We’ve got an applicant here who has earned himself the nickname “Cheerios.”
The guy calls me up and asks if we can help him find a job. We talk over his experience and decide it’s really not what we’re looking for, but I have him send me a resume to look at anyway.
After talking with my coworkers, however, it becomes clear that this applicant has no manners. Nearly every one of my coworkers has a story about this guy calling and barking, “Tiffany!” into the phone when they answer.
Not, “May I speak to Tiffany please?” or “Hi there, is Tiffany available?” but “Tiffany!”
Now, my coworkers are smart-asses, every one. Responses to this have included, “I’m sorry, did you mean you’d like to speak to Tiffany, please?” and “No, this is AIMEE, can I help you?” (They’re polite smart-asses, at least.)
He doesn’t get the hint, and either barks, “Tiffany!” again, or snaps, “I want to talk to Tiffany!”
My partner took the call for me yesterday, and he proceded to yell at her that he had sent me a resume and I was going to provide feedback and he was calling to speak to me, not her.
We were discussing this at the end of the day, that long, dark teatime of the working soul after 4 PM when your brain is fried and you’re looking for something non-challenging to do.
Someone remarked that he was asking for me the way that 2 year olds ask for things. Sitting on the floor, I yelled, “CHEERIOS!”
Yeah, like that!
So now the guy is called “Cheerios,” because he asks for me the way a 2 year old demands Cheerios. You expect it from toddlers, because they haven’t learned how to string sentences together yet and they’re just starting to learn the concept of “manners.” That’s what toddlerhood is for.
It’s not so tolerable from an adult trying to get a job.
*Note: Nothing in this entry is intended to defame Cheerios cereal or General Mills. I’m a big fan of Cheerios in all its tasty incarnations and eat them for breakfast at work with my unit partner regularly. Nothing but love for the oaty breakfast food here.