The Drill Commander

 

I worked that entire four‑hour shift fully and correctly. I greeted every guest — even the ones who slipped past me toward the hostess stand. I walked the floor, watched for shoplifters, returned to my station to cash people out, and kept up with my side work. I followed every directive I’d been given. I even conserved batteries by skipping items that needed them and not turning on things unnecessarily.

But the story being told by the three bosses on the floor is something entirely different.

Near the end of my shift, Susan hovered over me the way she always does. Instead of helping guests, she focused entirely on controlling me. “Did you do your SOS?” “Are you going to finish these things over here?” “You’ll have to get this signed by Timmy.” “Timmy will have to pat your pockets down.”

I’ve been there since February of last year. Why am I suddenly being treated like a brand‑new hire?

Susan often seems disoriented when she works with me. I don’t know if it’s me that throws her off or if she’s just that way. She’s deaf in one ear, and I genuinely feel compassion for her — she struggles with her hearing aid, fiddling with the volume, trying to read lips. I know that must be difficult.

But compassion doesn’t erase what actually happened.

At about five after eleven, I had already clocked out. I must have moved my hand slightly, and she jumped in with, “You can’t clock back in.” At that point I just thought, What is wrong with this woman? and I left.

Driving home, I realized that because of all her unnecessary drilling, I forgot to get Timmy’s signature and forgot the pat‑down. They strain at gnats and swallow camels. When I’m on shift, they seem more focused on catching me in some tiny fault than on helping guests or doing their own jobs.

It’s an endless pattern with Melody, Kristen, and now Susan — and Bonnie when she’s there. They hover, correct, contradict, and nitpick. When I actually need help, they’re nowhere to be found. But when I’m doing my job, they appear out of nowhere to tell me I should have done something differently.

I know what I’m doing. And that seems to be the real problem for them.

On this shift, I incorporated every directive I’d been given. Yet even off the clock, Susan was still drilling me like a sergeant. “Did you do your SOS?” As if she were the ultimate authority.