Top 10 Reasons Why Working at 3rd on Whyte is Awesome

In a week I'll be on a plane to Germany. WHEEE. Scary-fun times. But until then, I'm wrapping up my two-year position at 3rd on Whyte Internet Cafe, where I've been a 'manager' for about a year and a bit. It's been a blast, my boss and coworkers are/have been awesome. I've decided to make a Top 10 list about my favourite things about my job that I will miss, since I won't be coming back to it (unless there's still a position for August *hint hint*).

Top 10 Reasons Why Working at 3rd on Whyte is Awesome

10. No Uniform - I've worked in customer service positions since I was 15, and this is only the second job where I haven't required a uniform. The previous one was a receptionist position, so there was still a business-dress requirement. Not so here. Respectable and clean - yes. But where else could I get away with my awesome collection of funny t-shirts??

9. You Are The DJ - The sound system isn't as sweet as it used to be, but during my shifts I get to blast whatever I want. No muzzak here! This inevitably leads to my impossibly high plays on my last.fm account, but hey, it's not cheating :P.

8. NSFW Does Not Necessarily Apply - We have a pretty lenient internet usage policy here, and is reflected in staff content. I'm not saying I surf porn at work, far from it. But when you see a tweet that's NSFW and reallllly wanna click it? Chances are I already have, because it's SFMW - Safe For My Work. I mean, I watched half of season 4 of Robot Chicken today, WITHOUT headphones. Could you get away with the same?

7. Staff Discounts - I print most of my class notes here, since the student price is $0.10/pg, and I get a 50% discount on that as well. Same with a 50% discount on food and drink, blank media, and phone and fax. This saves me a lot of money.

6. Parking - If you work on Whyte or downtown, you are probably aware of the headache that finding a parking spot is. I have one, and while sometimes it's taken up by my boss, and we can only use one out of two because of the bar below us, it is still easier than parking at a lot. I also get to use it after hours, so a night at improv doesn't result in a hit and run, aka what happened the one time I didn't use the cafe parking.

5. Community Awareness - Back when I was full of initiative (i.e.: last year), my favourite aspect of the job was our bulletin boards. Just two cork board located in the front of the cafe, it was, and still remains, a huge opportunity to support a cause, event, band, or festival that you believe in. I scoured the City of Edmonton events calendar for festivals, contacted the PR department and got a hold of posters and handbills to give out - EIFF, Exposure, Fringe, etc.. I would print of band posters for an upcoming gig, or even make my own. I became more informed about Edmonton's events, and wanted to make sure our customers were. Before I leave, I'm going to try and restore it to it's former glory. Another bright spot is my boss's initiative to provide WiFi for businesses and events through his company Mesh Canada, which had one of it's first hubs here and is still free to access.

4. Flexible Scheduling - Yes, as with any job, there are some times where I have to sacrifice a night out with my friends to work. But without standard shift lengths, I can trade and change shifts with coworker. I had this job while I was in school for my second and third year - it was frustrating at times, but ultimately provided a job where I could do my homework at work and schedule around my events.

3. A Degree of Autonomy - There isn't a standardized work practice here, in that there's no 'company policy', no ten-page employment contract. I perform the tasks of helping people and keeping the place cleaning and working, but I can do that with my own style. It's refreshing, and indicative of a small business. The training manual? I made a closing guide out of pictures that I took while closing up shop. There wasn't a video I had to watch, there wasn't an orientation that I had to attend - I got training and support in many forms until I was good to go on my own. And even after, the support is still there. There's also a lot of room for employee-led initiatives, such as my poster-purchasing plan, where I bought posters that are technically mine, but put them up in the cafe since I don't have the space. Our customer fave is a production shot from Monty Python and the Holy Grail.

2. Interesting People - It's true, I often tweet complaints about customers, but I don't give enough credit to our fantastic regulars. After a while, you get to know their story. One of my favourite customers is Jan Streader. You may know her as ZuZu the clown, a regular performer at the Street Performer's Festival and a local actress. Other local celebrities I've met include Kevin Gillese (now in Atlanta, those lucky people), Amy Shostak, Clarice Eckford... And that's just the people that I'm aware of being celebrities. We also serve a lot of foreign talent during the festivals. And if I have a creepy or bad customer? They're just fodder for stories to tell people later.

1. My Coworkers - Yes it's corny, but most about what I love about working here is my coworkers, including my boss. We joke about shit that would not fly at an office, and work on making this place as cool as possible. I'm really going to miss them - even when I get back from Germany, Eric (my boss) will be leaving for Ontario in the Fall. So this is for them :)