Thursday, March 11, 2010

I'm Mature....How insulting

So, I had an interview yesterday evening at a themed type of restaurant that looked like a lot of fun. The summer time is packed with bikers and old car collectors and anybody else coming through East Tennessee. According to the owner, it's a great place to work. (Like she'd tell me anything else?!)

BFF went along with me, and in fact she is the one that found the ad for the job in the first place. We knew that with it being an interview on site, we were more likely to land the job. We are so irresistible.

Well, I used to be....Now, I'm mature.

Let me explain. BFF is 5 years younger than I and never had children. She's bubbly and sweet and energetic. I can pretend to be for 8 hours a day. But, I'm really not so energetic. I'm really not so bubbly anymore either.

BFF had her interview first. I could hear it. The owner seemed impressed, BFF said all the right things and even made the owner laugh a couple of times. I could tell she was happy with BFF. This sent my heart soaring. I'm just as people oriented as BFF and I could SO use the tips that come with waitressing/serving. Seriously. Desperately.

Right after BFF it was my turn. I smiled big, I shook her hand, looked her in the eyes. I spoke clearly and loudly. Not too loudly, but you definitely do not have to lean your head to hear my voice, okay? She seemed impressed but said this;

"I am looking for servers, but I'm also needing a good host. Would you want to do that?"
"I could host, though the majority of my experience is with serving."
"I need someone mature enough, which you obviously are, to handle the flow of customers and to be the first and last person seen at the restaurant."
*Smile Big* "Okay."
"I do cross train."
"I would love that!"
"Great, I'll be making calls this week and training starts on Monday."
"Wonderful, look forward to hearing from you."

Then BFF and I compared notes. She mentioned all the fun stuff and how much servers make in tips to BFF. No, she did not mention any of that to me. Bands? UFC Fight night? Hmm. Nope. Just talk of maturity.

Then it hit me. I mean hit me like a ton of bricks and I know it's cliche, but that's SERIOUSLY how it felt. That woman interviewed me and said mature, what she meant was OLD. She doubted my ability to be a perky waitress that runs all over the restaurant. And I'm a damn good waitress, honey.

What a bitch.

Okay, not really. I'm overreacting due to my own insecurities. But.....

I've been licking my wounds all night.

Then, CJ came through for me. As my eyes welled with tears and I explained the whole, old vs young and obviously next to BFF I'm OLD and OMG I'm OLD!

"Oh, honey. You just get better with age."

I prefer fiction.

16 comments:

  1. That is so sad! But the way you recount it is so funny! well written also!

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  2. LOL Pat, thank you! I'm glad you empathize with me, because....it was a shocker!! :0)

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  3. Kristi, let me tell you something from being a restuarant manager for aknist 20 years -- she didn't hire you because you were old, she hired you because she needed someone who had the EXPERIENCE of a waitress but who was MATURE enough to handle hostessing.
    She wasn't going to waste your talent on being a waitress, most anyone can do that. She wants you on the floor in a different capacity, probably she knows how far she can go with you. Asst. Mgr. Gen. Mgr. She knows she'll need someone with your background to be able to call on when things get hairy. I'd take it as a compliment.

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  4. I agree with Piedmont Writer 100%. It's not about you being "old," which you are NOT. It's about you being responsible.

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  5. I commented to a a (admittedly Y-gen) colleague just this morning that Corey Haim had died and that there hasn't really been a good vampire flick since the "Lost Boys".

    She looked at me as though I was retarded...

    "You are sooo old" she said.

    I swear - gray hair sprouted from my head right then.

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  6. Thank you ladies! That does make me feel much better.

    Dean: I agree with you about the Lost Boys. LOL My other OLD moment was when I mentioned that I had a certain cassette as a kid (musical) and the kid looked at me weird. Then asked, what is a cassette? OMG

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  7. Too bad you didn't know which car in the parking lot was hers. A little twist of a valve, a little flat tire...

    ...then she'd see how immature we grownups can really be!

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  8. LOL!! You are NOT old!! (and by extension I mean I am NOT old... because it's all about me... you know... since I'm so mature...)

    I was a hostess for a summer and I actually made tips. People gave them to me because they said I was friendlier and twice as helpful as the waitresses. And I was 18...which is so not old.

    And - sigh - if you really want to be old you can look at it this way: a hostess is paid a solid, dependable amount of money. And rarely has to deal with the jerks... at least not for more than 10-15 minutes. :))

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  9. I hate that. In my heart I'm still late 20's but not so much anymore. To be honest with you my boss is younger than me.

    It's so sad, I feel your pain.

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  10. ahhh The Lost Boys, you're right - best vampire movie ever.
    And I agree with Piedmont...
    And NO WE'RE NOT old!

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  11. If it makes you feel any better, I'm more 'mature' than you are. :)

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  12. LOL! Ditto what Piedmont said. She is spot on! :-)

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  13. I'll go with Anne here, too. It might not feel like it, but it's a compliment and a good thing. :)

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  14. I have zero food service experience, but I think Anne's read sounded spot-on. Why go back into the trenches when it sounds like the interviewer sees you as potential management material?

    Every age has its pluses and minuses. I think back to my 20s--when I'd meet very together moms like your self and think, "wow, she's so amazing! Knows how to handle things well, not stupidly floundering around like me."

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  15. I still remember the first time someone called me Ma'am. I was so insulted. My mother was a ma'am. I was not.

    Getting older is inevitable, but you're only as old as you believe yourself to be. And personally, I think reading and writing for kids helps keep you young. That's my story and I'm sticking with it :)

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  16. And as the mother of the "old" girl, try talking about 8 tracks! That's when everyone looks at you with wide eyes to make sure you are not talking about train tracks! :)

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