Timing is Still Everything

Some people have good timing. Some people have bad timing. Others, have no timing at all.

Unfortunately, my boss has no timing.

Let me preface this post be letting you know, this is reading week at the college. So we are down to a minimal staff and reduced hours.

This morning I get an email from my boss Jane, apparently we have a conference call about the new grill menu. At 3 pm, two hours after I close. Not impressed.

A short time later I call over to North Campus and explain that due to the fact that the shuttle is not running, I will be dropping off the deposit early because I need to drop off one of my staff members so she can get the bus home. Jane says, well, you can stay here and take the conference call from here. Our conference call is at 3, and I just told her I will be over there between 1:30 and 2. What does she think I am going to do for an hour?

I explain that it makes more sense for me to come back here and get some stuff done while I wait for the call. And this is what I do. My dry storage area is a mess and needs to be straightened out. Additionally, it's a good time to get caught up on some paperwork.

The conference call goes well, very informative, just would have been nice if it was at 2 and not 3. I give Jane a quick call afterwards to compare notes, and it's like we were not on the same call. She tells me, this shouldn't be that difficult to execute, its not that different from the current menu. Time for a recap, current menu has two burgers, one veggie burger, a crispy chicken and a grilled chicken sandwich, and currently, the chicken sammy's are build your own. The new menu has 4 burgers, none of which are similar to our current offerings. We also have two veggie burgers, a fish burger, a grilled chicken and a breaded chicken, all of which are build to spec. And most of the toppings are new. How is that similar to the last menu?

I predict fun times ahead.

Meet the New Boss, Same as the Old Boss

Just before the Christmas break my boss quit. Ironically, he is now working at the place I was working before I took this job. The company providing food services there has changed, so no, he is not working for the company I used to work for.

Anyway, this means my old boss has come back on an interim basis ... cue the Darth Vader death march.

As some of you know, I did not like my old boss. That has not changed, I don't trust her and I don't like the way she manages. And yes, I am about to give you a couple of examples.

Timing Is Everything

Thursday mornings are, without a doubt, my busiest time of the week. I need to get inventory done, there is a weekly report that I need to send in for one of our brands (it's archaic, arduous, and a pain in the ass), there are also several orders that need to be placed and received and its also the busiest time in the cafe for some reason.

This past Thursday morning, as I am working at getting a morning catering out, I hear a voice from behind me, "Good morning John." I turn around, and my sandwich brand auditor is standing there. My fist thought is, what the crap are you doing here, you already did this months audit? Fortunately, I don't say that, instead, I say hi and she informs me that we have a meeting at 9:30 with my boss and the Chef Manager at North Campus (they have the same sandwich brand over there).

It's 9:10 in the morning.

She asks me to call my boss (let's call her Jane) to let her know she is there. I tell her this is the first I have heard of the meeting and that I need to finish getting this catering together first. Five minutes later, I call Jane and ask why I was not told about this meeting, she tells me she sent me an email this morning. And it's true, she did send me an email that morning ... at 9:11 am.

I explain to the auditor (we will refer to her as Randy) that Jane and the other Chef Manager are on the way over, but that I need to deliver this catering first. When I come back a short time later, Jane and the other Chef Manager have arrived, but Randy needs more time to get ready. It's 10 am before we get started, and I have not started inventory and I still have two more caterings to do, for 11:30 and 12:00 pm. 

This particular auditor is very nice, super supportive and very knowledgeable. And she loves to talk. So, and hour later at 11:00 she is nowhere near being done. Seeing as I have caterings at 11:30 and 12:00, I excuse myself. As I get up, I very deftly, ignore the ugly looks. Oh, and did I mention, I'm short staffed again, and the report I need to send in before 2, yeah it's for my sandwich brand.

When I come back from delivering the 12 o'clock catering, they are just wrapping up the meeting. I pop into the office to pick up a voicemail, there is a message from one of my employees adult daughters. I pass on the message that she needs to call her daughter. Next thing I know she comes back from the staff area with tears streaming from her eyes and tells me she needs to leave.

And on that note, I go and start counting inventory.