The Deli Blog-Hickies, Drugs & Naughty Nurses... They all worked @ B.A.D.

     I promise that what I'm about to tell you is completely true. Some of these stories are funny. Some still make me angry. And some, make me sad.

     The above is the original sentence to this post. In it, I detailed, sans specific names, some of the true events at the deli. But after sleeping on it, I've decided to severely amend my writing. I feel that while telling you about the everyday craziness of B.A.D. is therapy for me, it's completely unfair to the players who still live in Snyder and can't defend themselves.

      So instead of giving the gorey details, here are the Cliff Notes version of some things that really happened.

     The most benign might be the story of  'hicky boy.' He worked for us at the beginning. Originally, "Mando" was a customer who'd Skype with his girlfriend at our front, window table. Then, we hired him and he was fantastic. He never waited any tables, but he covered the floor like a ballerina.
     Remember the girlfriend? Well, she finally came to Snyder. The employee asked for a couple days off. "Of course," we said.
     He showed up for his first day back covered in hickies... huge bruises up and down both sides of his neck. To make matters worse, he was wearing our standard B.A.D. t-shirt at the time.

      Then, we had the uniform destroying waitress. Again, this was benign but still unexpected. In this person's story, we gave her our initial B.A.D. t-shirt uniform. No big deal. Wear it. Keep it clean. We have more for other days.
      Before we knew it, she started showing up with the sleeves cut off. Then, she'd added tassels. Then, she wore it tied just below her chest.
      "Whoa! What's she doing," I asked Teresa.
      "Not gonna happen here. I'll fix it."
      The worker didn't like what she heard and walked out on a jam packed night.

     Before or after 'Torn t-shirt girl' there was 'Stoner boy.' I'm pretty sure this kid smoked pot from waking to sleeping. Still, he was a good guy and did a pretty good job. But one day, there was a dark turn.
     He showed up just out of it, kind of like he was sleep walking. With his eyes barely open, his head looked like it was attached with spaghetti. Something was completely different.
     We operated with extremely hot panini grills at this time. We had sharp knives. This kid was in no shape. Meantime, we were packed.
     I pulled this young man aside. Our conversation was:
     "Hey... hey... hey... What are you on?"
     "Nothing."
     "B.S. What are you smoking?"
     "I'm not smoking anything."
     "You're wasted! What are you smoking."
     "It doesn't smoke."

      It's almost inevitable in the restaurant business for employees to not 'hook-up.' It happens. Sometimes it ends good. Sometimes it ends bad.
      Two, top-shelf employees had a thing. But one night after drinking, they got into a fight.... in his truck while driving.
      Both shared their version. Both showed us pictures of scratches and bruising. One quit. One didn't.

       The one story that stands out the most happened in our kitchen. No one in the dining room could hear it, but the episode began during the lunch rush and exploded into explecatives with a still crowded dining room.
          We had a long standing policy at B.A.D. regarding how the sandwiches were supposed to look and sound when cut in half.
          But on this day, all our sourdough sandwiches were coming out less than perfect... too light... not toasted enough... one after another. Finally, I had to go into the kitchen and ask....
        "Hey, what's up? All the sourdough sandwiches are coming out not done."
        No answer.
         "Hey! What's up?"
        "What! You're F-ing color blind. You don't know what you're F-ing talking about. Get the F out of here. Get the F out!"
         That employee was sent home, but returned the next day. We talked and worked things out. He had issues in his life.

       The naughty nurse is a case of stubborn teenager meets Teresa. A young teen came to work for us. She was great... perfect, in fact. But after many months, she quit just to be a teenager. "Of course," we said. "Come back anytime."
       She did, maybe a year later. But, she had 'blossomed.' And the rub was, she was proud of her 'blossoms.'
       I gave this situation to T, who very subtly, very consistently and very often told the teen to change. Simply put, a medium sized body does not ever fit into an extra small outfit. The look just wasn't what we were serving.
       Finally on Halloween, the worker showed up in a Naughty Nurse costume. Teresa took on the task again. "Go home, change and come back."
       To her credit, the young lady did just that. Then the next morning, I found a handwritten note on our employee sign-in sheet. It read: "Last night was last night to work at B.A.D.... EVER!"

      Those are some of the quirky issues we had at B.A.D. I'm sure I'll think of more to pass along. But the point is, we never expected the almost daily drama and crises that came with operating a small business.

   
Bill Robertson, Maybe next time, I'll write about the 'nose-ring boy,' the 'perpetual flirt guy,' the meat slicer accident, the 'this job is too stressful guy,' the 'I lost my paycheck girl,' the 'I'm sick again guy,' and the 'I'm getting out of jail in a few minutes. Can you give me a ride to work guy.'