Diary of my first week in my new job

On Monday, I started a new job as a chef (!) and was very excited. I got given a chef’s jacket and a black apron and I tucked a towel into the apron straps (like a proper chef) and got started.

Day 1 – Go, go, go! There’s croissants to bake, thereafter vegetables to grill, there’s a side of beef to roast. There was so much to remember, so much to do. I got my head down and did what I was told. I knew I was slow. New people always are. But I knew how to work hard and I knew how to be keen. So I did both of those. My back struggled with the crouching and bending and lifting etc and I felt a little like an old woman. But it was good. I was learning.

Day 2 – More croissants, more vegetables, more salad leaves, more confusion. I chopped tomatoes until I thought there must be no more tomatoes left in the entire world.

Day 3 – The obvious tension between one staff member and the manager became difficult to stay out of. I was asked for an opinion on matters in which they opposed each other. I smiled innocently, put my head down and sliced onions.

Day 4 – This was happening. So I wasn’t in a great place. The staff member who spends her time being shouted at by the manager came in and told us there had been a bereavement in her family the day before. The manager let her go home. He made a comment that nothing had been done to get ready for the day. I got a bit crazy and was like, “What do you mean?! I’m working really hard here!” There was chat. The air was cleared. I explained that I wasn’t feeling that great.

Day 5 – Better. Much better. I understood him better. He was sympathetic to what had happened. I was still slow but I was learning and I was able to just get my head down and get on. Then I left work at 3pm. And at 4pm, I got a call offering me an amazing job and can I start on Monday please? I said yes and hung up then called my other new job and quit.

And that was my week in the kitchen. I’ll say more about the new job later, suffice to say, it involves baking in a really old house.

Feedback from Day 1 of being friendlier

I woke up in the morning, my resolve was strong, I was feeling light-hearted and friendly. I couldn’t wait for the approaching day and the prospect of being friendly to everyone. Come on people! I thought. Come here and let me be friendly at you!

I was up early, baking banana bread. I had been awake a bit in the night, with toothache (the dentist is taking it out on Tuesday so I wasn’t worried or anything) so hoped it wouldn’t make me grumpy.

Into work I went and started getting everything ready for opening. I left the door slightly ajar as it was a bit stuffy but kept all the lights off and covers down on everything. As I was doing something in the kitchen a lady walked all the way in and to the till and ‘Halloo’ed me, as though a silent dark shop with the fridge covers down and all the food clingfilmed was how a shop would operate.

“Is your coffee machine on yet? Can I get a coffee?”

Every coffee place I’ve worked, people check this when you’re near the end or beginning of a shift. Is the coffee machine on? I’m going to tell you all a secret about that. A coffee machine does not go ‘on’ or ‘off’. It’s always on. I mean, you can turn off the mains, if you want. But you don’t. You never turn off the coffee machine overnight. Never. But it provides you with a convenient excuse if you don’t want to serve someone. I worked in a coffee place which closed at 10.30pm. I was exhausted by then and wanted to clean and go home asap. I used to nod, and shrug helplessly, “Yeh, it’s off already, I’m sorry.”

So this lady is here, in my quite obviously not-open-yet shop, while I’m running around like a mad woman, baking croissants, asking if the coffee machine is on.

Be friendly, be friendly.

“It is on, but I’m not open until 8, sorry,” I smiled in the friendliest way I could at that moment. Satisfied, she said she’d be back at 8 and not to worry. Phew, grumpy Laura disaster averted.

But wait! The phone was ringing! I picked it up. The voice on the end said, “O great! I was just checking if you’re open and you are.”

“I’m actually not open until 8, unfortunately.”

“Ok, well if I come down now, will I just be able to buy some bread from you?”

“Well, I’m sure it will be fine. I’m quite busy so it would be better to wait til 8, when I’ve opened up…”

“Right, well I’ll be down soon. I’ll just hang around till you’ve got a minute to serve me.”

Be friendly, be friendly.

I made myself smile and said into the phone, “Ok, great, I’ll see you soon then.”

It’s like they organised themselves to test my patience today because they knew I’d be in friendly mode.

Down pottered phone customer five minutes later, and way before 8am, and I smiled as much as I could.

Those were my first two interactions on my first day of being friendly. The rest of the day was fine. Once I’d got into the swing of things, it was fine. I’m not usually unfriendly, so it wasn’t that difficult. It’s when I’m not in work that I’d like to be friendly and approachable.

Wish me luck for Day 2. I’m off swimming in a few minutes and that might test my patience a bit.

Be friendly, be friendly.