When Good Friends Go Bad

No...not a FOX Tuesday night special....just my night at work, last night.

I have a friend. Quirky? yes! Insecurity? Uh...yes, again. But on the whole he is a good guy. So I have only confusion when I try to wrap my head around his behavior last night.

For those that don't know, I am working in a restaurant. You don't work in a semi-fine dining establishment without taking the job seriously. I make a better than decent living doing what I do. The job, as with any other service job has menial tasks. The most menial in a restaurant is sidework. This is the general maintenance and upkeep of the restaurant so that you don't have to re-invent the wheel daily. In our restaurant, as in many, your sidework is completed at the end of your shift, prior to counting out your money and going home. And one person is usually relegated to checking to make sure that everything has been completed to an acceptable standard.

Last night, (we'll call him Sam), Sam was the closer checking sidework. When I checked in with him and let him know I was done with my sidework, I also asked if there was anything at all I could do for him while he took time to check those items. Rather than saying yes, he then ordered me to do another sidework. This is not protocol. You do one set of sidework and are done. On nights when there are fewer servers, you might double up on a second one. But we were staffed appropriately. Also, you don't order someone to do something. Just general manners on that one. And the thing of it is, had he asked if I could have done the second group of tasks, I would have. Because he is a friend.

After being ordered to do the second task, I told him it wasn't necessary and he said, "Who's the closer, you or me?" My response was something akin to, "Does it matter? Sign my check-out." This pissed him off and he said something about how I have to respect him. Sam, however, didn't care to reflect about his own disrespect of me, as a co-worker and a friend, when he told me that I would do the second sidework or I wouldn't get a signature.

I know this is totally a vent entry. I am so blown away by the complete about-face Sam made towards me. I was able to blow it off last night but as I am about to go in for another shift right now, I am getting angry about it again. So work will be odd tonight, I think. I know Sam and I have to work together and I know I will have no problem doing my job, which will include pre-bussing, running food, topping off waters and teas in his station. But without an apology for his behavior last night, this may be a case where a good friend went bad.

Until Next Time