23 Jun 2009, 8:28 pm
How does everyone here cope with service oriented jobs (food service, etc.)? They seem to be the easiest jobs to get, yet they rely too much on quick thinking, problem solving, multitasking and from what I know, they're full of snotty people who don't like their jobs and choose to take it out on everyone else. 
My summer job last year was at a popular coffee chain, and it was pure hell. At first, I was pretty optimistic that I was going into a supportive environment, as the application clearly stated that they were an equal opportunity employer. I took it out of this optimism and the fact that it was the only place that offered me a job.
The biggest obstacle I have as someone with AS is that I absolutely suck at multitasking...and this job depended on it. Although I was quick at filling orders and ringing them out, problems arose when someone was talking to me WHILE I was doing something with my hands. Autistic author Donna Williams has described this phenomenon and identified it within herself as 'monotrack': or being able to focus on only one aspect of the environment at a given time: in this case, if I was focused on the customer and their orders, I'd completely tune out a co-worker talking to me .
To make things worse, most of the people there (with the exception of 2-3) were bitter and disillusioned, and they always criticised me and harshly reprimanded me for doing something wrong instead of guiding me.
Because I'm so used to things going smoothly, if something unknown came up or if I got an order wrong, the panic button in my head would immedately beg to be pressed because there were often customers waiting and that's all I would think about. That's another thing...I'm horrible at problem solving quickly, and it's not like I could ask for anyone's help because everyone else had orders to fill...and whenever I asked (which I had to do A LOT) they groaned and complained.
The worst part was working with one of the supervisors I had, who quite frankly, was the most harsh, cold-hearted person person I have ever met, and I've met many of them! It was basically an echo of the teachers I had in grade school all over again, which was also hell. She would never address me in a calm manner: she'd yell at me abruptly, and always talk while I was doing a task. She would state over and over that I "just didn't listen" although I DID listen. She'd interpret my rigid, highly obedient behaviour towards her as arrogance, but really, it was anxiety because she scared the s*** out of me. How else was I supposed to behave towards someone who would blow a fuse at any moment?
She threw a tantrum (yes, she had tantrums) once when I was one minute late, and yet another one when a task I was supposed to do slipped my mind. And when I put the bread in the toaster the wrong way once, she hit me! Some other similar incidents happened...one of her tantrums made me reach my breaking point, and I walked out. A meeting happened after with the manager and this supervisor, she cried through this meeting (wtf?) and the issue was solved by me not being on her shifts. I mentioned I had an anxiety disorder but not AS (which is semi-true...I'm good with social skills but less so with managing anxiety).
I quit a few days later because of the stress of seeing her during the swift switch (I didn't tell them that, of course). There was no "Thanks for working with us" or anything like that, the supervisor on shift (a different one, but who also had a grudge against me) was just like "Ok. Bye. Click." And this is the food service industry we're talking about here. Whatever happened to service with a smile?
/rant
/tangent
Being monotrack has been a huge problem for me ever since I was a kid. My tearful first words coming off the school bus were "Mommy, the teacher told me that I wasn't paying attention". When I had the falling out with my supervisor, my mom noticed that it was an echo of what I experienced when I was six. She also said that it could be a power issue and that maybe she felt intimidated by me as I'm in university and she was a 40 year old working class mom doing it to support her kids.
Does anyone relate or have similar experiences to share? Does anyone else share my difficulties with information processing at work or less than optimal supervisors/bosses? If so, how do you cope?
Last edited by anneurysm on 23 Jun 2009, 8:38 pm, edited 2 times in total.
23 Jun 2009, 8:33 pm
23 Jun 2009, 9:09 pm
Your experiences were exactly like mine. I cannot mutitask, at least not in a food service environment. I realized several years ago that I simply cannot function in those sorts of jobs. I was called every name in the book by customers as well as coworkers. However my experience convinced me that I had to obtain higer education so that I wouldn't be stuck with those sorts of jobs. Not putting down people who do these jobs well, I have much respect for them and admire how they can continue to serve the public well under these pressures. 
It is just not and never will be one of my strengths.
23 Jun 2009, 10:12 pm
23 Jun 2009, 10:13 pm
I don't usually have a problem with multi-tasking; actually, I'm pretty good at it. I bounce back and forth between projects on my computer all day. I will admit, though, if I'm doing something and someone walks up to me and starts talking I won't be able to follow what they are saying and continue with what I'm doing at the same time unless it's something pretty mindless and repetitive. Usually, I have to stop and put down what I'm working on to talk about something. I always thought it was pretty normal to not be able to follow a conversation while working on something, though. 
