Saturday, September 23, 2006

I'm not always PC

Once I said to a coworker, "Why are you acting like such a selfish bitch?" Okay, maybe I shouted it within earshot of her customers. She burst into tears and ran off the floor. (This is restaurant speak for leaving the public serving area.) Management had to service her tables for a while before she was able to regain her composure.

It was New Year's Eve.

At the end of my shift, the owner wished to speak to me. I was given a warning and told that calling another employee a bitch was grounds for termination. I explained what had led up to my outburst (owner then realized how tame the word bitch was in this situation) and pointed out that I hadn't called her a bitch, I had only questioned why her behaviour resembled that of a bitch.

The owner smiled and even stifled a laugh and tore up the written warning.

Now, I can't even remember the bitch's name.

21 comments:

Spider said...

Don't you love it when you are right!

Anonymous said...

You are too clever for words!

Jack said...

If we could win/stop wars with words, I'd send you in right away.

For sure we'd win or avoid them.

See the intimidation thing I told you about?!

Anonymous said...

Salut Bébé,

Belle photo de tes "titates" nous aurions peut-être dus faire les meilleures frites "vintage" au monde !

A bientôt,
dan

r said...

I can't imagine you doing that.

Chunks said...

Heh heh heh, that was a good one!

savante said...

Bwahahahaha... guess gay men can all be a lil bad :)

Doug said...

"I hadn't called her a bitch, I had only questioned why her behaviour resembled that of a bitch."

I love that fine line, and I've used it myself.

Kalv1n said...

Ah the beauty of parsing language. You should have been a lawyer.

GayProf said...

What behavior did she do that so resembled a bitch?

Polt said...

heheheh, you got off on verbal technicalities. LOVE it!

HUGS

Nicki said...

I was once in a fight with a neighborhood girl. The girl's father came over and asked why I had beaten her up. When I told her it was because she said something about my mother, he left to go punish her.

Niiiice.

Anonymous said...

"Now, I can't even remember the bitch's name"

What you meant was, "Now, I can't even remember the person's name who was acting like a selfish bitch" there now we feel better. The alleged bitch can't sue for libel. Did you see if there was a Dirk Mancuso listed in the obituaries of the Chicago area papers? I think he might be a victim of date rape.

A Bear in the Woods said...

You may have to write her obitchuary one day.
Even when you're having a temper tantrum your sang froid appears impenetrable, shaken perhaps, but not stirred. Very James Bond(but hotter).

Lemuel said...

You had a great manager to allow you to explain and to understand.

Adam said...

You have a career in politics, I know it.

Anonymous said...

Ah the terror of misplaced individuals in hospitality careers! ;-) I came across your blog by chance and really enjoying your style :-) - although this isn't the best place to ask... May I have a conversation with you about teaching English in Montreal please? (if you have any time:-) I have just finished CELTA... and my story is similar to yours in parts... I would love some communication with someone like you before making any moves... Email add: zauraura@yahoo.co.uk Cheers!...:-)

Anonymous said...

Yes, I too want to know what she did.

mainja said...

donna - don't you think before you leap to judgement about his reaction you should take a second to consider that maybe she was acting like a selfish bitch?

not just men who encounter people who act like selfish bitches. women do too. that's because, there are people in the world who act like selfish bitches.

here's the thing, i trust that torn would not have said something like that on the floor of a restaurant to someone, not in jest, if it wasn't well deserved.

just 'cause i'm a bleedin' heart lefty doesn't mean i have never encountered someone acting bitchy.

St. Dickeybird said...

Her name doesn't matter. She's Bitch.

dpaste said...

Awesome. Simply awesome.