Tag Archives: work

Our Jack Skellington Team-Building Pumpkin Showpiece

October 22, 2014 By in Mundane Tags: , , , , , , , 5 Comments

Sometimes team-building exercises can take you to the most unexpected places.

During our Customer Service Appreciation Week, our department and several others were challenged to a pumpkin-decorating contest. Each area received one (1) pumpkin, some bottles of paint, three paintbrushes in different sizes, a sheet or two of random Halloween stickers, probably some other art stuff I never even glanced at, and a few days’ advance notice in case we wanted time to formulate a strategy and bring our own art supplies and accessories. Once our allotted time began, we had ninety minutes to go from plain pumpkin to polished pièce de résistance, and with only one rule: no carving. Presumably the company has plans for all the pumpkin guts after the festivities end.

My team landed on the idea of Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas.

Pumpkin Skellington!

Right this way for more details and a look at Spiral Hill!

Thinking Like a “Chopped” Contestant Can Save Any Dull Pitch-In

August 8, 2014 By in Mundane Tags: , , , , , , , , 3 Comments
CrowBurger!

The picture and my plate both looked too plain, so I added Crow for garnish. Maybe it’s not something you would do, but I’m an otherwise reasonable adult and I’m perfectly happy with my garnish choices.

Pictured above is my newest creation, inspired by frustrated circumstances. It’s a stale Marsh donut sliced in half bun-wise, filled with one layer of chipped-beef-‘n’-cream-cheese from the best kind of cheese ball, one layer of Ritz crackers, and one layer of plain cream cheese. I dubbed it the Good Afternoon Burger. It would’ve been even better if someone had thought ahead and brought in some rich, creamery butter to use as dressing. They had veggie dip, but that’s the absolute opposite.

And this wasn’t the worst thing I tried today…

Comics Better Not Get Me Fired. (Maybe NSFW.)

May 29, 2014 By in Comics/Lit Tags: , , , , , , , Leave a comment

I thought I was getting funnier looks than usual today when I returned to work from my routine Wednesday lunchtime walk. It took me a few minutes to figure out why.

I have a special pattern on Wednesdays. I arrive earlier at work than usual; I spend my lunch break walking to my local comic shop to pick up the week’s new releases; I hurry back to my desk so I can finish out my early day and enjoy an extended evening. Pretty much like clockwork. My coworkers know me just enough to think nothing of it.

I paid for my hobby fix and got lost in thought while the clerk placed them inside the usual translucent bag. I remained pretty much on autopilot during the brisk walk back, through the heart of downtown, into the lobby, and up the elevator, passing a few distractingly odd expressions along the way.

When I sat down at my desk and began shuffling things around, that’s when I focused and really looked at what I’d been carrying.

Continue here for pics I normally wouldn’t post here, probably NSFW by some employers’ standards…

How Not to Celebrate Customer Service Appreciation Week

October 7, 2013 By in Mundane Tags: , , , , , , , , 1 Comment

Are YOU ready to make your employees feel like kings and queens for a week? It’s rewarding and legal!

Anyone who’s in the same general field as my wife and I should be gearing up right about now for this year’s Customer Service Appreciation Week. I’m not sure if this annual internal salute to service representatives was invented by the same Hallmark scientists who created such business-based holidays as Boss’ Day or Secretaries Day, but since it benefits me each year, I refuse to be an ingrate.

The premise, for those of you in other fields with your own traditions of positive reinforcement: each year for five consecutive business days, customer service supervisors who can spell and pronounce “morale” treat their employees to a series of extra fun perks. Sometimes it’s free donuts for breakfast and/or a a catered lunch. Sometimes there are team-building exercises or one-on-one contests, with useful prizes at stake. For companies with relaxed dress codes, there can also be themed clothing days — e.g., Hawaiian shirt day, sports apparel day, jeans day, etc. If it’s different from a normal work day and doesn’t double everyone’s stress level, it’s welcome this week.

Between my wife and me, we have [mumble-mutter] years of experience in customer service, many of which have been blessed by superiors who observed CSA Week. We each have multiple fond memories of the occasion.

For those about to party on the clock, we salute you…