Regards,
Patricia
elderwanda
Veteran
Joined: 17 Nov 2008
Age: 56
Gender: Female
Posts: 1,534
Location: San Francisco Bay Area
27 Jun 2009, 9:57 pm
anneurysm wrote:
How does everyone here cope with service oriented jobs (food service, etc.)? They seem to be the easiest jobs to get, yet they rely too much on quick thinking, problem solving, multitasking and from what I know, they're full of snotty people who don't like their jobs and choose to take it out on everyone else.
My summer job last year was at a popular coffee chain, and it was pure hell. At first, I was pretty optimistic that I was going into a supportive environment, as the application clearly stated that they were an equal opportunity employer. I took it out of this optimism and the fact that it was the only place that offered me a job.
The biggest obstacle I have as someone with AS is that I absolutely suck at multitasking...and this job depended on it. Although I was quick at filling orders and ringing them out, problems arose when someone was talking to me WHILE I was doing something with my hands. Autistic author Donna Williams has described this phenomenon and identified it within herself as 'monotrack': or being able to focus on only one aspect of the environment at a given time: in this case, if I was focused on the customer and their orders, I'd completely tune out a co-worker talking to me .
To make things worse, most of the people there (with the exception of 2-3) were bitter and disillusioned, and they always criticised me and harshly reprimanded me for doing something wrong instead of guiding me.
Because I'm so used to things going smoothly, if something unknown came up or if I got an order wrong, the panic button in my head would immedately beg to be pressed because there were often customers waiting and that's all I would think about. That's another thing...I'm horrible at problem solving quickly, and it's not like I could ask for anyone's help because everyone else had orders to fill...and whenever I asked (which I had to do A LOT) they groaned and complained.
The worst part was working with one of the supervisors I had, who quite frankly, was the most harsh, cold-hearted person person I have ever met, and I've met many of them! It was basically an echo of the teachers I had in grade school all over again, which was also hell. She would never address me in a calm manner: she'd yell at me abruptly, and always talk while I was doing a task. She would state over and over that I "just didn't listen" although I DID listen. She'd interpret my rigid, highly obedient behaviour towards her as arrogance, but really, it was anxiety because she scared the s*** out of me. How else was I supposed to behave towards someone who would blow a fuse at any moment?
She threw a tantrum (yes, she had tantrums) once when I was one minute late, and yet another one when a task I was supposed to do slipped my mind. And when I put the bread in the toaster the wrong way once, she hit me! Some other similar incidents happened...one of her tantrums made me reach my breaking point, and I walked out. A meeting happened after with the manager and this supervisor, she cried through this meeting (wtf?) and the issue was solved by me not being on her shifts. I mentioned I had an anxiety disorder but not AS (which is semi-true...I'm good with social skills but less so with managing anxiety).
I quit a few days later because of the stress of seeing her during the swift switch (I didn't tell them that, of course). There was no "Thanks for working with us" or anything like that, the supervisor on shift (a different one, but who also had a grudge against me) was just like "Ok. Bye. Click." And this is the food service industry we're talking about here. Whatever happened to service with a smile?
/rant
/tangent
Being monotrack has been a huge problem for me ever since I was a kid. My tearful first words coming off the school bus were "Mommy, the teacher told me that I wasn't paying attention". When I had the falling out with my supervisor, my mom noticed that it was an echo of what I experienced when I was six. She also said that it could be a power issue and that maybe she felt intimidated by me as I'm in university and she was a 40 year old working class mom doing it to support her kids.
Does anyone relate or have similar experiences to share? Does anyone else share my difficulties with information processing at work or less than optimal supervisors/bosses? If so, how do you cope?
My summer job last year was at a popular coffee chain, and it was pure hell. At first, I was pretty optimistic that I was going into a supportive environment, as the application clearly stated that they were an equal opportunity employer. I took it out of this optimism and the fact that it was the only place that offered me a job.
The biggest obstacle I have as someone with AS is that I absolutely suck at multitasking...and this job depended on it. Although I was quick at filling orders and ringing them out, problems arose when someone was talking to me WHILE I was doing something with my hands. Autistic author Donna Williams has described this phenomenon and identified it within herself as 'monotrack': or being able to focus on only one aspect of the environment at a given time: in this case, if I was focused on the customer and their orders, I'd completely tune out a co-worker talking to me .
To make things worse, most of the people there (with the exception of 2-3) were bitter and disillusioned, and they always criticised me and harshly reprimanded me for doing something wrong instead of guiding me.
Because I'm so used to things going smoothly, if something unknown came up or if I got an order wrong, the panic button in my head would immedately beg to be pressed because there were often customers waiting and that's all I would think about. That's another thing...I'm horrible at problem solving quickly, and it's not like I could ask for anyone's help because everyone else had orders to fill...and whenever I asked (which I had to do A LOT) they groaned and complained.
