Working at a bakery as a sensitive HFA?

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PlainJane28
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28 Mar 2013, 12:18 am

Would working at a market bakery be a good first job for someone like me? I can't handle anything fast paced (it has to be calm and not chaotic), anything with too many tasks (multi-tasking), noises and crowding, or faking social interaction, or deciphering them. What would you do if you were hired? Would they make you juggle all kinds of impossible things? I'm afraid most of having a meltdown by being overwhelmed or stimulated.

I assume it would be fine, it's never busy, no one is ever at the front. I wouldn't mind dealing with a customer twice a day. But what is it like at the back? Are you rushed around with people breathing down your neck to do a order fast? Are there a lot of people usually, or is it calm and more empty than filled?

I already did an online application for one at Fred Myer, but it had a "personality" test, obviously designed to measure if you have good social skills and endurance. It scared me a bit, makes me think they would never hire someone like me. Does it mean they expect you to deal with people most of the time?

Should I apply for another one at QFC, or should I forget about seeking this kind of job?



DrHouseHasAspergers
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28 Mar 2013, 8:43 am

I work in a deli in a grocery store. There is a lot of food that has to get made and we have to watch the counter for customers while we are making it. You have to work fast otherwise a lot of what needs to be done won't get done and most of the time, customers are in a hurry so you have to get them their food quickly, too. At the store I work the deli and bakery are sort of combined. The bakers get there early like at 5 AM and they are usually gone at 1 PM. A lot of the time, the deli people actually give the bakery orders to the customer who ordered them. We just go in back and look for the order with the person's name on it. So I don't think there is a whole lot of social interaction required for working in a bakery.
It was super hard for me when I first started working in a deli because I barely talked and when I did talk, it wasn't much more than a whisper. Customers and my coworkers had a hard time hearing me so I learned to speak up and now it is easier to deal with the people. There is actually sort of a joke among the deli workers that they weren't even sure I could talk for the first few months.
I think you can do it if you really try and if you get the job, it'll get easier after you've been there a while and learned what's expected of you.



faithfilly
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28 Mar 2013, 9:15 am

I worked at a famous bakery just on the other side of the Potomac by Washington, D.C. when I was 25 yrs. old. I never enjoyed going to work at any other job as much as I did there. This is amazing considering that I normally hate anything fast paced involving any form of social contact with strangers.

I am sure that the only reason this was such a positive experience is because the couple who own the bakery are the nicest bosses anyone could ever have. They sincerely cared about me and all their employees. They had no children (at least back then). I wonder if that's why we (the employees) were treated so lovingly? Or maybe its because people were generally nicer in 1985 than they are now? On top of that, the couple were always laughing, happy, telling jokes, being playful, generous, and always thoughtful.

My being highly sensitive enhanced the experience of working in this bakery. My senses were continually rewarded, especially by how good everything smelled everyday! The place had big windows and was often sunny. Because the customers were always happy to be there, I was treated nicer by them than what people would treat me anywhere else.

The joyful spirit of the atmosphere never allowed for anxiety to creep in. I never had anything to fear.

The moral to this story is exceptions happen. They are rare, but possible.


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"Has not my hand made all these things, and so they came into being?" declares the LORD. "This is the one I esteem: he who is humble and contrite in spirit, and trembles at my word." – Isaiah 66:2