I was in my second year doing Journalism and Mass communication and somehow, i found myself in dire need of extra money, leave alone the ka 20k, 30k that usually popped in when daddy was at his best after a 'saying hello call from me' or mum wanted to make my day on a weekend.
A friend of mine who was a cashier at a certain club around Wandegeya took me through her usual days' schedule and well, i thought i would also adopt the afternoon-night shift at the club. I presented my fair CV and got the job, thank God! The club had three counters/cashier cabins and i was to take up one. I must say, i was nervous about the whole thing but being the go getter that i am, the night shift wouldn't hurt that bad, would it?
I remember the afternoon of my first day at work,...clad in a pink top and brown baggy trousers, a cross bad hanging loose on my shoulder as i followed my boss around the work station. I had never been surrounded by so much alcohol!!! A medium counter, two refrigerators, a bottle shelf, a ginormus TV set and bar stools composed my then soon to be daily spot.
Stock taking is a cashiers number one activity when you get to work. You wanna know how many beers, sodas, wines, water and energy drinks you have before the waitresses and waiters start to make orders. You also have to check for what brands or kinds you might need to stock more for the day so the supplier is notified.
Anyways, when i was done noting down the starting stock, the boss turned and as she left my cabin, she said i should be vigilant, "some girls will steal from you, i don't want you to make losses."
I didn't know exactly what that meant but it sounded more than just a warning. I pulled my stool and sat, cross-legged, overlooking the counter as i waited for waitresses' orders. The girls were a bit kind, i didn't get bullied, save for one girl who was thrice my size; she popped in with a piece of pork in her hand, chewing so loudly that i cringed for a split second.
With no greeting, she asked if i was the new cashier, to which i replied "yeah". "Tomanyi Luganda?" was her next question to which i smiled off. She then leaned forward to sort of "check me out" and before i readied myself for another of her annoying queries, she was in my face, "are you even allowed to be here? Oh, my god, you are so tiny, how old are you?"
At that point, my phone rang and someone was basically notifying me that our media ethics course work submission had been preponed! I was panicking! The big girl in front of me asked if i was done with school, "no, not yet" i said. She blabbered and off she went, giving me a minute to breathe at my own pace.
Fast forward, we closed off at 1 am that Wednesday night and i went home amidst fright. I had made a shortage of 4500 but i had been tipped 20k by some drunk Kenyan students who kept me busy at the counter. I felt like i wanted to resign immediately because of what i had experienced. People despise bar maids, look at them in a sexual-driven manner, treat them like their lives don't matter at all and some men go ahead to use them for their pleasure!
I was a student, trying to figure out life, i didn't know if i would be able to smile at such people if they offended me. But, day by day, i got used to the environment, made friends with the girls, got people who liked to jazz with me at my counter and generally adopted to the night job.
I made losses almost everyday, but on lucky days, my tips were enough to drain the sorrow. After all, i had gone there to make money!! We were paid 40k per week and we got 5k per day for transport facilitation. I worked, studied and resided in Wandegeya so the 5k always catered for other things. I had one 'off day' in a week.
Juggling school and work wasn't easy, but it was worth it. This job got me some of the households i wanted- i had just moved in with myself and i needed all the money i could get. My parents never really got to know about this job until later when i told my mum about it. It wasn't something a parent could go 'cool' about but there was no option. I hope daddy never reads this because he has never known.
Fast forward, ....some days were okay, others were really horrible. Sometimes i cried under the counter, other times i went partying after working. It was always one of the extremes, either really happy or really sad. I got to meet some amazing people, well as i bumped into the most weird assholes. Sometimes i had issues with the waitresses, customers and the bosses alike.
The Floyd Mayweather Manny Pacquiao Fight
The day of this fight was something i have never come to comprehend. I spent 24 hours working non stop. I had a 9-11 am lecture which i attended and then headed to work. I always reported for work at 1pm. Usually, Monday to Thursday were less busy so we always closed of at 1 or 2 am. Fridays and Saturdays were trans-night shifts.
On this particular day, i made sales of 2.9m something. My counter was the smaller one of the three so this was huge. The other two doubled my sales. People flooded the bar hours before the fight and stayed till morning. Others came as per usual and i didn't even have space to go get my face 'woken up'. Every corner of the Casablanca hangout was full.
At around 2am, we increased the price of beer to 5000 from 3500, people bought everything. We had to call our supplier for an emergency delivery of more beer. The after fight music was so loud, the place looked merrier and the drunk customers tipped me like never before. I went home with around 90k.
The last person left my cabin at 7:47 am, i stretched my arms, galloped the last bit of my smirnoff red, stuffed my tips in my bag and switched off everything. It was a tiring but good day, or night i should say.
Long story short;
I worked at this bar/club for close to eight months and decided to quit. I had not got another job but i was tired of the late night shift. Fortunately, i had earned myself a solid start of what i wanted and even when the quitting came after a bit of fights with my immediate boss, it was long overdue.
What i want people to know is, that not everybody who works in such places is a prostitute, its not that they don't have a future and certainly, its not like they are less of human beings. From this job, i learned to respect every person's hustle. I learned to tip people-when i can, i learned to be a good person towards every worker in whichever category.
Why? Because i know what it means to be disrespected at your job, i know the fear that comes with losing a job because you stuck to your principles and certainly, i know the life of a bar maid. That's the reason, when i hang out, i wanna say hello to the person serving me, be nice to them, smile with them and remind them that there is still a kind soul who values their work. You, yes you, should try it too, you really should.
Alright people, i'mma stop here, but i want to remind everybody that your hustle is yours and you don't have to be ashamed of it. The people you feel like shouldn't see you at your work place don't deserve you! In the end, you are really trying to get something for yourself, not to beg any fuckin body so go ahead and hustle! When it's all over, you will smile at yourself for having done so.
Let me know the kinda hustle you ever did and felt like you are a bad ass bitch or a bad ass son of your mother! I love you guys, so much. Thanks for the unwavering support.
