I'll just come right out and say it. I have a winking problem.
Some might say that this is not a problem at all; it causes others to relax and feel more comfortable, it is harmless and has never hurt anyone, right? That is where they may be wrong. What happens when you wink at an older, creepy gentleman while managing at a bookstore? Or on the MAX late at night? Without ever realizing you even did it?
Winking, however, can bring about hilarity and high jinx, too. Just ask Eric.
Eric is the younger brother of my ex's BFF. When working as the training supervisor at a certain chain bookstore (rhymes with mortars) and without any management in place, I was asked to interview and hire many of the new staff. The ex suggested I interview Eric, who had graduated from high school and... stuff. I thought, "Why not?"
Eric arrived to the interview promptly, and let me know that his mother regularly visited me at the store and enjoyed getting recommendations (nice touch, Eric). We proceeded with the interview, and I was satisfied that Eric would be a hard-working, though wise-cracking, employee. After the questions were completed, we spent about ten minutes chatting about this and that: his mother's reading tastes, funny stories of the ex in childhood, his plans for the summer. As we talked, I got up and led Eric to the information desk at the front of the store, where my co-worker, Tim, stood. Eric and I exchanged thank yous and as he turned to go, I winked. It wasn't at all meant flirtatiously; I was simply communicating "Nice to meet you! Good luck!"
This did not prevent Eric's look of total shock, turning into a grin... and Tim subsequently dissolving into laughter, practically rolling around on the floor in mirth (and if you know him, this was an unusual display of emotion). I sputtered and turned beet red, fully aware that it probably wasn't the best idea to wink at a potential employee. I muttered some excuse and hurried back to the back offices to regain my composure.
Fast forward a week, in which Eric had been offered the job and his employee training had been scheduled. On the day of, Eric sauntered into the back offices and said not a peep about our last meeting. We proceeded on with the training, in which I went over the basic floor plan of the store and furnished him with a locker, badge and name tag. When we sat down to go over the store employee rules, Eric looked up and asked, "What about winking? Oh, and don't worry, Stephanie, my mom thought it was funny, too!" and- slowly and deliberately- winked at me. The two other people in the back room, listening in, snickered as I rushed on to the next rule...
;-)
nice. this is essentially how i remember it, plus or minus a few details. plus: i didn't realize the wink happened on the sales floor; i thought it was in the back office. minus: the fact that this story spread like wild fire and tons of people talked about it and started winking at you.
ReplyDeletein other news, i have been skating up and down the paved canal path behind my house for many months new. it's a great canal path: smooth, wide, relaxing. in 30 minutes, i usually pass about 5 people. most of them are also exercising or walking their dogs. (only every once in a while do i simply get some shmuck just walking home from the store with a 6-pack of beer or simple grocery bag). it's more or less an unwritten rule that the canal is for people who like to get outside and exercise.
as such, all of us greet each other with simple physical gestures: a wave, a nod of the head, etc. it's just polite, to acknowledge that we are all out here enjoying the canal path for a common purpose.
but today, i was wondering, what if I did more than just acknowledge other canal-users by waving or nodding my head or saying 'hello'. what if i actually started being encouraging to their exercise experience? like, what if I started giving people a 'thumbs up'? i realize that might suggest that i am some sort of magnanimous 'king exerciser' who is helping to encourage the little people who are exercising in less sophisticated ways. but i don't mean to imply that when i give a thumbs up. i just want to let other people know that I am more than acknowledging their common purpose on the canal... i am encouraging them to 'keep it up' and push it to the next level.
thumbs up? winks? these little physical gestures are in the no-man's land of purgatory. when are they appropriate?