Eden Scher (3:28)

Hey, so this is my most embarrassing moment at work. When I was working my first job at 18, I started my period at work and I didn't really have anything to help me. And it was everywhere, blood was everywhere. My manager had to literally take me away from my duty and drive me to the store, put a towel in his car and to make sure, you know, I'm not like everywhere in his car. That was very embarrassing, especially for my first job. I quit shortly after. Okay, bye. My first job was not terribly exciting. I was a cashier and baker at Panera. And what was really awesome about that job was at the end of every single day, you got to eat whatever you wanted that was still left in the bakery. Whether it was brownies, breads, bagels. You could even eat an entire cookie if you wanted. You know, those cookies that are bigger than your face. I was known to eat an entire brownie cake almost every Sunday night at close. And it was okay at the time, cause I was 14, 15 years old and you know, on the track team and running every day. But I will say that now that I look back at the calories, it was probably close to 3200 calories every Sunday night with one of those brownie cakes. And I never will regret it. So I'm answering the question, have you ever been fired? So as an undergrad student, I worked at a fancy big retail store and I was part time at the store and I really needed the job. So with the change of management, the new manager did not believe that I could hit my numbers because it was commission based and it was super competitive. But I knew I could hit those numbers because I had done it for the past year before. And with new management, there was another assistant manager who didn't like me, so influenced the higher ups to fire me. And that was the reason they gave. They thought I couldn't hit my numbers. So I just told them whilst they were firing me to sort of watch and See, and like sort of have a trial period so that I would be able to prove to them that I could hit my numbers in order to keep my job because I really needed that job and it was a good job because it was commission based so I could put in the effort and make as much money as I needed to survive. So we had a trial period and, you know, I did surpass my goals. And ever since then the manager loved me and like the hater assistant manager, like was just sulking. So yeah, that was the one time I got fired and I was able to get my job back.

Brock Ciarlelli (6:48)

I worked at a mall for a long time and worked at the skate shop store that's in the mall. And I was so excited because I came from a small town, moved to a larger city and was a skateboarder and was just so excited to work there. And my boss Was this like 40 year old crusty skater guy who was the store manager. And every day he pulled pranks and like did all sorts of wacky stuff to not even make us laugh, but just to keep himself entertained. The first way I found out that he was like, this was. I was driving around the neighborhood that I had just moved into right when I got the job. The Arby's, like around my neighborhood have been changed to be like saying something instead of the Angus beef, they mentioned the anus beef or something like that. It was some kind of butt joke. And I went to work the next day and was talking about it because I thought it was so crazy. And it turns out that he had done that and he did things like change signs out of like outside on buildings. And like he one time came to work with like a bucket of bouncy balls and dropped them over the balcony. Like we were on like a second floor of this mall. He just dropped them over the balcony and like watched where they went and then just ran inside back into the store. He was like the wackiest guy I've ever worked with. His shirts always matched the color of the shoes that he was wearing. And that was like a thing of his. Just a wacky guy. Shout out, Mike. Okay, I don't know if I'd say I was fired. I was let go. I was terminated. They didn't want to pay me $10 an hour. I think they were just trying to save money. And of all people to fire, they chose to fire the person who was paid the least. I also probably did the least because I didn't really know what my job was, so it was fair. So I Don't really begrudge them. The only thing I begrudge them is that they made me sign an NDA at the end to get some severance money. But now I can say that the company was MOHU and they were terrible. And I don't care if I'm violating my NDA.

Eden Scher (8:49)

Hi, Emily. I'm going to tell you about my most embarrassing moment at work. I was 19, I drove a car with an ex boyfriend to Maine from New York City. Our car broke down, transmission was blown, so we started applying for jobs. We were in a teeny tiny tourist town called Booth Bay Harbor, Maine. And we got a job at a big resort and it was awesome. And they put us up for 35 bucks a week. And on our first day, we got a tour of the hotel grounds. It was very exciting. It was like a big 30 acre property. We walked all the way around the whole property and then we were gonna work behind the front desk. So we got back into the main office, our boss was showing us something on the computer. And I painted and I felt it, you know, like I got a little aura before I went down, saw it happening. I was like, I'm going down, this is not good. And when I woke up, maybe like 30 seconds later, I was very embarrassed and assured everyone because I had no health insurance, but I was just fine and probably just hungry, which I think was probably true in the end, but didn't really live that one down until the hotel closed at the end of the day October, and then never talk to anyone from that job ever again. So my prompt is strangest thing that ever happened to me in an interview. And I was once working for a large corporation. I had a fairly senior position, but I was also very close to a full nine months pregnant. I had an office with a door and a window, which was indicative of my status. And I was interviewing a young man for a project manager position that would report to me. And this young man was very full of himself. He came in, he took one look at the pregnant lady behind the desk. He had a Coke can in his hand. He set the Coke down on the desk, sat in the chair opposite the desk, scooted it back, and proceeded to put his feet up on the desk in a cross crossed ankle position so that he would be comfortable. And I remember feeling so appalled at the dismissive attitude of him. And needless to say, he didn't get the job. Okay, so my very first job was at a local theme park. So this local theme park, it was out of Virginia or not in Virginia and it was very hot. I only worked there for like one month because it was so hot and there were. Yeah, but this also segues into my most embarrassing moment at work. I was only 18 years old and I accidentally.

