I just hate going and spending money at a business and getting treated like I'm a burden to those working there. I don't know if it's my location, but I go anywhere (McDonald's, the grocery, the movies, etc) the people there hate their jobs and very evident. No one smiles or has any common courtesy. It's ilke they're there to make their pay and go home. I'd love to know how on earth they still have a job.

I work in the service industry, and I know well that if I acted that way to my customers I'd be out of a job. It only takes a second of your time to smile and tell someone to have a nice day, and it isn't costing you a penny.

I was on break today and one of my not so regular customers was talking to me. She said, "What would they (management/owners) do if you weren't working there?" and proceeded to ask me if I was happy there, do I go to school ,is that my full time job, etc. What she was getting at was that there's a job opening in her office, and she thinks I'd be wonderful there. In the past six months that's the second job offer I've had based on my customer service skills. And that makes me feel great. I'm in there day in and day out, busting my hump, and not letting it show how much I want to go home. I give my customers, no matter how much they annoy me, service with a smile.

Why? It's not because I work off of tips, because I don't. I make a darn good hourly, but I only average about $17 in tips a day. I do it because I'm a decent human being. I give what I expect to get when I'm a patron of a business.

There are 3 fast food businesses within steps of my location, yet people don't mind that there's a wait in my little cafe. They still come, and they wait, and they're back the next day, and the next. And why? Because they love the service.

So back to this job offer...... I'm undecided if I want to apply. Yeah, it has full benefits and all and it's a job I can use as a stepping stone to anywhere I please, but I just don't know if it's worth it. The lady could only tell me that the salary is in the 20's and the hours are 9-5. Well I already make 20K a year, plus tips.

So lets weigh the options:

Current job/job A:
+ I work 4 blocks from home
+ Decent pay, plus tips
+ Hours are good. I get off work at 3 and get home just in time to get my son from the schoolbus.
- No benefits
+ I, for the most part, like the people I work with (that's between my location and the restaurant that manages me)
+ I love my customers.
+ I have free run of the place. I am, for the most part, responsible for anything that goes on in there. I don't have managers breathing down my neck.

Potential job/job B:
+ Work 4 blocks from home
+ Decent pay
+ Hours are okay.
++ Full benefits

Ok, so at first glance the potential job wins. But does it really? Let's break it down....

Family is very important to me, and I've adjusted to being able to spend every possible moment with my kid. With the job B, I'm taking away two whole hours that I usually get to spend with my son.

Salary in the 20's, what is that really? I'm currently making 20K a year, so what if job B is paying just the same, without tips. Then isn't kind of like a cut in pay?

I need to get along with the people I work with. I can't work at a job where I don't like the people. I love my co-workers right now. Will job B be the same? What if one of the customers I really don't like ends up being my boss? Or a co-worker?

I don't currently have any benefits, but would benefits really be worth changing jobs over? Paid vacation - What am I going to do, sit around the house and do nothing? Wesley doesn't get vacation time, so where am I really going to go? Medical and dental - There aren't many occasions where I have to go to the doctor, so that really isn't much of a plus. And I have a darn good dental plan already, which only costs my $8 a month.

I talked to my manager, to get her opinion (it's her last week there, so what does she care if I'm really leaving), and she said if I hadn't made up my mind once I heard benefits then I'm probably waiting for someone to tell me not to leave. Maybe she has a point....