Page 25 of The Happiness Blueprint
The hard-earned wet-room certificate,I think. They don’t have one when they should.
“Damn it. We can’t afford to lose projects like that.”
“I’m more worried about what they might say... I overheard a group of guys in the hardware store say how the firm won’t survive the three months without leadership. I’m sorry, Klara. You know I’m on your side.”
“It’s okay. I prefer to know.”
I can’t give Dad back a company that has no cash flow and nothing to do. I may have overshared with Gunnar, but he is faithfully behind me, and it is his job and livelihood that are concerned. God, I never understood the responsibility that employing someone is. They rely on you to feed their family. I have to keep this going for his sake. And Dad’s. And mine. I didn’t want this responsibility, and perhaps a week ago I could have shrugged it off. But when I made the decision to let people go, I took on a role. I can’t give it up now. I curl my toes inside the steel-toe shoes I finally managed to track down in my size.
“All our partners are still supportive,” Gunnar says. “The tile supplier, the hardware store, we are everyone’s top recommendation. Couldn’t get better ratings.”
“What about social media?” I ask myself out loud. “Are we doing enough?” Gunnar shakes his head, and I answer my own question.
“No. Unless a before-and-after of a bathroom tiled three years ago is considered persuasive advertising, then no.”
“I would keep this quiet. No need to get Peter worked up and worried. Not yet,” Gunnar says, and I think, the only thing I brought with me from London was a history of failures. How on earth can I fix this?
I asked Dad for a template to use for the advertising of new staff, but it turns out he hasn’t hired since 2010, and even then he used a poster in the tile shop with little paper strips you could pull off. I doubt who I’m searching for would find me that way. But I’m pleased to say I have a plan. I’ve figured out what is missing. What I need is some female energy. In London there are pink taxis when a woman is driving. A whole fleet of girls! Obviously, Dad won’t approve of a paint job on the vans, but Iamfree to hire who I want. Dad’s tiredness was rated an 8 last night so he won’t be joining interviews.As long as the cancer is a 1 we can handle an 8 on this other scale, Klara,he reassured me.
I start composing an ad to place on a recruitment website, taking all of my bad experiences in this industry so far into account.
“We are a successful and established business specializing in wet room, tiling and bespoke carpentry seeking a new colleague. Qualifications a must, as is a recent criminal background check. The ideal candidate should:
Be female
Reply to messages in a timely manner (no ghosting bosses or clients)
Have infrequent episodes of food poisoning on Mondays
Not look at clients’ backsides (incurring complaints)
Have a good track record of putting toilet seats down
Is this you? Then, we’d love to hear from you! Please apply with CV and cover letter to [email protected]
I sit back in my chair, click Post and imagine the fleet of pink vans we are soon to have.
Four days later I have enough emails to spend the morning reading through applications, listing the five that sound interesting in alphabetical order. My first interview, with the A candidate on the list, is arranged already the same afternoon, and I read through her cover email one more time as I pack up and leave the office to join Dad inside the house for a quick lunch.
She writes:
To address your specific points:
Only thing I’ve been guilty of ghosting is a dentist appointment.
Very good at eye contact (no looking at body parts). Practice the useful tip of focusing between person’s eyebrows for best effect.
Feel I may exceed your expectations on the toilet-seat point: am also fully trained in the use of toilet brush.
Practically a cleanfluencer. If influencing my own OCD positively counts?
Available immediately (never happened before, don’t miss this chance!)
Kind regards,
Alex
I’m liking this girl. I forgot to ask about personal hygiene and liking pets. Not too strict on the first one as long as requirement of using deodorant daily is met; second one is trickier. Customers like talking about their pets.A lot.Stroking a dog as you enter a property is practically part of the job. I communicate this to Alex, and to my delight she seems okay with it.
