A buddy of mine got in touch with me two weeks ago and asked me if I'd mind being on call to translate by phone for one of his shops, since he was having a personnel problem and wasn't going to have anyone who spoke Spanish there for a few days. He does tag/registration/title/notary services and low-cost auto insurance in some pretty rough areas. The atmosphere is generally, um, lively, let's say. Lots of noise and red and blue lights in the neighborhoods, right?
Well, a temporary sit-down for one of his managers turned into at least a week's vacation to give this guy the opportunity for reflection, and my friend asked me if I'd fill the breech in the meantime. It's a cash-heavy business floating in the middle of shark-infested waters, and he can't afford not to have eyes and ears in the place while he's busy elsewhere in other locations. I've got better ways to use my time, like taking on better-paying translation work, or getting sequential root canals, but he was in a fix, and he's a friend.
So, I'm going into day six there, and I'm just about ready to lose it. One of the clerks has a teenage daughter who comes to work with her and pretty much infests the place. All day long, it's " 'N' this, 'N' that, I told that 'N' shut the f**k up," all ... day ... long. This kid can't shut up, can't stop fidgeting, and thinks absolutely nothing about interrupting some fairly intense customer service discussions with less-than-wealthy people paying for what they don't see as an essential expense anyway. She can't go home, because her father works nights, and she can't prowl the streets, because it just isn't safe. My friend doesn't need any more personnel issues, because it's a highly, highly one-culture neighborhood, and as it is I'm getting grief, because the supposition is that one of them has been replaced with one of us, whatever it is that they consider me to be.
I've told him that this kid is trying her best to ruin his business, and he's communicated his concerns to the clerk with a pretty clear directive that this kid STFU and mind her manners. It isn't working. Where the hell is the limit of friendship? I'm coming home from ten and eleven hour days with tension headaches, a stiff, sore neck, and an unrequited urge to strangle someone. What the hell do I do, other than leaving him in the lurch? The problem child manager is coming back in in a few days for a test run and to see if his 'tude has gotten better, and buddy o' mine has already brought up the idea of me replacing him temporarily if he has to sack him and look for someone else long-term.
At this point I just want to forget my vows and take a deep plunge in a vat full of ice-cold beer. Seriously. Any ideas, other than finding new friends?
Well, a temporary sit-down for one of his managers turned into at least a week's vacation to give this guy the opportunity for reflection, and my friend asked me if I'd fill the breech in the meantime. It's a cash-heavy business floating in the middle of shark-infested waters, and he can't afford not to have eyes and ears in the place while he's busy elsewhere in other locations. I've got better ways to use my time, like taking on better-paying translation work, or getting sequential root canals, but he was in a fix, and he's a friend.
So, I'm going into day six there, and I'm just about ready to lose it. One of the clerks has a teenage daughter who comes to work with her and pretty much infests the place. All day long, it's " 'N' this, 'N' that, I told that 'N' shut the f**k up," all ... day ... long. This kid can't shut up, can't stop fidgeting, and thinks absolutely nothing about interrupting some fairly intense customer service discussions with less-than-wealthy people paying for what they don't see as an essential expense anyway. She can't go home, because her father works nights, and she can't prowl the streets, because it just isn't safe. My friend doesn't need any more personnel issues, because it's a highly, highly one-culture neighborhood, and as it is I'm getting grief, because the supposition is that one of them has been replaced with one of us, whatever it is that they consider me to be.
I've told him that this kid is trying her best to ruin his business, and he's communicated his concerns to the clerk with a pretty clear directive that this kid STFU and mind her manners. It isn't working. Where the hell is the limit of friendship? I'm coming home from ten and eleven hour days with tension headaches, a stiff, sore neck, and an unrequited urge to strangle someone. What the hell do I do, other than leaving him in the lurch? The problem child manager is coming back in in a few days for a test run and to see if his 'tude has gotten better, and buddy o' mine has already brought up the idea of me replacing him temporarily if he has to sack him and look for someone else long-term.
At this point I just want to forget my vows and take a deep plunge in a vat full of ice-cold beer. Seriously. Any ideas, other than finding new friends?
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