The worst part was working with one of the supervisors I had, who quite frankly, was the most harsh, cold-hearted person person I have ever met, and I've met many of them! It was basically an echo of the teachers I had in grade school all over again, which was also hell. She would never address me in a calm manner: she'd yell at me abruptly, and always talk while I was doing a task. She would state over and over that I "just didn't listen" although I DID listen. She'd interpret my rigid, highly obedient behaviour towards her as arrogance, but really, it was anxiety because she scared the s*** out of me. How else was I supposed to behave towards someone who would blow a fuse at any moment?
She threw a tantrum (yes, she had tantrums) once when I was one minute late, and yet another one when a task I was supposed to do slipped my mind. And when I put the bread in the toaster the wrong way once, she hit me! Some other similar incidents happened...one of her tantrums made me reach my breaking point, and I walked out. A meeting happened after with the manager and this supervisor, she cried through this meeting (wtf?) and the issue was solved by me not being on her shifts. I mentioned I had an anxiety disorder but not AS (which is semi-true...I'm good with social skills but less so with managing anxiety).
I quit a few days later because of the stress of seeing her during the swift switch (I didn't tell them that, of course). There was no "Thanks for working with us" or anything like that, the supervisor on shift (a different one, but who also had a grudge against me) was just like "Ok. Bye. Click." And this is the food service industry we're talking about here. Whatever happened to service with a smile?
/rant
/tangent
Being monotrack has been a huge problem for me ever since I was a kid. My tearful first words coming off the school bus were "Mommy, the teacher told me that I wasn't paying attention". When I had the falling out with my supervisor, my mom noticed that it was an echo of what I experienced when I was six. She also said that it could be a power issue and that maybe she felt intimidated by me as I'm in university and she was a 40 year old working class mom doing it to support her kids.
Does anyone relate or have similar experiences to share? Does anyone else share my difficulties with information processing at work or less than optimal supervisors/bosses? If so, how do you cope?
I remember a thread you started, which had people wondering what your AS characteristics were, because you seemed so NT. I guess this topic answers that!
I go to Starbucks quite often, and often think, "Oh man, I wouldn't survive here one minute!" I once had a job at the ice cream counter in a diner. I had to make all the sundaes, keep the ice cream and related supplies stocked, AND work the cash register. If things were slow, it wasn't too bad. But when a table of six decided that they each wanted their own unique banana split, and I ran out of peanut-butter mint chunk ice-cream half-way through, and the register tape jammed in the machine, and the phone was ringing...well, then it was HORRIBLE. Suddenly, the manager and a couple of waitresses would start buzzing around me, getting my job done for me, and the manager would be apologizing to customers left and right. When it all calmed down again, my coworkers would glare at me, and the boss would make a curt comment about speeding it up next time.
There was one snooty waitress who would come behind the counter to make sundaes for her customers when I was busy, and she'd get all upset that there was a slop of syrup on the counter. I mean, excuse me for living, but I'm in the middle of making three ice-cream sundaes, and if I stop to wipe up every little speck of syrup once a minute, you all would be on my case for not getting the customers' food to them in the blink of an eye! The problem was that she really was the type of person who was able to keep the counter spotless and do everything else all at once. In fact, most of the others were too, but they weren't as mean. When things got quiet, this one would go on and on about how I was making everyone else's job so hard.
So, hurrah for people who have the ability to be all powerful all the time. The only tolerable thing about that job was that I could make myself a sundae for lunch. Then again, that was the only kind of job I was "qualified for", despite having been in the military.
As far as coping, well...I can't help you there. I never learned how to cope with that. I know now to think twice before getting a job that involves multi-tasking, but is there any job like that?
28 Jun 2009, 9:14 am
29 Jun 2009, 12:55 am
anneurysm wrote:
How does everyone here cope with service oriented jobs (food service, etc.)? They seem to be the easiest jobs to get, yet they rely too much on quick thinking, problem solving, multitasking and from what I know, they're full of snotty people who don't like their jobs and choose to take it out on everyone else.
My summer job last year was at a popular coffee chain, and it was pure hell. At first, I was pretty optimistic that I was going into a supportive environment, as the application clearly stated that they were an equal opportunity employer. I took it out of this optimism and the fact that it was the only place that offered me a job.
The biggest obstacle I have as someone with AS is that I absolutely suck at multitasking...and this job depended on it. Although I was quick at filling orders and ringing them out, problems arose when someone was talking to me WHILE I was doing something with my hands. Autistic author Donna Williams has described this phenomenon and identified it within herself as 'monotrack': or being able to focus on only one aspect of the environment at a given time: in this case, if I was focused on the customer and their orders, I'd completely tune out a co-worker talking to me .
To make things worse, most of the people there (with the exception of 2-3) were bitter and disillusioned, and they always criticised me and harshly reprimanded me for doing something wrong instead of guiding me.
