I just started a new part time job in a pub this week. I've been working since Monday. It is now Saturday and I just finished my late night shift (12.30 at night).
This is my first job working in a 'shop' (if you can call a pub that). So I am new to using a till. I have also never worked in a pub so I don't know all the drinks, which size glasses to use and there are certain other things I don't know but I am trying to learn. Basically there is loads to take in!
When I first started, my boss was fairly nice and said 'yeah i know it is hard and there is always a lot to remember'. So he was quite understanding when I made mistakes or didn't know where something is.
Anyway his dog was ill and had to get taken to the vet. This costs him loads of money. Then the dog came out of the vets and ran into barbed wire and is now severly injured and on its last legs.
Ever since about Wednesday till today he seems to have lost patience with me, can sometimes be rude, can get angry to me. What used to be some little advice 'eg make sure you do this and this, before doing this' has become a much more negative and angry 'you SHOULD be doing this and this, you should know that now!'.
I am assuming that because of his dog which I am sure he loves and is worried about, he is blaming me for things at work as he is stressed. I don't know this for certain but I'm assuming that.
But it has already made me hate my job and now if I do have any uncertainness I am scared to ask him because I think he would either get angry at me, or judge me in a bad way and think I am not a good employee and I may get the sack.
He used to be fairly patient but now he is not. Maybe I am a slow learner? I don't know. I don't know how long it takes before it becomes second nature to know all the drinks, know how to work everything and do everything smoothly without any problems.
The fact that he tells me off has actually made it harder for me to work because what he has said is in the back of my mind and I cannot concentrate properly on what is currently happening.
Some specific examples of things he has criticised me for:
- The first time was when I was stocking up the fridge with drinks. There is meant to be all the Budweissers in a line, then all the Smirnoffs, then 2 lines of Budva (think that is the name of the drink). He told me this but I misheard him and made a line of Budweissers, 2 lines of smirnoffs and then 1 line of budva. He said in an angry tone '*insert name* you need to listen harder'.
- Someone ordered loads of drinks. Something like 1 pint of fosters, 1 pint of doom bar, a glass of white wine, some peanuts and half a pint of amstel. When I went to the till to type all the drinks in, I had forgotten what the person ordered. My boss just happened to be lurking over my shoulder starring at me which put me under pressure and made it even harder to remember. He actually had watched me serve this customer and said '*insert name* you forgot this drink - come on you should be remembering this, not me".
- I spilt a drink ever so slightly over the till and he said "NEVER EVER pass a drink to a customer over the counter. this could have f*cked the electrics". And yes he did use the 'F word'.
- There are many different types of glasses. Fosters glasses, Guiness glasses, Pint glasses, half pint glasses, wine glasses, jugs with handles in pint sizes and half pint sizes, some other glasses for liquers. I muddled up some of the glasses so they were in the wrong place when filling up the shelves after they had been cleaned. He told me off for this too.
I am trying my best to take it all in but there is so much to remember and it seems he has lost patience with me. I remember one customer who knew I was new (he was a regular) said 'your doing a good job' and then he said to my boss 'isn't that right?' and my boss kind of just avoided answering the question.
I am tempted to already quit however I am not sure because the pay is good.... £7.50 an hour and I need the money and I don't know how likely it is for me to find another job. But he is stressing me out and is worrying me a lot. On top of this I have some personal issues such as trouble with my girlfriend at the minute, some friends and I think I may be suffering from depression.