Nice People Thread Number 11 - A Treasury of Nice People

PasturesNew

Generali wrote: »

.... it pays ok on an hourly basis once you figure in the extra money covering for people that call in sick/don't show up/quit on the spot. It's better than bar work, shop work or waiting tables. Those are horrible jobs in England.

From what I've noticed of these jobs, they all pay the same. Cleaner, bar work, shop work, waitressing = all NMW. At least with waiting tables you get the chance of getting the occasional tip and a free meal. I'd go with waitressing (well, if I never had to balance plates as I'm not that great at carrying things)..... maybe an indian restaurant where the food is taken to the table on a trolley might suit

purch

PasturesNew wrote: »

Probably the best vacuum cleaner I've ever had!

You always say that when you get something new !!!

Generali

PasturesNew wrote: »

From what I've noticed of these jobs, they all pay the same. Cleaner, bar work, shop work, waitressing = all NMW. At least with waiting tables you get the chance of getting the occasional tip and a free meal. I'd go with waitressing (well, if I never had to balance plates as I'm not that great at carrying things)..... maybe an indian restaurant where the food is taken to the table on a trolley might suit

How the cleaning worked was you got a basic wage for doing your job (this is pre-NMW) and then you got a bonus for covering for someone else too if required.

Each cleaner was given a floor to clean. If you pulled your finger out you could easily clean 2 floors in the time we were given to clean one while still helping yourself to a few of the biccies provided in the kitchens (yum!).

Waiting is a PITA. You do get fed and usually tips too, at least in restaurants. The trouble is you get so much aggro from customers for other peoples' stuff ups. It's a job that has to be done to be believed. Loads of people just walk out of waiting jobs part way through. It's stressful, hard work, you get abused (normally) by your boss and sometimes by your customers too. You are expected to work overtime for free. I once worked in a very large hotel and was the only person being paid overtime (pre-NMW).

Bar work involves dealing with drunks when sober. That's a bad start. Any job which requires a signal for other people to come running to your assistance has to be a bad thing. A fellow barman got beaten with a pool cue for refusing to serve a drink after hours. This was after drinking up time, not at 11:01pm. Someone waited for 2 hours outside the pub to beat me up for a 'crime' that I can no longer recall. Again, you don't get paid for the hours you work.

Retail is the worst. Some English people seem to think that they can say anything they want to someone that works in a shop because 'The Customer is Always Right'. At least in catering there's that nagging doubt that someone will spit in the soup if you're rude. There are some English people that are quit happy to use shop workers as a verbal punch bag. If you say a word in reply you may well be sacked. I have a policy of calling out people that are rude to shop workers. Once again, when the shop shuts pay stops but work doesn't.

neverdespairgirl

PasturesNew wrote: »

From what I've noticed of these jobs, they all pay the same. Cleaner, bar work, shop work, waitressing = all NMW. At least with waiting tables you get the chance of getting the occasional tip and a free meal. I'd go with waitressing (well, if I never had to balance plates as I'm not that great at carrying things)..... maybe an indian restaurant where the food is taken to the table on a trolley might suit

In London it's more than that (but it needs to be, with the cost of accommodation). Cleaners are usually £9 an hour, here. My mother pays £10 an hour in Kent, but has a fear of exploiting people, so doesn't like to pay too little.

Obviously, once I had got back to sleep, I was absolutely deeply and happily so when the time came to drag myself out of bed.... Sod's law, innit?

PasturesNew

neverdespairgirl wrote: »

In London it's more than that (but it needs to be, with the cost of accommodation). Cleaners are usually £9 an hour, here. My mother pays £10 an hour in Kent, but has a fear of exploiting people, so doesn't like to pay too little.

Where I am now, even with all my skills/experience I'd struggle to find a "proper job" using all my skills/experience that paid that much!

In Cornwall, you'd need to have a senior "office manager" job, with loads of responsibility and running the company and qualified/doing all the accounts to get close to that much!

If I could just open up a newspaper and find jobs at £10/hour I'd not be sitting on my 'arris, that's for sure!

Doozergirl

neverdespairgirl wrote: »

Obviously, once I had got back to sleep, I was absolutely deeply and happily so when the time came to drag myself out of bed.... Sod's law, innit?

Preparation for what's coming!

The next few weeks are simply an endurance excercise. As are the next 6-24 months after that until baby learns to sleep, although you get some reward because a baby is a pretty nice thing to have

LydiaJ

Generali wrote: »

Bar work involves dealing with drunks when sober. That's a bad start. Any job which requires a signal for other people to come running to your assistance has to be a bad thing. A fellow barman got beaten with a pool cue for refusing to serve a drink after hours. This was after drinking up time, not at 11:01pm. Someone waited for 2 hours outside the pub to beat me up for a 'crime' that I can no longer recall. Again, you don't get paid for the hours you work.

In the summer of 1989 I did some very civilised bar work running the bar of Bristol University's senior common room. I'm not sure what the hours would have been in term time, but in the holidays it was only open for a few hours over lunchtime, and nobody ever got drunk or beat me up.

I was expected to get to know the individual needs of some of the customers, though. There was the chap who liked a half of Worthington's and didn't like waiting for it. He would come along, put his money on the bar, go off and do something else for a few minutes, and expect to find it on the bar ready for him with his change when he came back. There was the one who always arrived too late for a filled baguette and so liked to have one put aside for him before they all disappeared. He was very thoughtful about letting me know in plenty of time if he didn't want one that day. Oh, and the one who liked his tomato juice at room temperature rather than from the fridge.

silvercar

PasturesNew wrote: »

So really "substitute mum".

Slightly worrying as senior common room would probably be populated by people older than LydiaJ.

LydiaJ

silvercar wrote: »

Slightly worrying as senior common room would probably be populated by people older than LydiaJ.

Oh yes. I was 20, and they were mostly 50-something. They were just settled into a routine in a harmless sort of way, and appreciated someone who would facilitate their routine. The baguette man in particular was always grateful, which was nice for me.

lostinrates

PasturesNew wrote: »

From what I've noticed of these jobs, they all pay the same. Cleaner, bar work, shop work, waitressing = all NMW. At least with waiting tables you get the chance of getting the occasional tip and a free meal. I'd go with waitressing (well, if I never had to balance plates as I'm not that great at carrying things)..... maybe an indian restaurant where the food is taken to the table on a trolley might suit

Of bar work and waitressing, both of which I've done, I choose bar work. If so etching is wrong you can put it right yourself, rather than facing the wrath of the kitchen, and I can confirm if you are young and female what you can earn in tips is very, very good. Event bars are phenomenal, splitting your tips at them is not. :mad: