Communication at work

[MsGubbiGubbi]

I started a new job a couple weeks ago and have been teaching 1 or 2 signs to the 2 people I work with each day. Most times they write to me what they want to say, but sometimes they forget I am Deaf. Today (I don't know why I did it) I thought I would convey to them what their actions are conveying to me.

My boss talked to me behind her mask, so I wiggled my mask silently back at her. Her 2nd in charge started flapping her arms about and both looked like they were about to explode, so I calmly said verbally "The plane is about to crash. It exploded. Stop"

Both of them immediately stopped their miming at me and then both burst into fits of laughter. My boss wrote on paper, she was sorry, and she finally understands how crazy it must look to see them trying to talk to me with improvisation.

I am really enjoying the new job (filling bags at the food bank) and am relieved to finally be working with people who have a sense of humour and who truly make an effort with me. I hope it continues

- Rosie

 

[x1heavy]

Communications at work is one of my least favorite activities.

One very expensive incident happened when I was new to trucking, just out of school.

I had a dispatcher who tried very hard, but as a older man and owner of the business he was very busy at times. He was also not only my boss, employer and so on he functioned as a "Trucker Daddy" in the way that you take in a younger driver and teach him or her things that the School wont. If you spent enough time with a Trucker Daddy, you learned everything. Its a valuable situation.

However.

One day he was busy. And there were only so many people he can talk to in a short time. So I called him. Empty wanting a load to go somewhere and deliver as usual. Its what we do. He was short with me. Go to Philadelphia City Docks, take on Grapes and Apples off a Ship and delver into Kensett Square. Well The Phiadelphia City Dock was very easy to find downtown. The Beautiful Grapes and such (From South America) was at the correct temperature and loaded into my trailer.

Now where is this Kensett's Square? In those days NO Internet, NO SMART PHONES NO CELL PHONES and No and no and no. *Taps skull that was what you worked with. Whatever you were either told, learned or absorbed in life. Since the last specific instruction said go to Kensett Square then it should be easy.

And it was. 4 blocks over and there it was Drove the 4 blocks showed up in the office and they saw the papers saying Kensett Square. Stamped and Signed and delivered. Empty truck.

Called Boss. Ok whats next? Im empty now.

**SILENCE*** and then a thump sound.

Boss? Boss? Hey BOSS You ok?

Just when I seriously considered calling the Lawman down where he had his office, he choked and said to me YOU DUMBKOFT. NOT THAT KENSETT SQUARE, its 40 miles west on US 1 in THAT Kensett Square. LOOK AT YOUR MAP!

Then ordered me to go back and get another load of Grapes at the ship Dock. I was there in 20 minutes and they loaded me.

The actual delivery into the US1 Kensett Square was a Produce Importer. So they were the buyers of that grape and so on. As far as I know they never learned of the grapes that disappeared. But I theory that Kensett Square cold storage profited off free product with both hands and no complaints. I was the one that made the mistake and my trucking company also is responsible for that mistake. So I suspect they bought 45000 pounds of Grapes at Spot Price right off the Ship so that they can deliver as ordered without further trouble.

Hes passed on by now. Too many years (He would have been about 110 now give or take)however it was understood that I did exactly what I was told that day.

There was one big improvement. Any future orders from him was extreme in detail. Very helpful in those days.