Brock Ciarlelli (12:01)

Well.

Eden Scher (12:03)

I. Okay, actually, never mind, never mind. Okay, I'm sorry.

Brock Ciarlelli (12:11)

Okay.

Eden Scher (12:13)

I'm supposed to tell you about my worst boss. And my worst boss was at a French restaurant in New York. He instituted uniforms and the uniforms were a particular number of Levi's jeans, but everybody had to wear them. Well, I'm a black person and I've got a booty. So he would make comments about my rear end every day. And one day I had enough and told him that that was sexual harassment. I contacted the labor department, they came investigated and then he told me that I was an instigator or a problem. So I quit. That's it. My very first job out of college was that I was a marketing manager at a resort and wedding venue on the Chesapeake Bay. And I was excited about it because it seemed like a picturesque place to be doing marketing and a good first job. But it ended up being that most days, most of my day was spent at the printer because they would have a specials menu for the restaurant every day. And the printer was in a room above the kitchen where all of the kitchen steam rose up into the printer and caused printer jams. And I counted one day and one day I cleared over 90 printer jams from the printer trying to print the specials menu. And I lasted two and a half weeks at that job. And that was my first job out of school. Great party.

Brock Ciarlelli (13:50)

Hi Emily. I worked for a junk removal company for a while and I would be driving around in a big drunk truck with one other person that was kind of randomly assigned to me that day. One day I got assigned this like 19 year old kid. I was like 24 at the time and I already knew it was gonna be a tough day. I was like kind of hungover, had a headache and this guy was just being way too Gen Z to me. So we got in the truck and immediately he's like, my friend's a rapper. I'm like, alright, that's cool. I just kept driving, trying to get through the day already. He's like, do you want to hear his songs? I'm like, okay, because I want him to be polite because it's like, you know, eight hour shift and we're going to be stuck in this truck all day together. So he starts playing this terrible soundcloud rap on his phone, which is the Worst way to hear any type of music is just on your phone while driving in a car. It's awful. So I'm like, yeah, it's not really my thing, but thanks for showing me. It's like, it's awesome. So we keep going throughout the day and this guy keeps playing this SoundCloud rap and he keeps asking my opinion and I'm like, I don't know, man, it just really wasn't that good. Terribly mixed, terrible lyrics, super generic beats. It was terrible. And then finally he plays one that's like just kind of good. And I'm like, yeah, alright, that one was. That one was alright. It was pretty good. And he's like, well, surprise, that's me rapping. And then he starts telling me about his rap career and, you know, kudos to him for, I guess, following his dreams and all that, but I'm pretty sure he was just being taken advantage by studios, charging, you know, like five grand for studio sessions and being like, but you gotta invest in yourself. Like, I don't know, man, I think you gotta invest in some better beats.

Eden Scher (16:07)

So I'm not even sure if I meet a prompt, but I think it might have to go with maybe what's the most fun you ever had at your job? I used to work in a juvenile domestic relations court and helped the sweetest little Italian grandpa file some documents over his grandkids. And not more than probably two hours later, I get a call from a deputy out front in the lobby saying that a meat tray had been delivered for me for my assistant. So we all got to party down in this giant meat tray in the courthouse for the rest of the day, which is pretty cool, but that would probably be it. My very first job was when I was about 11 years old and it started a whole string of jobs when my piano teacher at the time couldn't take a gig to play music at a party, Christmas party. And I said, my mom, my mom picked me up from choir, church choir thing, and she had a whole stack of Christmas music and she said, we're going to a Christmas party and you're playing the piano there. And I played the piano for my piantager at her church and weddings that she couldn't play throughout my early teens and my late teens I guess too. And she just died this year. She was in her late 80s, I think, and what a wonderful lady she was. She gave me a lot of confidence. I took lessons from her for 15 years. So this one goes out to you, Mrs. Pridgen. Thanks for giving me my first several years of music gigs at Capella University, learning the right skills could make a difference. That's why our business programs teach you relevant skills you can take from the course room to the workplace. A different future is closer than you think with Capella University. Learn more at capella. Edu.

Brock Ciarlelli (18:03)

ACAST powers the world's best podcasts. Here's a show that we recommend.

Eden Scher (18:12)

I'm Eden Scher.

Brock Ciarlelli (18:13)

And I'm Brock Ciarlelli.

Eden Scher (18:14)

We played best friends on the Middle.

Brock Ciarlelli (18:16)

And became best friends in real life.

Eden Scher (18:17)

We're here to rewatch the Middle with all of you. Each week we'll recap an episode with behind the scenes stories, guest interviews, and what we think now, many years later. There's a lot to dive into. So let's get to middling.

Brock Ciarlelli (18:36)

ACAST helps creators launch, grow, and monetize their podcasts. Everywh. Acest. Com.