My first job: Read this piece from Linkedin series grace under pressure

My First Job: Bouncing Back From Spilled Sauce and Robbery

November 12, 2013

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I had to parse through several of my first jobs before realizing almost all of them started and ended in leisure or retail. So I guess you could say one of the first things I learned at these jobs was how to cater to the customer.
I learned to make coffee and egg sandwiches with lightening speed at Dunkin' Donuts. I learned all about "grace under pressure" when I was "weeded" with tables at a popular Italian restaurant in Philadelphia. I folded "I Love Philly" tee-shirts with geometric precision at the tourist store. The better-folded and neat-looking the tee-shirts, the more I thought they sold.
Within those summer jobs were some real-life lessons.
One night at the Italian restaurant, which shall remain nameless, I was swamped with tables (as usual). The pre-theatre crowd had just started arriving. I was clearing the table for one very nice couple when my arm, holding a plate left of salmon vodka sauce, wobbled. I spilled some of the vodka sauce down the back of the woman, who was wearing a beautiful satin WHITE jacket. I was so mortified but even more mortifying is I did not say anything at first. Her husband did not notice and neither did she. I went back to the kitchen and quietly freaked out by the bread table, contemplating that if I told them, she might be so angry she could have me fired. I decided to go back and tell them upfront what happened. But the couple, who seemed genuinely nice, did not get upset with me after I 'fessed up and volunteered to pay for the dry cleaning. She walked out aware of the big stain down her back (gulp) and I walked home knowing it's better to do the right thing and apologize than try to get away with it.
The second lesson I learned was at the tee-shirt shop in Philadelphia. For a few weeks, we were short staffed with sales people so my boss hired a woman to help out. She was very friendly and easygoing but something didn't seem right with her, like she was being almost too helpful and accommodating to hide something dark. You ever get that feeling with someone right off the bat? One weekend, my boss went away on holiday. She left me in charge of the store along with the woman. During the Sunday afternoon, things were particularly hectic in the store. When I finally had a moment to breathe, I noticed the woman was gone. And so was the money in the cash register. I checked everywhere and realized what a painful lesson I had learned - listen to your gut when something doesn't feel right. I ignored my intuition. All told, she took about $1500 from the cash register and the store never had any luck tracking her down.
Come to think of it, maybe the real lesson is that it's a good thing I chose another profession. I wasn't bringing the businesses much luck! But at least I can fold tee-shirts into perfect squares.
Photo: Flickr / Getty Images

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Betty Liu

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