Work Experience
Title
Work Experience
Description
Work/Life Experience during Covid-19
Creator
RNJ
Language
English
Text
During the pandemic I was what was considered a "front line workers". I managed a coffee shop...The one "America Runs On." To say that the year plus that I worked in the pandemic was a living hell is an understatement. Between ownership, employees and customer interactions, there is much to tell about running a store for a billion dollar corporation.
The ownership from the start did not take the pandemic seriously. Rather than investing in proper PPE for their employees, ownership cut corners. We were sent out to stores like WalMart and Job Lot to purchase T-shirts to cut into face coverings and tie together with rubber bands. From there it only got worse, the product supplier began selling "masks" that were a little bit of an improvement over the ones we made. These masks were almost the same thing, but no rubber bands, just slits for going around our ears. Not once did ownership invest in proper PPE, and that's a damn shame.
Customer interactions were almost a joke. People were coming into my store throwing a fit because we refused to serve them without a mask, as if it was a violation of their rights. Corporate complaints flooded my email regularly, almost as if people had forgotten what we were risking for them just to make them a cup of coffee they were too lazy to make themselves, or a sandwich (again, that they were too lazy to make for themselves). Don't get me wrong, not all interactions were bad and there were some people who repeatedly told us how grateful they were for us to be providing for them. At one point, I got a positive comment sent to my email, stating that we all deserved raises and that ownership should recognize the work we put in every day. This was met with a joke from one of the owners, joking about paying everyone $15 an hour...who would have thought asking for a liveable wage would have been turned into a joke.
Living through a pandemic is something I will never forget. Seeing how ungrateful people are during this time is mind boggling and surely something that I will remember for the rest of my life. At some point, those who believe the pandemic is a hoax or wearing a mask is a form of suppression will pull their heads out of their asses, but until then.....
The ownership from the start did not take the pandemic seriously. Rather than investing in proper PPE for their employees, ownership cut corners. We were sent out to stores like WalMart and Job Lot to purchase T-shirts to cut into face coverings and tie together with rubber bands. From there it only got worse, the product supplier began selling "masks" that were a little bit of an improvement over the ones we made. These masks were almost the same thing, but no rubber bands, just slits for going around our ears. Not once did ownership invest in proper PPE, and that's a damn shame.
Customer interactions were almost a joke. People were coming into my store throwing a fit because we refused to serve them without a mask, as if it was a violation of their rights. Corporate complaints flooded my email regularly, almost as if people had forgotten what we were risking for them just to make them a cup of coffee they were too lazy to make themselves, or a sandwich (again, that they were too lazy to make for themselves). Don't get me wrong, not all interactions were bad and there were some people who repeatedly told us how grateful they were for us to be providing for them. At one point, I got a positive comment sent to my email, stating that we all deserved raises and that ownership should recognize the work we put in every day. This was met with a joke from one of the owners, joking about paying everyone $15 an hour...who would have thought asking for a liveable wage would have been turned into a joke.
Living through a pandemic is something I will never forget. Seeing how ungrateful people are during this time is mind boggling and surely something that I will remember for the rest of my life. At some point, those who believe the pandemic is a hoax or wearing a mask is a form of suppression will pull their heads out of their asses, but until then.....
Date
5/4/2021
Location
Warwick RI
Collection
Citation
Anonymous, “Work Experience,” Rhode Island COVID-19 Archive, accessed September 20, 2024, http://ricovidarchive.rihs.org/items/show/8291.
Comments