Ted's Tale - Part Two

Ted’s Tale – Part Two

We’d all been waiting in extreme interest for this ‘Sayuri’ to arrive, so we could see for ourselves exactly what Ted was so excitedly thrilled about. We were expecting some hot, corporate type, the one we guessed Ted would go for, if he were heterosexual. The tea room had her as tall (Ted is about 6 foot), dyed blonde hair (the Swiss type with blue eyes), pinstripe fitted suits, killer heels, perfect make-up and all the posh trims and dressings of some all-experienced, all-important graduate, oozing wealth. Boy were we wrong!

I wanted to make her feel at home, and get on her good side as I had a suspicion she’d probably end up being my boss once her probation was done. So I organised a kit for her desk with pens, stapler, office instructions and all the rest. Ted had done nothing of the sort for me, so I’d had to source it all myself, which was rather difficult in totally disorganised establishment of this call centre. The staff turn over was ridiculous. My role had had 4 different employees in it in the space of 18 months. They were basically working on a new trainer every 3 to 4 months. I learnt very quickly how difficult it is to motivate people to sell things over the phone and / or handle complaints all day. It’s a horrible job either way, and it gets to peoples’ souls, so the energy is the most negative energy I’d ever been around; the complete antithesis of healthy teenager energy. I really battled and was kept going by the fact that I was getting cash and then running home. I knew from my first day in the job that it wasn’t for me. I really did have a plane ticket I could have changed, and was keen to stay on longer while I was planning my finances, but after that first day, sitting amongst all those complaints and trying to focus in the noise of phones and talking, talking, talking, I crumbled and knew I probably would barely make the two months.

In always trying to be positive, I find that the best way for me to keep my energy going is to help others; it is an incredible boost to see another human being smile because of something I’ve done. So long as I’m helping, then I’m coping. I figured it was a win-win situation if I sat next to ‘Sayuri of the interview’ and made her feel welcome. Enid was sitting to my left and Sayuri was due on my right.

Enid had a hectic story, talk about being used and abused! She’d been hired to fulfill the HR post and sadly the three main bosses she had to work with made it blatantly obvious that they couldn’t stand her. It was literally office bullying from day one. I was appalled. At the Christmas Party, in December, the one woman even told her to her face what a pity it was that she had to work with her, that she really wasn’t someone they wanted to work with and she wished her luck in coping with the jobs they were going to give her! Enid had her Honours in HR, with loads of experience; she was in the midst of completing her Masters and worked longer hours than anyone else, except Ted. The thing with Enid was that she was dyslexic and not the ‘corporate’ clone the rest of the managers were. She was into vintage clothing and her dream was to eventually follow her passion and have her own vintage clothing line. Her bosses nailed her unnecessarily for the dyslexia problems and made a public embarrassment of her and her ‘errors’, and publicly disapproved of her unique appearance. Enid had not been made to feel welcome at all, and, although the image of Sayuri was imprinted in our minds as ‘the one for the job’, I wasn’t sure what she’d be like, because they probably said the same of Enid before she arrived too.

Well, when Sayuri actually walked through the glass doors, you could’ve knocked me on the floor with a feather! Brunette, about 5 foot 6, no pinstripe suit, just very simple style. No fancy make-up, only one line of colour and mascara. She didn’t take transport to get to work, but walked in the cold! Her face was flushed with the pink of someone who braved anything with a smile. What a greeting! When she shook my hand, she remembered my name; she made eye contact and oozed sincerity. I had yet to meet anyone, other than Enid, who even knew what the word sincere meant. She thanked me twice when Ted pointed out that I’d organised stationary for her, and it was genuine eye-contact thanks, not a look-down-your-nose-at-the-help kind of thanks. She complimented Enid on her unique style of clothing; she listened to our responses and remembered them. If I didn’t know of her CV, I would’ve sworn she had just stepped off a farm! It was really weird that she was nothing like what we expected Ted to rave about. She did not look to me like she would be able to handle the energy of the call centre, especially not the negative CL vibe. What had Ted been thinking? She looked perfect for a primary school classroom, not for training the guys we had to train and motivate. I had difficulty picturing her as a high school teacher and it was only after we had some great discussions and laughs over our teaching experiences that I realised there was actually a very strong woman inside the soft, girl-next-door exterior. My gut was right though, she didn’t last long either and also left shortly after I did, also to head home for a wedding and to further her studies. Like I said, we had loads in common. But on that first meeting I thought Ted had lost his marbles. He was strutting around like he had found the next ‘Justine Beiber’! I knew I’d have to have a chat with Sayuri as soon as possible, she was too innocent to be dealing with Mr Cocklehead (I know, I was in hysterics for the first week with that surname too! Funny! Poor man!), and what appeared to possibly be his hidden agenda. Ted was off to Spain that very first week that Sayuri was with us, and I made sure we had some one-on-one chatting time.