Because I'm so used to things going smoothly, if something unknown came up or if I got an order wrong, the panic button in my head would immedately beg to be pressed because there were often customers waiting and that's all I would think about. That's another thing...I'm horrible at problem solving quickly, and it's not like I could ask for anyone's help because everyone else had orders to fill...and whenever I asked (which I had to do A LOT) they groaned and complained.
The worst part was working with one of the supervisors I had, who quite frankly, was the most harsh, cold-hearted person person I have ever met, and I've met many of them! It was basically an echo of the teachers I had in grade school all over again, which was also hell. She would never address me in a calm manner: she'd yell at me abruptly, and always talk while I was doing a task. She would state over and over that I "just didn't listen" although I DID listen. She'd interpret my rigid, highly obedient behaviour towards her as arrogance, but really, it was anxiety because she scared the s*** out of me. How else was I supposed to behave towards someone who would blow a fuse at any moment?
She threw a tantrum (yes, she had tantrums) once when I was one minute late, and yet another one when a task I was supposed to do slipped my mind. And when I put the bread in the toaster the wrong way once, she hit me! Some other similar incidents happened...one of her tantrums made me reach my breaking point, and I walked out. A meeting happened after with the manager and this supervisor, she cried through this meeting (wtf?) and the issue was solved by me not being on her shifts. I mentioned I had an anxiety disorder but not AS (which is semi-true...I'm good with social skills but less so with managing anxiety).
doing it to supsors/bosses? If so, how do you cope?
My summer job last year was at a popular coffee chain, and it was pure hell. At first, I was pretty optimistic that I was going into a supportive environment, as the application clearly stated that they were an equal opportunity employer. I took it out of this optimism and the fact that it was the only place that offered me a job.
The biggest obstacle I have as someone with AS is that I absolutely suck at multitasking...and this job depended on it. Although I was quick at filling orders and ringing them out, problems arose when someone was talking to me WHILE I was doing something with my hands. Autistic author Donna Williams has described this phenomenon and identified it within herself as 'monotrack': or being able to focus on only one aspect of the environment at a given time: in this case, if I was focused on the customer and their orders, I'd completely tune out a co-worker talking to me .
To make things worse, most of the people there (with the exception of 2-3) were bitter and disillusioned, and they always criticised me and harshly reprimanded me for doing something wrong instead of guiding me.
Because I'm so used to things going smoothly, if something unknown came up or if I got an order wrong, the panic button in my head would immedately beg to be pressed because there were often customers waiting and that's all I would think about. That's another thing...I'm horrible at problem solving quickly, and it's not like I could ask for anyone's help because everyone else had orders to fill...and whenever I asked (which I had to do A LOT) they groaned and complained.
The worst part was working with one of the supervisors I had, who quite frankly, was the most harsh, cold-hearted person person I have ever met, and I've met many of them! It was basically an echo of the teachers I had in grade school all over again, which was also hell. She would never address me in a calm manner: she'd yell at me abruptly, and always talk while I was doing a task. She would state over and over that I "just didn't listen" although I DID listen. She'd interpret my rigid, highly obedient behaviour towards her as arrogance, but really, it was anxiety because she scared the s*** out of me. How else was I supposed to behave towards someone who would blow a fuse at any moment?
She threw a tantrum (yes, she had tantrums) once when I was one minute late, and yet another one when a task I was supposed to do slipped my mind. And when I put the bread in the toaster the wrong way once, she hit me! Some other similar incidents happened...one of her tantrums made me reach my breaking point, and I walked out. A meeting happened after with the manager and this supervisor, she cried through this meeting (wtf?) and the issue was solved by me not being on her shifts. I mentioned I had an anxiety disorder but not AS (which is semi-true...I'm good with social skills but less so with managing anxiety).
doing it to supsors/bosses? If so, how do you cope?
Yes, all very true. BTW: Donna Willliams sent me a few emails in thepast.. she is a wonderful person and her books are wonderful. See my profile here for the radio show I do called "Day Jobs". i never lasted longer than a few days in fast food. ALSO I HAD A JOB LAST WEEK WHERE THE 'SUPERVISOR' COMPLAINED THAT I TOOK TOO MANY NOTES! She didn't want me looking at my notes in order to learn my new job. How am I supposed to learn then? The thing with work is: You have to do it their way. They don't 'get'; aspergers or anything different, most of the time. Sometimes, after a dozen jobs or more, you find someone who does understand. Yes, they are very bitter people because they get told what to do all the time, hate their lives, or whatever.
29 Jun 2009, 1:04 am
29 Jun 2009, 1:09 am
29 Jun 2009, 1:17 am
elderwanda wrote:
anneurysm wrote:
How does everyone here cope with service oriented jobs (food service, etc.)? They seem to be the easiest jobs to get, yet they rely too much on quick thinking, problem solving, multitasking and from what I know, they're full of snotty people who don't like their jobs and choose to take it out on everyone else.
