Good cop, bad cop, fair cop?

What a night! Phew I have to say it's been one of the most horrid nights of my working life! Clearing up after a vomiting dog with diarrhea wasn't even this bad! Breaking my leg dancing on stage on a cruise ship was a piece of cake compared to the night I've just experienced!

First of all I had my disciplinary meeting at 8pm as soon as I walked in the building. I faced two managers across the desk of a windowless cell, oops I mean office. They were obviously doing there best good cop / bad cop routine, and do it well, they did. I wouldn't have minded if I'd done something hideous, been guilty of some heinous crime, sold trade secrets, lost the company thousands or sworn at a customer. Nope, my crime and the reason for this disciplinary, was to fail to offer to call a hotel for a client, not refuse to do it, just not offer to do it. Did the client complain? Nope. Was he unhappy? Nope Did I lie? Nope. But apparently that's beside the point and not relevant!

At the end of this disciplinary meeting I was told by the 'Bad Cop' that they were now going to take 24 hours to consider the next course of action the company will take against me. It could be a letter of concern, or it could be a stage one, which is a suspension, withdrawal of any incentives and trips (goodbye New York) or a stage two, which is the sack!

Now, if it's a stage two, that means I cant be trusted to do the job, and if it's that case, then why am I trusted to do the job for the 24 hours between the meeting and the decision being made and notified to me. Well, I'll give you a clue, the office would have been short staffed!!

As I'm sure you can imagine, I was in a rather subdued mood for the rest of my night, however, I was professional and kept myself to myself and did my work. All was well until one of my work colleagues, asked for help and called me over. While I was giving the said help and advising her what needed to be done, on what actually is and has always been part of her job, she proceeded to shout at me! OK, now this lady is a bit on the loud side, I can always cope with that, I take it in good humour. What really got my back up, is when she did exactly the same less that thirty minutes later!

Did I bite back? Nope, I'm good like that, I can't stand arguments or bad feeling, so I kept me trap shut. About an hour later, this woman starts up a conversation with another work colleague about the virtues of a specialist restaurant in London called St John. She delighted in going over board on descriptions of items on the menu with graphic detail at a fraction off shouting volume. You may think that isn't bad, however let me give you some of those dishes on the menu, rolled pig spleen, bone marrow and parsley salad, pig brain omelet, chitterlings and widgeon. Now she knows I'm a vegetarian, my other work colleagues informed her that they were feeling rather sick with the gab about pig and cow innards, yet go on? She did. I have to say it turned my stomach! Was she doing this on purpose , I couldn't possibly say, but walking out of that building this morning, made me wish I didn't have to work for a living anymore! There's gotta be more to life than this!

Oh well, I've got to sleep now, before I go in to work for to night, possibly for the very last time, well it will be if it's a stage two!

Thanks to Tom and Jerry for your kind words, if it goes to a stage two, then you'll hear about the homophobic attitude of a very well known company that's whole business is built on it's reputation, so too will the readership of a national magazine, whose features editor is a personal friend!