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- Nov 22, 2008
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Yes, that's right! I'm working security!! Sort of ...
A major new sports arena had its opening in my home town last night, and I answered the cattle call for staff. I've ushered at theaters and art houses for years, herding hipsters and little old ladies back and forth, and it's fun. Until now I've always done it on a volunteer basis.
So when I reported for duty last night I expected it would be about the same, give or take 75 decibels. Instead I found myself assigned to a position that I think of as Security Lite. I was on the floor at a staircase right under the home team goal, behind the cheerleaders. ( :fanboy: ) I was supposed to direct traffic, and tell most people not to use these particular stairs unless they have one of 10 different types of access pass. Well and good. Since it was opening night they tweaked the rules every half hour and I kept track as best I could. There was one point where I screwed up and let someone through without asking any questions, and rightly got a Talking To for that.
For the most part I think I did pretty well. My section was all the millionaire VIPs who'd contributed big bucks to the arena, and they were cool! I took a couple of pictures for them, and shepherded a littlun back to her seat a few times.
As the final buzzer went off, one of the real security guys came over and told me that my stairs were strictly for UP use for the rest of the night. "Nobody comes down." Okay. I wanted to ask him how literal that was, but he vanished. People were pretty cool for the most part except for one princess. Either she was very wealthy or had a severe compulsive shopping problem - Hollywood hair, perfect clothes with tons of makeup, and a bearing that screamed entitlement. "I'm very sorry ma'am, these stairs are for exit only." But - (gasp!) - I have to talk to [the billionaire tycoon the arena is named after!!] And she forced her way past me.
Oddly, there was no Talking To for that. It's a small city so maybe there was some unspoken thing about Who's Who. I've only lived here for a few months so there's no way I could recognize any bigwigs by sight. My job title was usher, and there was a real security guy nearby and a LEO and neither of them lifted a finger. Earlier I did get a Talking To for taking off my glasses and scritching my eyelid, so it's not like they weren't paying attention.
So ... for the bouncers here, how would you handle a situation like that? How literal is "nobody" at a time like that? And how emphatic do you get, especially when there are more qualified people nearby? I wasn't about to get physical for at least a dozen excellent reasons.
As touchy as my immediate supervisor was I'm a little afraid to bring this up to ask about it.
A major new sports arena had its opening in my home town last night, and I answered the cattle call for staff. I've ushered at theaters and art houses for years, herding hipsters and little old ladies back and forth, and it's fun. Until now I've always done it on a volunteer basis.
So when I reported for duty last night I expected it would be about the same, give or take 75 decibels. Instead I found myself assigned to a position that I think of as Security Lite. I was on the floor at a staircase right under the home team goal, behind the cheerleaders. ( :fanboy: ) I was supposed to direct traffic, and tell most people not to use these particular stairs unless they have one of 10 different types of access pass. Well and good. Since it was opening night they tweaked the rules every half hour and I kept track as best I could. There was one point where I screwed up and let someone through without asking any questions, and rightly got a Talking To for that.
For the most part I think I did pretty well. My section was all the millionaire VIPs who'd contributed big bucks to the arena, and they were cool! I took a couple of pictures for them, and shepherded a littlun back to her seat a few times.
As the final buzzer went off, one of the real security guys came over and told me that my stairs were strictly for UP use for the rest of the night. "Nobody comes down." Okay. I wanted to ask him how literal that was, but he vanished. People were pretty cool for the most part except for one princess. Either she was very wealthy or had a severe compulsive shopping problem - Hollywood hair, perfect clothes with tons of makeup, and a bearing that screamed entitlement. "I'm very sorry ma'am, these stairs are for exit only." But - (gasp!) - I have to talk to [the billionaire tycoon the arena is named after!!] And she forced her way past me.
Oddly, there was no Talking To for that. It's a small city so maybe there was some unspoken thing about Who's Who. I've only lived here for a few months so there's no way I could recognize any bigwigs by sight. My job title was usher, and there was a real security guy nearby and a LEO and neither of them lifted a finger. Earlier I did get a Talking To for taking off my glasses and scritching my eyelid, so it's not like they weren't paying attention.
So ... for the bouncers here, how would you handle a situation like that? How literal is "nobody" at a time like that? And how emphatic do you get, especially when there are more qualified people nearby? I wasn't about to get physical for at least a dozen excellent reasons.
As touchy as my immediate supervisor was I'm a little afraid to bring this up to ask about it.