My summer job last year was at a popular coffee chain, and it was pure hell. At first, I was pretty optimistic that I was going into a supportive environment, as the application clearly stated that they were an equal opportunity employer. I took it out of this optimism and the fact that it was the only place that offered me a job.
The biggest obstacle I have as someone with AS is that I absolutely suck at multitasking...and this job depended on it. Although I was quick at filling orders and ringing them out, problems arose when someone was talking to me WHILE I was doing something with my hands. Autistic author Donna Williams has described this phenomenon and identified it within herself as 'monotrack': or being able to focus on only one aspect of the environment at a given time: in this case, if I was focused on the customer and their orders, I'd completely tune out a co-worker talking to me .
To make things worse, most of the people there (with the exception of 2-3) were bitter and disillusioned, and they always criticised me and harshly reprimanded me for doing something wrong instead of guiding me.
Because I'm so used to things going smoothly, if something unknown came up or if I got an order wrong, the panic button in my head would immedately beg to be pressed because there were often customers waiting and that's all I would think about. That's another thing...I'm horrible at problem solving quickly, and it's not like I could ask for anyone's help because everyone else had orders to fill...and whenever I asked (which I had to do A LOT) they groaned and complained.
The worst part was working with one of the supervisors I had, who quite frankly, was the most harsh, cold-hearted person person I have ever met, and I've met many of them! It was basically an echo of the teachers I had in grade school all over again, which was also hell. She would never address me in a calm manner: she'd yell at me abruptly, and always talk while I was doing a task. She would state over and over that I "just didn't listen" although I DID listen. She'd interpret my rigid, highly obedient behaviour towards her as arrogance, but really, it was anxiety because she scared the s*** out of me. How else was I supposed to behave towards someone who would blow a fuse at any moment?
Sh
/rant
/tangent
Being monotrack has been a huge problem for me ever since I was a kid. My tearful first words coming off the school bus were "Mommy, the teacher told me that I wasn't paying attention". When I had the falling out with my supervisor, my mom noticed that it was an echo of what I experienced when I was six. She also said that it could be a power issue and that maybe she felt intimidated by me as I'm in university and she was a 40 year old working class mom doing it to support her kids.
Does anyone relate or have similar experiences to share? Does anyone else share my difficulties with information processing at w
I remember a thread you started, which had people wondering what your AS characteristics were, because you seemed so NT. I guess this topic answers that!
I go to Starbucks quite often, and often think, "Oh man, I wouldn't survive here one minute!" I once had a job at the ice cream counter in a diner. I had to make all the sundaes, keep the ice cream and related supplies stocked, AND work the cash register. If things were slow, it wasn't too bad. But when a table of six decided that they each wanted their own unique banana split, and I ran out of peanut-butter mint chunk ice-cream half-way through, and the register tape jammed in the machine, and the phone was ringing...well, then it was HORRIBLE. Suddenly, the manager and a couple of waitresses would start buzzing around me, getting my job done for me, and the manager would be apologizing to customers left and right. When it all calmed down again, my coworkers would glare at me, and the boss would make a curt comment about speeding it up next time.
There was one snooty waitress who would come behind the counter to make sundaes for her customers when I was busy, and she'd get all upset that there was a slop of syrup on the counter. I mean, excuse me for living, but I'm in the middle of making three ice-cream sundaes, and if I stop to wipe up every little speck of syrup once a minute, you all would be on my case for not getting the customers' food to them in the blink of an eye! The problem was that she really was the type of person who was able to keep the counter spotless and do everything else all at once. In fact, most of the others were too, but they weren't as mean. When things got quiet, this one would go on and on about how I was making everyone else's job so hard.
So, hurrah for people who have the ability to be all powerful all the time. The only tolerable thing about that job was that I could make myself a sundae for lunch. Then again, that was the only kind of job I was "qualified for", despite having been in the military.
As far as coping, well...I can't help you there. I never learned how to cope with that. I know now to think twice before getting a job that involves multi-tasking, but is there any job like that?
My summer job last year was at a popular coffee chain, and it was pure hell. At first, I was pretty optimistic that I was going into a supportive environment, as the application clearly stated that they were an equal opportunity employer. I took it out of this optimism and the fact that it was the only place that offered me a job.
The biggest obstacle I have as someone with AS is that I absolutely suck at multitasking...and this job depended on it. Although I was quick at filling orders and ringing them out, problems arose when someone was talking to me WHILE I was doing something with my hands. Autistic author Donna Williams has described this phenomenon and identified it within herself as 'monotrack': or being able to focus on only one aspect of the environment at a given time: in this case, if I was focused on the customer and their orders, I'd completely tune out a co-worker talking to me .
To make things worse, most of the people there (with the exception of 2-3) were bitter and disillusioned, and they always criticised me and harshly reprimanded me for doing something wrong instead of guiding me.
