THE JOB THAT LASTED JUST SIX WEEKS

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(Edited)


Designed Using Polotno Studios


HOW I GOT THE JOB


It all started on a Monday - at least I think it was a Monday - afternoon. The sun shone high and bright in the sky. I had just stepped out of my hostel to get something to eat. I passed a couple of shops when I suddenly heard someone yell my name from behind.

“Zita”

I looked back and saw that it was an older friend of mine, Jahrich. He owned one of the shops in front of my hostel. I greeted him; we exchanged pleasantries and got to talking. He expressed to me how he was in need of a sales attendant, apparently the former employee had quit abruptly for some reason.

Now I wasn’t necessarily on the hunt for a job at the moment, my financial situation was perfectly fine. Nevertheless I was intrigued. We moved into the shop, settled down properly and carried on with our conversation. I asked for the requirements of the job and, of course, the compensation.


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He sold electronic gadgets and accessories. Devices like; memory cards, play-station control pads, fans, chargers, you get the gist. The shop had a second compartment at the back where he set up a phone repair station.

My job was to attend to customers, sell them the items they needed to purchase, and if they needed a gadget fixed, I was to send them to the back. We also rendered POS services and I was in charge of that too.

Apparently I needed to be there from 6pm – 10pm Sunday to Sunday, AKA everyday of the God-given week. That was a tough pill to swallow. I promised him I would think about it. I inquired about the salary, he didn’t give me a direct response, and he just said I would be paid reasonably. I didn’t want to over think that aspect so I just went on a whim and decided to trust him. After all we were friends so he wouldn’t do me bad. Bad choice!


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Afterwards, when I was by myself, I contemplated the idea. The working hours complemented my academic schedule. I had ample downtime between school and work. Besides I needed some thrill in my otherwise boring life. A job where I would have to interact with different people didn’t sound so horrible. So I decided to seize the opportunity.

And thus I became a sales attendant, once again...


THEN I RESUMED…


I resumed work the following Monday. At first, it was pleasant. I had to learn the ropes, figure out where every gadget was kept and their individual prices in order to improve customer service. It was slow for me but eventually by the second week, I could manage handling a few clients on my own.

The agreement was that I would be paid every two weeks. So after the second week I waited ever so patiently for my first paycheck. Boy was I innately disappointed when the credit alert came! Tell me why I was paid just 5000 naira ($6) 😥😠. That was too low for me and I wish I could say I did something about it, but I didn’t . I just accepted it since “I wasn’t in it for the money”. I actually wasn’t.


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Since the shop was basically smack dab in the middle of the campus, 90% of our customers were students – my peers. I got to meet a lot of interesting people and I made more friends than I could ever imagine. Sometimes there would be traffic in the store and the students would have to sit in the waiting area in front of my desk. During times like this we would converse and get acquainted.

Every now and then my friends would drop by to visit me. We would sit and chat when things weren’t so hectic. It helped with the occasional boredom.


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I also became friends with the girl that worked during the day time, Chisom. She was sweet and kind. Towards the third week, I finally was able to properly attend to customers without help from boss man. Oh and Jahrich made a fantastic boss too. He knew how to balance work and play with us perfectly.


WHEN IT STARTED TO GO DOWNHILL


The third week was the climax. After then, the excitement gradually subsided. My enthusiasm for going to work suddenly started to wane. I found myself frowning more and more, my energy was sapped. And I only became aware of it when some customers would come up to me and whisper “you should smile more”. At first I was offended by it but eventually I had to assess myself inwardly and find out why it was becoming a common occurrence.


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I figured I was losing my bubbly and cheerful personality; the work had reduced to a mere duty that I eagerly anticipated finishing each day. Also I despised the fact that when I headed to work, my roommates would be on their beds chilling. I wanted that.

I also discovered that after every shift, when I retired to bed, I would feel so weak and end up over sleeping. This caused me to wake up late the following morning and miss vital portions of the day.

It got to a point where I began to reweigh my pros and cons, in order to determine if the job was truly worth the mental and physical stress. Because there were times where I flat out didn’t want to go, and I couldn’t do a thing about it. Is this how I wanted to spend my school year? I didn’t think so. However, I kept showing up. I was confident that I would eventually make up my mind.

In the fifth week, I finally made the decision to quit. I’d just about had it. But there was no way I was gonna quit in the middle of the fifth week and go unpaid. So I worked till the sixth and final week. Days to the end I informed my boss of my decision.

It was tricky because I couldn’t give a direct reason why I wanted to quit. I attempted to explain that it was interfering with my study time - which it wasn't - but he responded that a female worked for him and studied for her exams. It was not a sufficient excuse. He tried to change my mind but I didn’t budge. He had no option but to give in.

On the last day I received my paycheck and officially quit.


All images were properly sourced



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11 comments
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!ALIVE | !BBH | !LADY

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@zitalove! Your Content Is Awesome so I just sent 1 $BBH (Bitcoin Backed Hive) to your account on behalf of @vocup. (2/20)

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I am so sorry that happened to you. When it comes to job and it is with friend it can be tricky. In freelance world, there's something called "friend" price and I hate this practice. Looks like what you're experiencing is also one of those case.

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Yeah, I'm sure it was because we were friends, that's why I didn't complain about the pay.
But I'm curious, what does "friend price" mean?

And thank you for engaging and reading it all through, this is the longest I've written😄

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(Edited)

The idea is that friends often don't pay the full price and they tend to pay less or sometimes expect you to do something for free just because they are your friend. Sometimes there's also separate price for others and friends. I don't believe in that idea. I think anyone should be paid like they should despite the relationship status.

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I also agree with you.
That's why people don't like mixing business and family, because you will required to bend or compromise in ways that aren't beneficial to you or your business.

Nice insight!

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You did the right thing. At least, what was best for yourself.
A job shouldn't sap you of your energy and vigour lest you become cranky.
Why did you even accept to work everyday of the week?
It must have been hectic.

And, just #5,000 for two weeks!? That's unfair.

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You did the right thing. At least, what was best for yourself.
A job shouldn't sap you of your energy and vigour lest you become cranky.
Why did you even accept to work everyday of the week?
It must have been hectic.

And, just #5,000 for two weeks!? That's unfair.

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