Lobby Thoughts #12

Rules to Keep Your Job: Place in your notebook and read daily
STFU Shut the frak up
MYOB  mind your own business
90% are idiots, relax
Remember you've got a job!
Smile (and follow through--holding smile for 2-3 seconds)
Someone is ALWAYS watching
Be pleasant
Nice>smart>tough
It's not personal
Don't correct People
No sniveling
Expect stupidity, perfidy, cupidity and condescension
Proactive courtesy, not just reactive courtesy
Yes, Sir!
People and things are the way they are.

Check with your bosses after your first month on the job and every 3-6 months after that. Ask if you are doing OK, if they have any concerns, recommendations or criticisms to share with you. Self defense begins with your bosses!

Old news article that caught my eye: [edited for brevity; is that legal?]
“Los Angeles CA. Aug 29 2008
A security officer at a Los Angeles bank was killed today after he was accosted by two suspects who took his gun and shot him with it, police said. The guard, who was not immediately identified, was approached by the suspects about 10:30 a.m. in the parking lot of the Bank of America branch ...Police were still searching the area for the suspects.
The victim, described as a middle-aged Latino man, was pronounced dead at a hospital while undergoing surgery...She said. The security guard “woke up thinking it’s another day of work, another day of life.”
Some regular bank customers said they did not know the security guard by name but described him as a friendly man who had worked there for the last several years.  “He was friendly and very courteous,” she said. “He would always open the door for us.” ...... “It’s strange, you see someone everyday and don’t ask for a name.”
Be careful out there, trust your gut and keep everyone in front of you about 5 feet away, if possible. Anyone can kill you.

Never underestimate the power of human stupidity. Heinlein

Just making a living folks.

Most security guards are the most insecure folks.

No leering!

Government cannot make us equal; it can only recognize, respect, and protect us as equal before the law.  Clarence Thomas, U.S. Supreme Court Justice

 We are the canaries: The sound of the shots that kill us will allow those in the building to panic and run around, asking what was that noise? 5% will escape by their own effort rather than luck. We are very useful. Remember, no one listens to canaries, only to their sudden silence.

Concerned for the safety of the young staff I ask if I can address them at the next staff meeting [STFU/MYOB] I'm told "Sure" in 2 months. 2 weeks before the meeting, I again ask if it is still ok to address he meeting to discuss staff safety and the manager says "Oh, I forgot, let me check". He comes back and says "Yes, if we have time." I prepare a 5 minute mini-presentation. Day of the meeting I asked when I was to deliver the 5 min. talk. I was told "The Director says we won't have time. sorry. I can put you in broom closet with mops with faces if you want, hahaha" I say OK, no sweat boss! I note the staff meeting ends 45 minutes earlier than scheduled. Hey, snake, it don't mean nothing.
30 days later one of the young staff girls is confronted by a nere-do-well as she exits the building from the staff exit at closing. She runs and is OK. She later complains that no one cares about security. Well, duh! I care but you gotta ask the bosses if I can be at that door at closing or for escorts.
[Many senior folks don't really want security because it reminds them and the employees and visitors that it is not utopia and the business might not be safe. Maintenance of illusions is first.]

Remember without the troublemakers you would not be needed and not have a job; appreciate them, carefully.

Any outstanding superior performance will be forgotten the next day. Any errors will be remembered for years.

People can poke fun at you. You must never poke fun at anyone, ever.

The bosses need to think that if you are a good guard, it is because of their management skill. If you are not thought well of, it is because of your personal problems.

Residential computer expert: :”No, you can’t access explorer” I use run/cmd window to open explorer, “oh my god, we are the only ones who know how to do that!”

Common courtesy is quite rare.

Junior clerk (wearing t-shirt saying “40% motherf***er”): cavalierly says—do not allow that guy back in the library; then walks off. Sure, boss, might I ask why? No! [Banning people requires executive committee hearings and investigations at this business]  I "forgot" to stop him next time he entered..

Observed: obese handicap children's' ‘helper/aid’ takes huge mouthfuls of cookie and throws bag away. One of her poor charges asks for a cookie. Aid says with mouth full of cookie: "no more cookies." Gee boss, can't I hit her?

That "mean mug" [dead aggressive facial expression] is in the real world a challenge to fight. It says ‘you are my enemy and I will attack you if I get a chance.’ It is not tough and self-confident, it is fear, it is potentially terminal. Do you do that to all strangers or only those who scare you? It does get me thinking about guns, knives and anatomy. Bwahahahaha

"Moving parts in rubbing contact require lubrication to avoid excessive wear. Honorifics and formal politeness provide lubrication where people rub together. Often the very young, the untraveled, the naïve, the unsophisticated deplore these formalities as "empty," "meaningless," or "dishonest," and scorn to use them. No matter how "pure" their motives, they thereby throw sand into machinery that does not work too well at best." Heinlein

"The two highest achievements of the human mind are the twin concepts of "loyalty" and "duty." Whenever these twin concepts fall into disrepute — get out of there fast! You may possibly save yourself, but it is too late to save that society. It is doomed." Heinlein

"Do not confuse "duty" with what other people expect of you; they are utterly different. Duty is a debt you owe to yourself to fulfill obligations you have assumed voluntarily. Paying that debt can entail anything from years of patient work to instant willingness to die. Difficult it may be, but the reward is self-respect.
But there is no reward at all for doing what other people expect of you, and to do so is not merely difficult, but impossible. It is easier to deal with a footpad than it is with the leech who wants "just a few minutes of your time, please — this won't take long." Time is your total capital, and the minutes of your life are painfully few. If you allow yourself to fall into the vice of agreeing to such requests, they quickly snowball to the point where these parasites will use up 100 percent of your time — and squawk for more!
So learn to say No — and to be rude about it when necessary.
Otherwise you will not have time to carry out your duty, or to do your own work, and certainly no time for love and happiness. The termites will nibble away your life and leave none of it for you.
(This rule does not mean that you must not do a favor for a friend, or even a stranger. But let the choice be yours. Don't do it because it is "expected" of you.)" Heinlein