Because I'm so used to things going smoothly, if something unknown came up or if I got an order wrong, the panic button in my head would immedately beg to be pressed because there were often customers waiting and that's all I would think about. That's another thing...I'm horrible at problem solving quickly, and it's not like I could ask for anyone's help because everyone else had orders to fill...and whenever I asked (which I had to do A LOT) they groaned and complained.
The worst part was working with one of the supervisors I had, who quite frankly, was the most harsh, cold-hearted person person I have ever met, and I've met many of them! It was basically an echo of the teachers I had in grade school all over again, which was also hell. She would never address me in a calm manner: she'd yell at me abruptly, and always talk while I was doing a task. She would state over and over that I "just didn't listen" although I DID listen. She'd interpret my rigid, highly obedient behaviour towards her as arrogance, but really, it was anxiety because she scared the s*** out of me. How else was I supposed to behave towards someone who would blow a fuse at any moment?
Sh
/rant
/tangent
Being monotrack has been a huge problem for me ever since I was a kid. My tearful first words coming off the school bus were "Mommy, the teacher told me that I wasn't paying attention". When I had the falling out with my supervisor, my mom noticed that it was an echo of what I experienced when I was six. She also said that it could be a power issue and that maybe she felt intimidated by me as I'm in university and she was a 40 year old working class mom doing it to support her kids.
Does anyone relate or have similar experiences to share? Does anyone else share my difficulties with information processing at w
I remember a thread you started, which had people wondering what your AS characteristics were, because you seemed so NT. I guess this topic answers that!
I go to Starbucks quite often, and often think, "Oh man, I wouldn't survive here one minute!" I once had a job at the ice cream counter in a diner. I had to make all the sundaes, keep the ice cream and related supplies stocked, AND work the cash register. If things were slow, it wasn't too bad. But when a table of six decided that they each wanted their own unique banana split, and I ran out of peanut-butter mint chunk ice-cream half-way through, and the register tape jammed in the machine, and the phone was ringing...well, then it was HORRIBLE. Suddenly, the manager and a couple of waitresses would start buzzing around me, getting my job done for me, and the manager would be apologizing to customers left and right. When it all calmed down again, my coworkers would glare at me, and the boss would make a curt comment about speeding it up next time.
There was one snooty waitress who would come behind the counter to make sundaes for her customers when I was busy, and she'd get all upset that there was a slop of syrup on the counter. I mean, excuse me for living, but I'm in the middle of making three ice-cream sundaes, and if I stop to wipe up every little speck of syrup once a minute, you all would be on my case for not getting the customers' food to them in the blink of an eye! The problem was that she really was the type of person who was able to keep the counter spotless and do everything else all at once. In fact, most of the others were too, but they weren't as mean. When things got quiet, this one would go on and on about how I was making everyone else's job so hard.
So, hurrah for people who have the ability to be all powerful all the time. The only tolerable thing about that job was that I could make myself a sundae for lunch. Then again, that was the only kind of job I was "qualified for", despite having been in the military.
As far as coping, well...I can't help you there. I never learned how to cope with that. I know now to think twice before getting a job that involves multi-tasking, but is there any job like that?
Elder Wanda, I think we worked at the same ice cream place!
Yes, they also indicated I made their job hard, or I would be stressing that that is what they were thinking. You survived the military, I never could. Sounds like you handled it well, without telling them out loud what you were thinking like 'excuse me, I am making three sundaes here!" When they come in to 'help' me, it throws me off more. I do an entire radio show on these topics (see my profile info). I got to the point where it was like 'you can do all these tasks perfectly at once? Well, good for you'. I even had nasty co workers on many jobs tell me how they were mothers and did so much more work plus this job, and how they had to handle multiple bosses, etc. so much for understanding! that is the response I got when I told them I could not do the work of five people. I finally looked at it this way: As long as there are people in this world who can do fast food jobs, good for them!! Good for you. I'm not one of them.
elderwanda
Veteran
Joined: 17 Nov 2008
Age: 56
Gender: Female
Posts: 1,534
Location: San Francisco Bay Area
29 Jun 2009, 5:57 pm
ww wrote:
elderwanda wrote:
anneurysm wrote:
How does everyone here cope with service oriented jobs (food service, etc.)? They seem to be the easiest jobs to get, yet they rely too much on quick thinking, problem solving, multitasking and from what I know, they're full of snotty people who don't like their jobs and choose to take it out on everyone else.
My summer job last year was at a popular coffee chain, and it was pure hell. At first, I was pretty optimistic that I was going into a supportive environment, as the application clearly stated that they were an equal opportunity employer. I took it out of this optimism and the fact that it was the only place that offered me a job.
