Well I have. It is the best way to gain experience. You go into a place, not knowing anyone or what is to be done. In most cases, you haven't a clue as to where you will be seated, or what kind of equipment might be available for you , or what is needed while you are there.
I have worked for the Gas Company - now that was a challenge. The girl who had been responsible for the filing had things shoved into every drawer in her desk and on every empty hidding space she could find. When the salesman came into the office for an order they wanted to check up on, lots of luck Charlie. Who knew where in the heck it could be?
Well fortunately I have organizatioinal skills, so I set about putting all the little piles into one big pile. A's in one B's in another and soforth until I had the mess down to a manageable place to sort and find something. Within a couple of day things were put aright, and when someone came into the office they could go to the file and find what it was they needed. Amazing. A little time and some organization and whala, it works!
I was appreciated, and even offered full time there, but the Gas Company has to post their vacancies, and the job had to go to an insider. So I was off and on to another job in a couple of months. No problem.
I was called to work for Bondo. They make products for repairing cars damaged in accidents.
It was a small office, but the girls were friendly and the work something I enjoyed doing. It went well. I was there about 3 months I think. Great fun and work I enjoyed very much.
Then I went to Safeway Bakeries where they needed a Route Biller. I really liked it there. It smelled good, and when we wanted a snack, we just went out and brought back to the office what ever we liked from the line that day. Not good for the waistline, but good for the old tum tum tum! I was in and out of there a couple of times. Loved it, and would have liked to stay, but it wasn't ment to be. Too bad!
I worked at Rivere Ware - Copper Bottom Cook Ware. It was the biggest office I worked in and I was asked to do a number of things. It seemed I was great at taking over when someone got sick and left things in a mess. I would have to go through the desk and find out what was in need of immediate attention. Mostly there I did payroll, but there were other duties as well. It was here I worked the switch board. I had taken a class at night school to learn that, and enjoyed it very much. Of course with all the new phone gagets, that soon became quite passee.
While I was here one of the women got sick and I had to switch over to take her duties. One was making out Savings Bonds where the funds were deducted from the paychecks of the emplyees by request each pay period. What I found was, this had not been kept up to date. I had to go to the supervisor and ask what he wanted me to do with it. Clean it up, or leave it until the gal returned. Of course, when you take money from a mans paycheck and he thinks it is being put into savings, it becomes a whole new ballgame. I was told to do what I could and get back to them. It took some doing, but I was able to figure out the system, get back into the payroll sheets and figure out just who had what going to where. It ment making out a very large order for the bank to make out the Bonds. When it was all finished it was quite a deal. I can't remember what happened to the gal. I think they told her she didn't need to come back. I stayed until they found someone else to work full time. I don't recall why I didn't stay, I usually was hired after such jobs were finished so successfully.
I believe I told you about working at the Evelope and Binder Company. That was one of my most favorite places. I had a chance to do so many things that helped hone my skills and make me a better all around worker.
I worked at LA Spring and Wire when Jay was in the Navy during the Korean War. That was a great deal for me. Within walking distance to where the folks lived. It wasn't fancy, but it was good pay and I liked doing the payroll there. I was hired outright, this wasn't one of those short term places to work.
Of course I worked at the Bank of America and did a number of things there. It was not my most favorite place to work, but it was a new experience and I learned more about Banking than I ever wanted to know. They kept sending us to one Class after another and of course we had to take the Safety Classes for Bank Robbery. The funniest thing that happened while I was working in the Main office in Anaheim was one of the girls was working the drive up window. Now you know the drive up window is bullet proof. However one early morning before the inside was open, the drive up was. A young man drove up, put a gun up to the window and demanded cash. The gal responded by handing him the money, and he happily drove away. She had followed all the safety rules. Don't argue just give them the cash. The only trouble was she was in no danger, he could have emptied the gun and it wouldn't have done a thing to her. Oh well.
We did have another robbery while I was at the Brookhurst-Ball Branch. It went down quite fast and the Manager chased the robber out of the Bank and through the Mall. Not suppose to do that, but it all turned out O.K. no one was harmed, and the Teller was able to get the ink on the bills.
