Naan Means Naan
I’m not even sure what this one was. At the time, I was maybe 18 years old living in Solihull in the United Kingdom. I was a student at the time and most of the jobs I picked were places where I could work in the evenings as I’d usually be in class during the day-time.
Throughout my entire time studying abroad, my father taught me a very valuable lesson with money. I was privileged enough to have my education paid for however; I would be solely responsible for all my expenses. From clothes, to rent, to partying, to basic groceries and a little leisure travel, I had to work to earn these luxuries and this was quite possibly the most important lesson of my life.
So back to this restaurant, a friend of a friend mentioned there was a vacancy and that they were looking for waitresses. It was also mentioned that because I was Indian and this was an Indian restaurant, I would most likely get the job. At this point I did already have a couple of years of experience working in restaurants and I was fairly confident in my plate-carrying skills.
Lo-and-behold I was hired immediately and asked to start that very evening. Excited to have landed the job, I quickly rushed back home to change and head back for my first shift. It was a fairly pleasant place to work, the management and staff were friendly, there was some really good food as perks and the location was close enough to where I lived for it to be safe to use public transportation to and from.
Here’s where it gets tricky. By the end of the first week, it was obvious the owner’s son had acquired a thing for me. He hadn’t said or done anything to make me uncomfortable, but there was always an awkward vibe every time he was around. Soon after on one of the weekends, we worked particularly late due to some event and when we finished closing up, the owner insisted his son drop me home. That’s very kind, one would think.
Not wanting to be rude, I accepted the gesture assuming I would be safely and quickly transported to campus where I lived. Once we were in the car, my boy decides we’re on a date and wants to take me for a drive and would I like to get stoned with him. I didn’t want to, I wanted to get home where my boyfriend and my friend were waiting for me. I stated as such and after trying to convince me a few more times he finally did take me home.
The very next day, I went into work as per usual only to be told that my services would no longer be required and then they had down-sized the wait team. Literally overnight. Gutted, I went back home wondering if I truly lost my job due to a down-size or if the events from the night before had anything to do with it.
Lessons from this story; to this day, I wish I had the balls to question my dismissal rather than meekly accepting my fate at this place of employment. If you are ever faced with a similar situation at your place of work, and a dismissal of your position follows shortly after, QUESTION IT. If you are in the wrong, ask for clarification so you can rectify your behaviour in the future. If you feel you were wronged, stand your ground — this would work for you or against you but at least you won’t be wondering about it 20+ years later.
Thank you for reading and if you’re enjoying this series stay tuned for another episode of #evolutionofninja and let’s discuss unusual forms of dismissal from your work-place. Drop a comment below with your story and I would love to hear versions from both men and women ❤
