The Boob Tube

After I graduated from college, I moved to a new city and started working for a local television show. This show was run by a husband and wife team, with the wife’s father running payroll and HR-related items, and it was gearing up to go national. I was brought on to be their receptionist and to bring overall organization to the completely unorganized startup group of about 10 or so employees. My direct boss made my life a living hell. It started with slight jabs here and there, which then progressed to full on screaming, yelling and cursing at me for “not doing anything right.” She contradicted herself on a daily basis and I was left to pick up the mess that she created.

I was frequently sent out to get my boss, her husband and her father’s lunches, and would only return to them yelling at me for not answering phones. They essentially wanted me to be in two places at once, which was obviously not an option. They would send me out to buy expensive items for the show without a company credit card, so I had to pay for it on my meager $20K salary, which was reimbursed weeks later. They were really stingy with reimbursing me for my gas mileage as well, since I had to drive all over the place to get them what they wanted. I only worked there for four months before I got another offer at a much better, higher paying job, but the kicker for me was Christmas vacation. We didn’t get one. We had to work Christmas Eve and had to work Christmas Day, while my boss, her hubby and her daddy had a week-long vacay in Florida with the kids. How nice.