Good Advice Guy

This morning, I clocked out at 7AM. I was lollygagging because it was frigid out and sunrise was at 7:01. I was in no hurry to walk the skating rink that is our parking lot- let the sun beat down a while and maybe reduce the ice factor a bit.

As I’m preparing to head out, I see two guys walking toward the front doors and think to myself, “What the cinnamon toast fuck are these guys doing here on a morning like this?”

As they get closer, I recognize one of them, he works for our custodial contractor. He’s a young Dominican man from the Bronx, a good, hard-working kid.

The last time I saw him was on a rare Thursday when I started at 5PM. He told me that he had quit his other job, where he had few hours, with no consistency, and where he felt disrespected. He had found a full-time job, Monday to Friday, and he was planning on quitting the second part-time job because he wouldn’t be able to arrive at 5PM on Tuesday.

I told him that there wasn’t a magic day or hour for him to clean our place, and suggested that he talk to the boss about coming in on Saturday or Sunday, if he wanted to pick up extra work. He has the keys and the alarm codes he needs.

Sure enough, he spoke to the boss, a decent guy, and he remained working Saturdays. He and his wife have a baby and the extra money is useful.  I was happy to hear that he is happy with his full-time job and feels respected and valued there.

I’m glad I had the talk with him, he’s young and I don’t think it even occurred to him that he could negotiate with a boss, and make his own hours. Needless to say, I was happy to see him, and ecstatic that my advice to him was sound.