What was your best and worst job ever? I am not sure if I can remember all my jobs, because I switched jobs very often. I get easily bored with a job, especially if it's a job where every day is the same day and when I see the management is poor. I am an einzelgänger in a way that I can not be in a small room with colleagues who are sitting in front and next to me every Monday till Friday, like an office job. I do like to work with customers and help them, preferable face-to-face.
So let's dive for a moment into my cv!
Vroom&Dreesman
My first job ever was when I was 18. I worked part-time as a student at a department store called V&D. (They don't exist anymore). I was folding clothes at the ladies department and every now and then I had to stand at the fitting room checking if no one steals in the fitting room. I was folding clothes for hours and customers made a mess again. On top of that my manager was checking all the time if I was folding the clothes the correct way. I think I worked there for 3 weeks and after that I resigned.
Sukasari
After I resigned I checked for another job at an Indonesian restaurant. I found one called Sukasari. The salary was super and on top I got tip every end of the week. I learned how to pour beer with a beer tap(I don't even drink :-D ). I also told my boss that I have some friends who are looking for a job so it was quite fun to work with my friends. Too bad they didn't stay that long. I guess I stayed the longest from us. The reason they left so soon was that the owner of the restaurant and the chef, a woman, was a terrible woman! I tell you, you don't want to be near her! She always have something to complain. She complained about little things and NEVER greeted. She was the grumpiest woman I have ever met.
Every time the call bell ringed from the kitchen, I got scared and nervous because I had to take the food from the kitchen and she was always checking me out with her arms resting at her waist and one foot tapping. I left Sukasari after two years working for them. I guess I really had patience as I worked there for almost 2 years. How did I resigned? I left the restaurant when they were very busy handling too many guests. I didn't wait for this moment, but she went way too far. We were only with 3 people working and instead of being nice to me because we had not enough waitresses, she was just being so nasty. The bell was ringing very loud. She was basically hitting the call bell over and over again. She knew we were busy serving the customers. I couldn't be at two different places at the same time. Instead of hitting that call bell, she could just help us out, right? She could get out of the kitchen and serve the guests. She was yelling at me and I had enough. I was yelling back at her that I had enough of her bitchy behaviour and that she was nasty to all my colleagues too and that I simply can not be at two places at the same time. The guests stopped eating and looked at me. I just left the restaurant. My colleagues told me she was very quite and no screaming for a week!
Thai and Chinese restaurant
Later on, I worked for a very short time at a Thai restaurant and a Chinese restaurant. I left after a few days working for them. The Thai restaurant paid me much lower than they actually should and they didn't want to give me a contract. They want to give me undeclared work. The same with the Chinese restaurant. They were very strict in a way that the menu card needs to me equally as the table and not an inch further. They also had 5 cameras and were checking you out. So the Thai and Chinese restaurant both didn't want to give me a contract and prefer to let me work illegal. I guess they want to pay people whenever they want to.
McDonald's
You have no idea how long I worked there! An hour! :-D. I had very friendly colleagues and a very nice manager, but that giant grill machine... It was as big as me! The people who worked there for years had scars on their arms from the wounds. They got those scars/wounds from the grill machine. So that was really nothing for me.
Raden Mas restaurant
Raden Mas was my favourite restaurant to work for. I was working part time as a fashion student. This time I wasn't a waitress but a hostess. Raden Mas was a very chic expensive restaurant. The interior was black with green and gold. I saw lawyers from celebrities, Dutch celebrities, I also saw the owner of Coster Diamonds with his wife and dog coming to the restaurant. He parked his Rolls Royce in front of the restaurant. Something that was actually not even allowed. As a hostess I could keep the tip that guests gave me. A lawyer of a famous celebrity give me 50 euros :-D. he also gave me a quick kiss on the cheek, which I didn't want. Yuck! I left after a year working for Raden Mas. I had amazing and fun gay colleagues and I could really have good conversations with my manager and boss. I left because I graduated from Fashion school and I wanted to have a temporary job as a passenger service agent.
Aviapartner
So, for Aviapartner I worked less then 3 months as a passenger service agent. It was my most interesting job ever. I checked in people around the world and collected boarding passes at the gate. I had a big responsibility because I had to check their passports very carefully. Check if they look like the picture. If not, I had to call my manager. One of the airlines I worked for was Finnair, a Finish airline. The people of Finnair were mostly business men, so they know the rules and don't have crazy stuff with them. I was able to sit in the cockpit of Finnair and made a picture. I don't know where that picture is. I used an old phone back then. I left because I got fired. The first few months every one gets their own trainer before they get a contract.
My trainer was very often absent. Suddenly I got fired by my manager after almost working for 2 months or so. I asked my manager what the reason is, but she said she doesn't have to give a reason. So till now I don't know what the reason is. Maybe they hired too many people? I really cried very hard, because it was my most fun job ever. I had to check in passengers, collecting boarding passes, and making announcement through a microphone when someone didn't arrive yet at the gate.
Indrapura
I got fired and it was time to move on and find another job. I don't have rich parents, so I had to pay everything myself. Fashion school wasn't cheap. You need so many materials and because I wanted to have the best materials such as fabric, I needed to have a good paid part-time job. I called Raden Mas if I could work their again, but they shut down their business.
I found a job at an Indonesian restaurant called Indrapura. It was also an expensive restaurant. Not that it looked expensive. The food was expensive. I liked the job very much. I like to see happy guests from all over the world. I remember when there was a group of tourists from Denmark I believe. I asked them: " Are you finished?" They made a joke with me saying they are Danish. :-D. I worker their for almost two years I believe. I left because the management was poor and guests are complaining about the manager's behaviour. I wanted to some how take over some tasks of the manager, but it wasn't really appreciated. I just don't like to disappoint guests while it was the fault of my manager. I had good and nice colleagues. I do miss Andrew. He is an old Chinese man who also worked there. He was always very funny and I could talk with him about anything.
Home care elderly
I worked as a home carer for the elderly beside working for Indrapura and studying. So I was a real busy bee. I loved this job not because I had to clean dirty toilets and do the laundry, but because I got to know interesting old people who had interesting stories and they showed me also old vintage pictures. They talked about the Dutch hunger winter and taught me many things about how to clean certain things. Working for the elderly teaches you how to be grateful.
Primark
I feel so embarrassed to say that I have worked for Primark. They tell you that they take good care of the workers in Bangladesh. But after two months working, I don't believe that anymore. How can they take good care of the workers in Bangladesh if they treat their own people bad? The managers really treat employees as if we were slaves. The was they speak, as if you are a prisoner. I worked for Primark because it was difficult to find a job in this area.
Best job
I loved working as a passenger service agent and would love to do it again. The only things is that you work irregular shifts. There were days I had to leave 3.30 AM to start at 5 AM. But I loved that job. I guess it will never happen for me to work there because I am on their blacklist :-D.
My second best job was working as a home carer for the elderly. I loved how the old people smiled at me when I cleaned their house and asking if I will be the one that cleans their house the next time.
Worst job
My worst job was working for Primark. They treat employers as slaves/dirt and it's almost impossible to get a day off for holiday. They also think you are lying when you report sick in the first two months you work for them. I think any one can get sick at any moment.
Beside these jobs, I worked for some more companies, but it would be too long to write about.