The biggest obstacle I have as someone with AS is that I absolutely suck at multitasking...and this job depended on it. Although I was quick at filling orders and ringing them out, problems arose when someone was talking to me WHILE I was doing something with my hands. Autistic author Donna Williams has described this phenomenon and identified it within herself as 'monotrack': or being able to focus on only one aspect of the environment at a given time: in this case, if I was focused on the customer and their orders, I'd completely tune out a co-worker talking to me .
To make things worse, most of the people there (with the exception of 2-3) were bitter and disillusioned, and they always criticised me and harshly reprimanded me for doing something wrong instead of guiding me.
Because I'm so used to things going smoothly, if something unknown came up or if I got an order wrong, the panic button in my head would immedately beg to be pressed because there were often customers waiting and that's all I would think about. That's another thing...I'm horrible at problem solving quickly, and it's not like I could ask for anyone's help because everyone else had orders to fill...and whenever I asked (which I had to do A LOT) they groaned and complained.
The worst part was working with one of the supervisors I had, who quite frankly, was the most harsh, cold-hearted person person I have ever met, and I've met many of them! It was basically an echo of the teachers I had in grade school all over again, which was also hell. She would never address me in a calm manner: she'd yell at me abruptly, and always talk while I was doing a task. She would state over and over that I "just didn't listen" although I DID listen. She'd interpret my rigid, highly obedient behaviour towards her as arrogance, but really, it was anxiety because she scared the s*** out of me. How else was I supposed to behave towards someone who would blow a fuse at any moment?
Sh
/rant
/tangent
Being monotrack has been a huge problem for me ever since I was a kid. My tearful first words coming off the school bus were "Mommy, the teacher told me that I wasn't paying attention". When I had the falling out with my supervisor, my mom noticed that it was an echo of what I experienced when I was six. She also said that it could be a power issue and that maybe she felt intimidated by me as I'm in university and she was a 40 year old working class mom doing it to support her kids.
Does anyone relate or have similar experiences to share? Does anyone else share my difficulties with information processing at w
I remember a thread you started, which had people wondering what your AS characteristics were, because you seemed so NT. I guess this topic answers that!
I go to Starbucks quite often, and often think, "Oh man, I wouldn't survive here one minute!" I once had a job at the ice cream counter in a diner. I had to make all the sundaes, keep the ice cream and related supplies stocked, AND work the cash register. If things were slow, it wasn't too bad. But when a table of six decided that they each wanted their own unique banana split, and I ran out of peanut-butter mint chunk ice-cream half-way through, and the register tape jammed in the machine, and the phone was ringing...well, then it was HORRIBLE. Suddenly, the manager and a couple of waitresses would start buzzing around me, getting my job done for me, and the manager would be apologizing to customers left and right. When it all calmed down again, my coworkers would glare at me, and the boss would make a curt comment about speeding it up next time.
There was one snooty waitress who would come behind the counter to make sundaes for her customers when I was busy, and she'd get all upset that there was a slop of syrup on the counter. I mean, excuse me for living, but I'm in the middle of making three ice-cream sundaes, and if I stop to wipe up every little speck of syrup once a minute, you all would be on my case for not getting the customers' food to them in the blink of an eye! The problem was that she really was the type of person who was able to keep the counter spotless and do everything else all at once. In fact, most of the others were too, but they weren't as mean. When things got quiet, this one would go on and on about how I was making everyone else's job so hard.
So, hurrah for people who have the ability to be all powerful all the time. The only tolerable thing about that job was that I could make myself a sundae for lunch. Then again, that was the only kind of job I was "qualified for", despite having been in the military.
As far as coping, well...I can't help you there. I never learned how to cope with that. I know now to think twice before getting a job that involves multi-tasking, but is there any job like that?
My summer job last year was at a popular coffee chain, and it was pure hell. At first, I was pretty optimistic that I was going into a supportive environment, as the application clearly stated that they were an equal opportunity employer. I took it out of this optimism and the fact that it was the only place that offered me a job.
The biggest obstacle I have as someone with AS is that I absolutely suck at multitasking...and this job depended on it. Although I was quick at filling orders and ringing them out, problems arose when someone was talking to me WHILE I was doing something with my hands. Autistic author Donna Williams has described this phenomenon and identified it within herself as 'monotrack': or being able to focus on only one aspect of the environment at a given time: in this case, if I was focused on the customer and their orders, I'd completely tune out a co-worker talking to me .
To make things worse, most of the people there (with the exception of 2-3) were bitter and disillusioned, and they always criticised me and harshly reprimanded me for doing something wrong instead of guiding me.
Because I'm so used to things going smoothly, if something unknown came up or if I got an order wrong, the panic button in my head would immedately beg to be pressed because there were often customers waiting and that's all I would think about. That's another thing...I'm horrible at problem solving quickly, and it's not like I could ask for anyone's help because everyone else had orders to fill...and whenever I asked (which I had to do A LOT) they groaned and complained.
