants, and killer black heels.  Like, I was jealous of her shoes. Anyway, I walked up to her and held out my hand to shake hers. “Good morning. I’m Tammy.”

She barely looked up from her phone and stood up.  She reached out her hand as well. “Amelia.”

“Amelia it’s nice to meet you.  Let’s step into the office and we can get this interview started.”  I motioned toward the owner’s small office and opened the door to let her in.  I sat behind the desk and she took a seat opposite me. I set down her application and resume and looked up at her.  She was busy texting on her phone. I cleared my throat, “Okay, so tell me about yourself.”

She briefly set down her phone.  “Uh…well…I am going to school and I have two dogs of my own and I have an amazing boyfriend who I’m going to marry one day, even though he cheated on me but that doesn’t matter.  I still love him.” She giggled and picked up her phone again.

I sighed, this was not going to be an easy interview.  “So, what do you think you can bring to the team?”

Amelia set down her phone again, actually looking at me.  “Well…I can be the fashion designer. I mean…that is what I’m going to school for.  And it’s what I am going to do as a job once I finally move to New York. But that’s why I need this job.  I need some money to help me move!”

I wanted to smack myself in the forehead.  Why did I put myself in this position? “Unfortunately everyone has to wear a uniform so…uh…that role won’t be necessary.”

She seemed shocked.  “Oh…okay…then what roles are there?”

The interview continued like this.  Me asking her questions and her texting her friends and only looking at me when she answered a question.  Once I finally got through all the questions, I was slightly relieved. It was going to be over. “Okay…well thank you for your time.  We will be getting back to you by the end of the week about if you got the job.”

Amelia squealed.  “Thank you! I really appreciate it!  I won’t let you down I promise.” She actually put her phone down in excitement.

I shook my head.  “No, you haven’t gotten the job just yet.  We will let you know by Friday.”

“Oh…okay…well…thank you I guess.”  She got up and walked out of the office and out the front door.  

I watched her walk out the front door and unlock her jet black Mercedes.  I shook my head, again. Yeah…she really needed the job.

Quintin

Now, I’ve seen some weird things in the 20 years of being a manager at this doggie daycare, but I always seem to be surprised.  I had an interview at 2 pm. I usually ask people if they prefer one time over another, but this interview had to be at 2 because I had a million other things to do and 2 seemed to be the only time I could actually fit in an interview.

So I gather my things and walk out into the lobby to see a man in his pajamas sitting in the lobby.  I cock an eyebrow at one of my front desk girls who rolled her eyes and nodded at me like, yes that’s the guy.  I walk toward him and take in his Spongebob pajama pants, a black tee shirt, a rather large winter parka coat for it being April and there being no snow, and large clunky brown Timberland boots.  It was a strange outfit to say the least.

I reached out my hand to shake his.  “Good morning. I’m Tammy.”

The boy almost out of his skin, I honestly thought I woke him up.  He quickly stood up and shook my hand. “I’m Quintin. I’m so sorry, I think I dozed off.”

“It’s alright.  Let’s go ahead and get this interview started.”  I motioned toward the office and he followed me to get the interview started.

Now he was an odd one.  Besides what he was wearing, he just was a little off.  None of his answers made sense and he somehow managed to avoid actually answering anything.  Though…I did manage to figure out why he was dressed in pajamas. Apparently he had just rolled out of bed.  Literally rolled out of bed and rushed to the interview.

I closed my folder.  “Well, thank you for your time.  We will be contacting you later this week about if you got the job or not.  Have a good day.”

Quintin stood up and quickly exited the office.  He rushed outside to his car and sped out of the parking lot.  I sat in the office and watched him drive away, knowing I was never going to see him again.

Joey

Now, there are people who really prepare for an interview and there are others who just don’t care.  This boy was very prepared. He knew exactly what to say when it came to the interview. Every question I had for him, he was able to answer perfectly and with such ease it felt like he had worked with the company for years.

I hired him on the spot.

I was telling my kennel staff leaders about him and about how he was perfect.  He must’ve worked at other pet places but didn’t want to talk about them. Joey was exactly the person that the company needed.

But boy was I wrong.

I had all of my staff members complaining about how absolutely terrible Joey was.  He didn’t listen to instruction, barely followed rules, kept disappearing on my staff members, and was not comfortable handling the dogs.  Like, this was his job. He was supposed to help handle dogs. I told my staff leaders to just relax and maybe he would improve in a week’s time.

But I was wrong again.

I have never heard so much complaining about one staff member in my entire career being manager.  This boy most definitely talked the talk, but did not walk the walk. He seemed to be getting progressively worse in the week that he was hired.

So I called Joey into my office and sat him down.  He looked like he hadn’t slept in days. I cleared my throat.  “Joey. I need you to be honest with me. I have had people complaining about your work ethic all week.  Now, I know you just started, but it is very unacceptable. So I want to hear your side and see what’s going on.”

Joey leaned back in his chair and threw his arms in the air.  “I don’t know man. These people just don’t understand how I work.  I just need to stand back and watch for a while before I feel comfortable doing, you know what I mean?  Like, it’s hard for me to just jump into something new if I don’t know much about it. You catch my drift?”

I nodded.  “I do, but unfortunately that is not how it works here.  Everything is very fast paced and go go go. But you have been holding the team behind.  I either need you to step up and help the team or…” I looked him in the eye. I wanted him to know I was serious.  “Or I will have to take disciplinary action. And I hate to do that to you when I just brought you on the team. But if you don’t step up I will have to do so.  Do you understand?”

Joey scoffed.  “You told me in the interview I was perfect for the team and now you’re telling me I’m struggling to be a part of it and I could be fired?  That is not what you said in the interview.” He seemed genuinely upset that I was not willing to let him get away with what he was doing.

I didn’t really know what way to approach this.  I didn’t want to just fire him because he wasn’t doing well for his first week.  But, I also didn’t want to let him keep getting away with slacking off and my team hating him.  I took a deep breath. “Well…I don’t really know what to say except that I need you to step up and try to work better with the team.  But I will be talking more with my team to make sure you aren’t falling behind. Okay?

He immediately stood up and took his shirt off and handed it back to me.  “Keep this. If you can’t work with me, then I can’t work for you. I quit.”  And with that he walked out the door. I had to take a few minutes to comprehend what just happened.  Thankfully I didn’t have to fire him.