Thursday 26th August – Monday 6th September 2010
It was going 'interestingly' at The Corkman.... After being made a job offer of 'x' amount by Stacey the manager, and both accepted and both a week into the job, the owner Kieran has turned up and made the 'job offer' which is lower than was made and accepted. He arranged for a sit down chat and it happened a day after arranged. It put a black cloud over the impending week until it was all cleared up.
Had been warned right or wrong by EVERYONE in the bar that he had given everyone low wages or not enough, and they had had to argue with his sweet tongue. Sat down with him Friday morning and explained the offer made was lower than the initial, to which he said that was Alisie and Stacey telling us stuff they ought not to. To which tall and small replied well we took what the Manager told us as truth, and it was down to you to sort out the job offer before we started with the manager.
Then hit him with the stats and award rates of pay for a Hostel Manager from the fair trade company, which Tall one had got on the phone that morning. Explained the hourly wage was $18.66 he was legally obliged to pay under clause 20, and not the $12 offered. Then deductions could be $6 per meal and $152 a week for on site accommodation. He argued his flat was worth more, but was argued back that the flat WAS an essential part of the job and being on site in the flat 24/7 was as much a down side as having the flat as not having it. He then said how we were being taxed and it did not matter as we got ALL that back, Tall one corrected this as well and said No, he spoke to the ATO and three tax back companies and it is not a set figure, and the quote for his wages to date was a return of 50-60% when leaving the country. It went on for over an hour and we went away curiously, with him a bit flustered and surprised. He spoke to Stacey whi relayed to us that he'd told her no one had ever spoken to him like that, or had every entitlement written out like that and he respected that. In the end he gave small one what he wanted and tall one a bit more than he had originally offered with a promise of a cash bonus during busy period if Tall one brought money in and made good. They accepted, even though they had already accepted the job a week before??
The Chilean chef was given the boot as he was not too suited for the Pub. A younger girl chef came for a couple of days but is still undecided, so att he moment either small one alone or with Stacey, who makes good lasagne at least.
Tall one spent his weekend shopping for toilet brushes and coloured blue key tops, walking round town with a bag of six toilet brushes was a great look for him. Small one then made him go back out again and spend an hour looking for greek yoghurt he never used.
Some strange check ins over the week in the hostel. A young guy who looked very wel dressed and cleaned, but stank, had no luggage or contact details stayed for two nights. Everyone assumed he was homeless, and he left. Two girls checked in at 11pm and 1.30am, who didn't know each other. One was a middle aged woman, the other a slightly weird American girl who demanded to know everything to do in town, but gave Tall one a $5 tip on leaving. A surprise check-in on Monday when a little asian girl who looked 15 turned up and barley said a word and checked into the big girls dorm alone, having the whole room to herself. Two irish lads turned up on sunday night, but only one checked in. The one NOT staying did all the talking like the other one was an invalid and then left. All these random check in only stayed a few days and left, being left with the 3 irish regulars, the Asian student and the two english boys. The Asian lad got two days behind with rent and Stacey turned off his secruity door. He was very confused at the door with all his shopping and spoke barley any English. Tall one explained when his last chunk of 4 weeks paid ran out and he understood and paid. The Asian lads name is Endo and he cooks up a big saucepan of tea and leaves it sitting there for days, he also pre toasts bread and leaves this stack of toast out on his food shelf for the ants to eat – weirdly tall one has also walked in on him wearing rubber gloves and cleaning the kitchen on his own accord, oh well. The other Irish lad, Ritchie with the strange short arms, is always behind on rent and now owes for his third week. He always gets Enda one of the Irish to pay for him, but he stills goes on the booze. Stacey plans to kick him out this Wednesday if he has not paid up. The last check-in was Little Mark from the kiwi picking days of Tauranga. He stayed two nights and disappeared down in St Kilda.
Small one did well with Tony's car park money, which was up to $400 worth of fees to pay. When he went and chatted with the car parl attendant the guy said you owe a lot of money... its an awful lot of money.... and went on and on about it. Small one getting fed up asked how much. To which he said well you owe $350 on the old number plate and since you changed plates (when we paid for new rego in Victoria and had to get Vic plates) you owe $115. He then said I'll tell you what just pay the $115, we are not a legitimate company we won't chase you for the rest. Fair enough, and we checked out the van paying only a quarter due, and parked it on the meter by the pub until we got a residents parking permit from the council.
A little more interest in the van, though only time wasters. People who text or phone and say they are interested and will be here on this day, but never show or phone back, or people who turn up and make a weird excuse like we couldn't pay you that little so we'll leave it, or I thought it had a pop up roof..... Poor Tony
There was a couple of weekend functions at The Corkman to struggle with. One was the silent owners children's birthday which was 30 odd 13 year old girls screeching to Justin Beiber below the flat floor through the evening, Tall and Small had to wrestle the helium balloon delivery down there for them as well. Next weekend was a 21st birthday party with 120 people. Noreen commented how sensible they all were asking for waters between drinks, what kind of world are we now living in?? Then they cranked up the heavy metal music after 11 and did not stop till 2am. The late middle aged woman check out said she wondered how many 'raves' they had downstairs usually. The next day was Fathers Day, on Sunday 5th September. Kieran seemed to bring his whole family in the pub and threatened a lock in to which Stacey started saying last orders at the bar and put the stools up. It was also Irish Noreens last day working in he bar (who also cleaned up all the pubes in the hostel on Tall one's days off). No one had brought a card except Tall and Small who got everyone to sign it, and they were the only people hwo went for a pint with her to the Drunken Poet. It was a strange evening at the Drunken Poet as it was quite empty, excpet for a string of people sat at the bar. Then this strange old man dressed in a suit and tie with a train drivers hat started walking with a funny step up and down the bar shaking a pair of maracas. Then would stoped with his hands held out infront of him and spin round on the balls of his feet and shake them again and walk back down the bar and start chatting to someone like nothing had happened.
Tall one met a few of the Corkman locals also that Sunday. Dublin John who lived next to a police station and got down for jade walking mostly because of the 'dirty look' he gave them. There was Bill who told Small one he had a disease which made his arse to close to the ground. Then there was the little old man Tommy with his old walking stick and thick black glasses. This was his local evenm htough he had to catch a tram. His memory was going and he'd miss the music nights sometimes, and could never remember Noreen's name. Though he did show her his Guinness Keyring he'd won four times in the pub. When talking about Dublin John's wife being a lawyer, little Tommy randomly came out with 'oh so she'd look after me if I put a brick through Myer's window'. Nobody knew why he'd picked that particular shopping chain to victimize.
Monday morning Tall one got to work in his hostel. The hostel was looking better with new boomerang painted door names, newly delivered Melbourne city maps to give out, a poster on Tram info, a big new map of where sights and shops were in Melbourne to replace Ailise's mind puzzle which looked like a load of hand drawn sperm trying to get into an egg. But when cleaning that morning Endo the Asian lad asked him to look in the middle bathroom to which eh showed him how the whole room was soaked, like someone had just stood and hosed the walls, toilet rolls, mirror down with the shower, and on the floor of the shower was a dripping wet mobile phone. It turned out later it was Irish Enda who usually paid Ritchie's rent, he must have been pissed, as he was in bed till 3pm anyway.
