Story Time - Avoid the Black Hole
I’ll begin by saying that due to legal reasons, I can’t name my previous place of work. In replacement, the organization will be called Black Hole. You will understand why by the end of my story.
I started working for Black Hole in 2012. At the time, I was an active student in high school who needed a sufficient income for basic necessities. Black Hole seemed perfect. It was close to home and close to my school, making it easy for my commute. It paid student wage, which is lower than minimum wage, but it offered fantastic free perks and incentives. That’s how Black Hole sucks you in. The management team seemed decent, some strict, some laid back, like any workplace. Black Hole wasn’t a walk in the park. It was very fast-paced and intense. With a job like this, it was incredibly important that I utilize my time. This meaning that if I was busy one day, I would have to reserve that day plenty of weeks ahead. Keep this in mind.
So I’ve been playing volleyball since I was 11, about nine years. I played for the Ontario Volleyball Association and for my high school. It only makes sense that as I continued on to play during college. In 2014, Centennial College had just brought varsity volleyball back to its athletic department in 20 years. Since it was a brand new program, the first year was recreational instead of competitive. Our coach still made sure we got experience with game play. He took initiative to set up two matches with other schools. My coach provided our training and match schedule way in advance. Immediately following, I provided Black Hole with my training and match schedule way in advance. Pay close attention to the "way in advance" part.
Flash forward a couple months, it's the day of my home opener game. While I should be excited and preparing for the game, instead I'm on the phone with my manager from Black Hole. Can you guess what the conversation is about?
A SHIFT!!!!!
So a week prior, I was originally scheduled with a shift on my game day. I quickly reminded them that I have a game and can’t work that day. I then found someone to take my shift, problem solved. Or so I thought. On the phone, my manager says "You're not allowed to trade your shift with *********. Or anyone for that matter. This is your shift." So I reply, "But I got it covered and I shouldn't have been scheduled to begin with because I told you I had a game."
My manager concludes, "If you don't come in then you know what happens..." Following this matter-of-fact statement was the sound of a click. My manager actually hung up on me.
At this point I'm frustrated and bawling. My job or my volleyball game? To my mom, the choice was obvious. To me, it was a crisis. I had been waiting for that game all year, and my job wasn’t great. The conversation with my manager should tell you just how well I was treated. You don’t know how sad I was when I called my coach to let him know I wouldn’t be at the game. It was a terrible feeling and I didn’t just let my coach down, I also let my teammates down. At work that day, I told myself I deserved better. That I would go somewhere better. Soon enough, I did.
To prevent the issue from recurring, at the interview, I told my soon-to-be manager that I play varsity volleyball, and am in school so I can’t have any conflicting shifts. She explained all I had to do was set my availability and hand in a list of my games, no problem. It’s been more than a year, and I’ve never had a conflict with my games. I can trust my manager to have my best interest at heart. This puts mine and my coach’s minds at ease. I can depend on my manager and my coach can depend on me.
To be honest, I believe I handled my crisis well. I tried to fight Black Hole, but in the end I just could not win.
Like the name signifies, there is no winning against a black hole, you either get sucked in or you avoid it.
I made sure that I contacted my coach right away, apologized, and told him it would never happen again. I went to the next practice and said a formal apology to my teammates. Finally, I backed up my promise by finding a job that recognized that I have a life outside part-time work. This situation could have easily damaged my reputation. I was seen as unreliable and unorganized. It took a while for me to rebuild my personal brand. I can never make up for missing the game, but I can make sure it never happens again.