206. First Day

 

I've recently had a First Day. It's pretty wild how these things can go. I definitely learn best when when I'm thrown in a pool with sharks, but sometimes these experiences can be veritable nightmares. Thinking back on all the "Karen" and "Wild Anti-Masker" videos that stream through social media, I keep thinking that it's very likely that some of those happened in someone's first day in the job. It's traumatizing!

It's the people in charge who have to make this a smooth on-ramp. And as a recently minted person in charge, I am aware of the hardships. In healthcare, everything changes by the hour, so standard training is relevant for maybe a day after it's made. Training and onboarding has to be seen as a process and we are often behind. 

In my family, I have one particular member who is sort of a male Karen. Let's call him Karlos. Karlos complains about fork tines not being symmetrical, regardless of the situation he's in. I think that what happens to these people is that they forget that they to had to learn, making mistakes and quickly adjusting. Add to that situational factors like burnout and work shortages. Karlos don't care. 

When Rox and I get bad service we add variables. Is it a new restaurant? Is it a new employee? Is it a busy week? Is the world rapidly regressing into a primitive state due to war and pandemics? If it is a permanent condition of the restaurant, we don't come back. We left a terrible restaurant on vacation last month and we tipped only 15% (That'll show 'em). If it's situational, we recognize the things that are working well and give another chance. 

It sounds like a humble brag but it isn't, I think it's one of the main reasons we are married. We give people the benefit of the doubt almost to a detrimental level! We have harmony, though.

And no I wouldn't know what to do with a flag carrying a-hole like the one in the comic.