The Golden Rule

The Golden Rule in hospo is not "The Customer is Always Right" because, most of the time, the customer is wrong. No, it is "Don't Screw the Crew". This is a good rule to go by; fucking the staff leads to difficulties (especially in a small place) because everyone will know about it, you will be talked about until better gossip comes along and, if you break up whilst still working together, it will be incredibly awkward.

However, there are also certain positives. When one works nights, normal relationships are tricky. They work during the day, you work at night. I lived with a (now ex) boyfriend for a year and it drove him mad. He worked 9-5, five days a week with Saturdays and Sundays off. I worked 6-4 five days a week with Mondays and Tuesdays off. Often, when he'd be getting up to go to work, I was just going to bed (drunk). There are none of these problems when you work together, your partner understands that you are going to be awake at six in the morning but not at midday and that weekend nights are non-existant. Plus, every so often, you can sneak into the staff-room for a quickie. Furthermore, you always have someone to bitch about your customers and co-workers with and they actually know who you're talking about.

I should admit to this now, I am sleeping with a bartender I work with. And I'm not proud of it, I went a long time without ever sleeping with anyone I worked with and now, when I have a job I actually sort of like, I'm doing the dirty. But I am not the first, nor will I be the last and it does make it so much easier being on the same fucked-up timeframe. And he can make me drinks, that's what's important.