I worked at the Statement and Safety Deposit Box window for a time. That was a way to get educated. I had an oriental gal come in one day and get very upset with me because she had been contacted because she was overdrawn. She quickly pulled out her check book and told me she couldn't be overdrawn, she still had checks. Yes, that is what she said, and whats more, she believed it!
Another time I had a person come in and wonder what was happening to their money. They were broke and they had no idea how that could be as they had been putting their money in the bank as usual. I went over all the account and could not find where their money was going to either. Then we went deeper into it. We finally discovered there account had been accessed in error at another branch when another customer came in for some checks and deposit slips. As it happened the encoding was for our Branch and not the one where the request had been made.
The people on the other end were concerned their balance was way too large, and was afraid to spend for fear they would have to make up a large amount one day. It took two of us working from opposite ends to get it all unraveled. It worked, and any charges were layed at the feet of the Branch where the error had occured.
It has always been my habit to check the encoding on every new check and deposit slip order that I get. Errors are not made often, but it only takes once to cause a large headache.
I was called to work at Blue Diamond Cement for awhile. That was a piece of cake. Jay was working as an Independent so I knew all about the business. I was able to do the office work and help backup on the routing as well. They really liked me there, and I would have liked to stay, but again I was filling in for someone who was out sick. They had priority over the job and I was satisfied with being appreciated. It is such a great feeling to know that you can step into something and carry it off with a bit of smoothness. I am not always so confident, but I have a great way of covering my fears when I start out. I don't believe anyone feels all that confident when they start in a new position. Not only to learn what you are suppose to be doing, but to find a nitche with all those who you will be working with. On the most part, people are a bit cool to part time workers, because they don't know how long they are going to stay. In my case, I do well as a loner, and do not try to force a place. That makes it easy for those around to make their own overture into a relationship. It usually comes during breaks or lunch time. Someone usually offers to put your order for a sandwich or salad in with theirs while they are calling it in. From there things just seem to work out.
I liked working Part Time. It made it easy for me to take the time I needed when the kids were not in school, or we wanted to take a vacation. You can tell them when and where you can work.
Oh, I forgot about Fluid Master. I worked there the longest, and returned a number of times. They liked me there, and I got along with the rest of the workers. I think there were just the three of us in the office. I had a cubby hole to work in, but it was fine. I had all the room and equipment that I needed. The work was something I enjoyed doing, and the office was not all that far from the house. If I needed something to fix my toilet, it was at my finger tips. The salesman were the very best. They were so good to the girls in the office. I had a lot of perks while I was with them.
It was there I learned all about Toilets. They had been called Water Closets at one time. I think the thing that touched me the most is "what is in a name". The first porcelain toilets were made in England by a man named Thomas Crapper. It was he who perfected the efficient instrument we all use everyday. Of course when they produced the porcelain bowl they imprinted it with his name "Crapper". Sad to think that a man who did so much for our daily comfort has his good name so slandered on a regular basis. Strange how things come into our lives and leave an impression we would never have known, except someone took the time to write a book about this dear soul.
Well, I guess I should finish this by telling you I didn't work for the money. I worked because Jay was in business for himself and Medical Insurance was so expensive for an Independent, I sought work to have family insurance. When I was looking for work my prayer was not that I would make top wages, but the Insurance coverage would be the best we could get. It saved us on many occasion. There were two things that I found I wanted to do while I was working. One was to meet my financial responsibility to the Church and the other was to obtain Insurance that would take the pressure off Jay so he could do what he wanted to do, be in Business for himself. It was a work in progress, and a joint effort on both of our parts. We made it work, and the work made it possible for us to take care of the needs of our family more efficiently.
I had warned Jay that being in business for himself would mean working longer and harder than he would have to if he was working for someone else. He wanted the challenge and was able to carry it off successfully for over 35 years. He had a great reputation and was admired by all who worked with him. He could have branched out as others had done and bought another truck or two, but no one would have kept the equipment up the way he did, and that would have worried him to death. It was my pleasure to work along with him, and help him reach his dream. He was a very dedicated person. I think we all knew that about him.
Written this 10th day of August 2009
by: Eileen Rosenberg
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