The worst part was working with one of the supervisors I had, who quite frankly, was the most harsh, cold-hearted person person I have ever met, and I've met many of them! It was basically an echo of the teachers I had in grade school all over again, which was also hell. She would never address me in a calm manner: she'd yell at me abruptly, and always talk while I was doing a task. She would state over and over that I "just didn't listen" although I DID listen. She'd interpret my rigid, highly obedient behaviour towards her as arrogance, but really, it was anxiety because she scared the s*** out of me. How else was I supposed to behave towards someone who would blow a fuse at any moment?
Sh
/rant
/tangent
Being monotrack has been a huge problem for me ever since I was a kid. My tearful first words coming off the school bus were "Mommy, the teacher told me that I wasn't paying attention". When I had the falling out with my supervisor, my mom noticed that it was an echo of what I experienced when I was six. She also said that it could be a power issue and that maybe she felt intimidated by me as I'm in university and she was a 40 year old working class mom doing it to support her kids.
Does anyone relate or have similar experiences to share? Does anyone else share my difficulties with information processing at w
I remember a thread you started, which had people wondering what your AS characteristics were, because you seemed so NT. I guess this topic answers that!
I go to Starbucks quite often, and often think, "Oh man, I wouldn't survive here one minute!" I once had a job at the ice cream counter in a diner. I had to make all the sundaes, keep the ice cream and related supplies stocked, AND work the cash register. If things were slow, it wasn't too bad. But when a table of six decided that they each wanted their own unique banana split, and I ran out of peanut-butter mint chunk ice-cream half-way through, and the register tape jammed in the machine, and the phone was ringing...well, then it was HORRIBLE. Suddenly, the manager and a couple of waitresses would start buzzing around me, getting my job done for me, and the manager would be apologizing to customers left and right. When it all calmed down again, my coworkers would glare at me, and the boss would make a curt comment about speeding it up next time.
There was one snooty waitress who would come behind the counter to make sundaes for her customers when I was busy, and she'd get all upset that there was a slop of syrup on the counter. I mean, excuse me for living, but I'm in the middle of making three ice-cream sundaes, and if I stop to wipe up every little speck of syrup once a minute, you all would be on my case for not getting the customers' food to them in the blink of an eye! The problem was that she really was the type of person who was able to keep the counter spotless and do everything else all at once. In fact, most of the others were too, but they weren't as mean. When things got quiet, this one would go on and on about how I was making everyone else's job so hard.
So, hurrah for people who have the ability to be all powerful all the time. The only tolerable thing about that job was that I could make myself a sundae for lunch. Then again, that was the only kind of job I was "qualified for", despite having been in the military.
As far as coping, well...I can't help you there. I never learned how to cope with that. I know now to think twice before getting a job that involves multi-tasking, but is there any job like that?
Elder Wanda, I think we worked at the same ice cream place!
Yes, they also indicated I made their job hard, or I would be stressing that that is what they were thinking. You survived the military, I never could. Sounds like you handled it well, without telling them out loud what you were thinking like 'excuse me, I am making three sundaes here!" When they come in to 'help' me, it throws me off more. I do an entire radio show on these topics (see my profile info). I got to the point where it was like 'you can do all these tasks perfectly at once? Well, good for you'. I even had nasty co workers on many jobs tell me how they were mothers and did so much more work plus this job, and how they had to handle multiple bosses, etc. so much for understanding! that is the response I got when I told them I could not do the work of five people. I finally looked at it this way: As long as there are people in this world who can do fast food jobs, good for them!! Good for you. I'm not one of them.Well, I "survived" the military by drinking too much and cutting my arms with razor blades. I hated it so much that I agreed to give them two extra years of my life if I could cross-train into another career field, thinking it was my specific work environment that was the problem. The new job was even worse, and I couldn't even physically do it, so I had to go back to the one I hated, but in a different place. (Mind you, this was before the first gulf war. The idea of combat never entered my mind.)
29 Jun 2009, 11:29 pm
01 Jul 2009, 5:07 pm
elderwanda wrote:
I remember a thread you started, which had people wondering what your AS characteristics were, because you seemed so NT. I guess this topic answers that!
I once had a job at the ice cream counter in a diner. I had to make all the sundaes, keep the ice cream and related supplies stocked, AND work the cash register.,,,When it all calmed down again, my coworkers would glare at me, and the boss would make a curt comment about speeding it up next time.
...When things got quiet, this one would go on and on about how I was making everyone else's job so hard...
Wow! You've got a nearly identical experience to mine! Why do employers expect everyone to do SO many things at once?! If one did the same thing over and over, things would be a lot easier and more fun (at least for aspies!).
Also, one of the only characteristics of AS I really show is yes, grave inablity to multitask.
01 Jul 2009, 5:12 pm
08 Jul 2009, 1:01 pm
