Drowning In Frustration

The pool I work at hired a new employee who previously worked at a famous water park in our area. Since she had that background, we assumed she’d be a great employee. When I first met her, she was caked in makeup with eyelashes up to her forehead, and she was about to teach a swimming lesson. Surprisingly, none of it came off, so I asked her where she got her mascara. She then tried to play it off like her eyelashes were natural, which was warning number one. 

She has a shift on Saturdays from four to eight, but a month into working, she advertises that she wants the shift covered because she recently had a concussion and her grandma is sick.

Legitimate reasons, and I’m sure if she had talked to our boss, it would’ve been covered no problem. She didn’t, though, because she only wanted the six-to-eight part covered. No one wants to only work two hours on a Saturday night, but I’m already working noon to four, so I offer to work the entire four-to-eight shift. I hear nothing later and just assume she’s changed her mind.

A week or so passes until I’m working with the girl and she brings up the topic of her Saturday night coverage.

Girl: “It’s just been a hard decision for me because I don’t feel well, but I need the hours. So I’m trying to just get rid of two hours of my shift, so I can just have a break because it’s hard with my concussion.”

Me: “I understand, and I really want to help out. What if I worked four to six? It’s more convenient for me and you would still get those two hours.”

Girl: *Pauses* “Mmm, I have to think about that.”

I was stunned by this response because that was as good as she was going to get. I didn’t live nearby at all and didn’t want to work noon to four, have two hours off, and then be back from six to eight. I decided to drop it and cover someone’s opening on the next Saturday, instead.

On Friday night, around 11:00 pm, I was lying in bed and I just got a feeling to check our work’s email. I opened it up and, sure enough, that girl replied to my old email recently with, “Thanks, [My Name], you’re the best.”

So, I basically had to work a 6:30 am to 8:00 pm shift, and I was not happy. Luckily, she didn’t last long.