InsaneJournal

Journal Entry: Tristan Travers

[Charmed, Warded, and Runed Private. Breakers Will Be Jinxed, Cursed, and Hexed.]

Pros to Working the Cloak Check:

I don't have to make as much (awkward) conversation.

I'm not constantly swarmed by customers all night.

I don't have to remember what goes into which drink when someone orders anything mixed. (Not that I ever had this problem. I think this is more about the level of thinking involved than the actual thought process.)

I get to sit down during lulls instead of being on my feet all night.

Anonymity. People pay more attention to who is serving your drink than who is checking your cloak in a place like a club.

Down time to relax and read. That makes it sound like I'm sleeping on the job, but really I'm just sitting down and reading with a keen eye and a keen ear out for approaching customers.

I have some control over how the cloak room is organised. Since there isn't the same kind of organisation system as behind the bar, sometimes I take it upon myself to organise the cloaks into systems that make sense to me. I don't know that this improves my efficiency per se, but I've not returned the wrong cloak to the wrong person on nights when I have implemented a system other than "most recent cloak goes in the back where the space is."

It isn't quite as loud. As such, I can hear customers a little bit better.

I don't have to be as mentally present checking a cloak as I did mixing a drink. That is to say, it's a far more automatic process, which is good because I still feel like shite, though I can get out of bed without Titus and Fluffy most days.

I don't have to socialise with co-workers who probably hate me anyway.

Cons to Working the Cloak Check:

I'm pretty sure this is actually a demotion, which means I messed up some time between December and March. I'd ask, but I get panicked thinking about it, wondering if this means the next step is being fired. I don't think it'd go over well if I got fired less than a year after I got this job.

Far too much time to think. My hands aren't as busy, which means I've got more idle time for my mind to wander to palces I'd prefer it not go.

People have less respect for the person who takes your cloak than the person who provides you with alcoholic beverages in a club, it seems. As such, some tend to get a bit rude if I'm not fast enough, but I can't just summon a cloak. They'd all come rushing at me. And I actually am quick enough. Some people are just impatient.

A few customers have tried to sneak by without paying. One man tried to pay in Leprechaun gold. I suppose I should thank Granddad for his lessons since the ones about identify real Galleons from Leprechaun gold apparently paid off. I suppose being a materialistic bastard raised by Orville pays off occasionally. He gets no thank you or credit, even if some of his lessons may have helped with that as well.

I don't think I have the same opportunity to do on the job "bonding" with co-workers, though since I don't know if they like me or hate me, this could be a pro in disguise. Still, I suppose at one time I secretly imagined becoming friends with at least one person I worked with despite knowing that it might be next to impossible, not to mention improbable.

I can't think of anything else so maybe the pros outweigh the cons for now.

[/Private]