Tuesday, December 21, 2010

So today, in what I can only assume is an effort to both celebrate the holidays and our hard work this year, my company bosses are taking us to lunch. They apparently sent an email out while I was gone last week, and I found this glorious email (one of almost 300 I had to sift through) yesterday afternoon.

In the email, we were told that we would be attending M & S Grill which is right down the street from my job. However, instead of being given carte blanche on what to order, which is my what most people who offer to take you to a meal would do (even on dates), our job sent a list of 8 meals that we (7 of us) would to able to order from. I read that email, then I said, "Are you f**king kidding me?" (to myself), and went to my other co-workers to see if this had caused an uproar last week when I was out, and they said it had. Some of my co-workers even decided not to attend the lunch, because they were so offended at this notion.

Now, I've only been with this company since October, which means I am firmly entrenched in the probationary period, so I will definitely be there with bells on..restricted menu and all. But this sounds like a classic case of living beyond your means..Either take us out to eat and give us carte blanche, or be cheap and give us $10 Starbucks gift cards as a way of saying thanks. But don't treat us (especially me) like children and say, "Ok you can order over here, but not over here!" Tell us if we order expensive, we'll have to put out or pay out of pocket or something, but don't insult everyone by giving us 8 options, when the lunch menu has double that amount available.

So since I'm newly married, and I probably still get a pass, I think I'm going to bring a red pen to lunch today, and ask my bosses if they want me to cross out all the things we can't have. The wife said that may not go over well, but I want to at least acknowledge this bullshit with some classic passive aggressive behavior..it beats aggressive aggressive behavior right?

You Are Not Alone (Michael Jackson tribute) - R. Kelly

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hmm, I guess I don't really get the big deal. Coming from an event and meeting planning background, they likely agreed to a preset menu and selected the 7/8 items that the restaurant would agree within their price point. With so many companies not even offering their staff a lunch, party or bonus of any kind, I'd simply be appreciative of the gesture.

rashad said...

mrstdj,
i am definitely appreciative of the gesture itself, but not the execution of how it was presented.

Anonymous said...

Again, I guess I simply don't understand why the company preselected entrees is offensive. I liken it to a wedding reception at a hotel or banquet hall. The couple (who are paying) select the entrees that fit within their budget, then guests get a choice. What about this is different?

rashad said...

its like this..if i know my funds are low or limited, i'll go to a restaurant where the entire menu matches what i can afford, and there are plenty of such places around my job. i would not go to an semi-expensive restaurant, and then restrict folks. its tacky to me and my sensibilities that's all.

and on top of that, they gave each of us MD scratch tickets as gifts during the meal, which only added to the tacky vibe