A Series of Unfortunate Events.

My story begins with phone problems so that is why I always insure them. I go through phones faster than @janton does comments 😜 and this phone was my latest mischief. I had arrived in Dusseldorf to open a store with Primark. I was getting off the plane and the phone fell down the metal steps to the ground. It looked fine but a strange fault bestowed the phone. I could only answer on loudspeaker as mic had smashed in the ear piece of the phone. I had gotten away with it but I had to answer every call on loudspeaker which made me look like a right knob on public transport and on site. But needs must until I could swap it for another phone.
We were nearly there. I had just received the keys to the site and the support staff were arriving in 3 days. When the support staff came, that was when the atmosphere got really exciting because they were mainly from Ireland and the UK. The majority of the 50 support staff were serial campaigners that went from store opening to store opening. It was a great way to travel Europe getting free food and hotels and also training in and getting to know the local staff and managers. One of the Irish girl wasn't home in 3 years and her instagram is amazing. They had the best time. Alot of the managers like myself knew the serial campaigners well. They were on so many trips because they were great at getting the staff trained and they never moaned about being homesick which would cause problems. So you were more likely to go with these guys because you would have enough on your plate. There were always some newcomers or favours pulled in to get their staff some "experience" abroad but sometimes after a week the pace wasn't for them and they would get homesick. You spend 2 months away from home and some of these guys were only ever on a 2 week holiday with their parents. I used to have to make sure they were having the time of their lives the first week and get them included in everything. If they lasted 2 weeks the next 4 weeks flew by. There was always the 1 or 2 that stayed in their hotel rooms and didn't mix and then I used to get phonecalls to book them flights as they wanted to go home. Like Steemit, you get out what you put in in this life.

My phone rang
brrrrrrrrrrrrrrr

I'm not on deee support liiiiisssssssttttt

You said I could come, porque dio

That was until you decided to go all Bruce Lee with the Spanish guys you dickhead(See previous Post)

Pleaassssssssssseeeeeeeeeee I won't let you downnnn

I rang my HR manager.
What's the final number on the support?
49, We are down 1. Julie got pregnant while doing the Jerez store opening so she has pulled out

It's a pity the guy she was with didn't pull out because Julie will be missed!

OK include Antonio

The nutbag?? Chroist. Are you sure?

Yeah just put him down. Il make sure he is on the straight and narrow

Next Day the phone rang .
brrrrrrrrrrrrrrr
Loudspeaker

Thank you thank you I will not let you down. I will be good. I promise.

You better be good because if I hear you are getting into any bit of trouble, you are gone

I swear on my mother

Is she not deceased?. This fills me with confidence!
Yes but I still swear on her
OK I won't have time to be with you for first few weeks because I will be working so you gotta make your own friends and don't fall in love so easy

I won't I won't. I want to stay out there so I will do well.

So the support team arrived and I did the same old speech.
Have a great time but you are the face of the company blah blah blah so don't be found naked in a park great time.
There was always a couple of incidents around drinking with the support team. Winters in Ireland and the UK are mild compared and one support staff was not aware and nearly froze to death after falling asleep outside the hotel on a bench.
By all accounts the support staff and the Dortmund staff were having the time of their lifes out on the town. I received this photo which was slightly concerning but I was glad the loud Italian was fitting in (kind of) and I also heard he had fallen in love with an Irish girl. Surprise surprise.

Things were going swimmingly in the store. We were
due to open on the 20th September. It was a brand new shopping centre called the Thier Gallerie in Dortmund and it was built to a high spec. We were their biggest catch because the company had become famous in Germany and we were the A listers which had its perks. We were just about done, with the stock merchandised really well and the place was looking great.

Then I was hit with curveball.
I was in a planning meeting with some of my directors at 7 am. Phone rang.
Brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr
Loudspeaker
I would be pretty comfortable with the directors as I was drinking with some of them the night before.

So I answered, BIG MISTAKE.

One of the support staff was arrested last night

He is currently in a cell at the police station

I didn't even have to ask. I knew it was the Italian. Trouble just follows him whereever he goes. My heart sank. I got him out here so there will be egg on my face, If the phone wasn't on loudspeaker I would of went and got him and said nothing. What people don't know won't hurt them but it was too late . Everyone heard. This wasn't good. I was too busy to handle it and I didn't want to either so one of the HR directors got him in for a meeting after he sobered up.
So the story started to unfold into his arrest. They were all out having a great night but they were all drunk. The pubs closed and the support team went to the local pizzeria. They got their pizzas to takeaway. The girl who was last to order her pizza , the girl Antonio had fallen in love with, had no money. She decided to try and make a run for it when she got her pizza. The owners closed the door of the pizzeria to stop her from exiting to obtain their cash. Antonio took offense to this and tried to get her out. The police were called by the support team and the police arrived. They tried to take Antonio away from the premises by talking to him. He seemed to comply but then he threw a chair at the window and they arrested him.
What a stupid stupid thing to do. I was raging. He threw the chair while the police were there. He deserved everything he got. Back in the store we agreed that the best thing to do was send him home and ban him from coming on the support team again. It had to be done. Antonio was inconsolable. More to the fact that he had let me down more than anything else. I had separated myself from the incident and my HR manager was the only one who knew I put his name down so I was fine. I knew he would take it very very bad but actions have consequences unfortunately. He was having the time of his life and he had fucked it up, He rang me every night crying down the phone but I was tired of him to be honest. He really wanted to be in Europe doing his job because he was quite good at it. He contemplated quiting his job back in Ireland but he was determined to get back out to Netherlands and Germany. He put his head down and worked his arse off. He managed to get the HR team in Ireland to feel sorry for his story 3 years later they allowed him to do another support team but he knew he was being watched closely and one false move and he was back in Ireland again.. He stayed in every night for 6 weeks which I know was torture for him because he hates being alone. But he came out really well. He was asked to stay in the Netherlands store because he did so well and he is still there to this day. He even got promoted recently. He is still a mad bastard but somehow he is keeping out of trouble. @brittandjosie if you are ever in Primark Tilburg. Pop in and say hello to him. He will love that. So it ended well in the end. (For now). And I am delighted for him. He wants to come and see my daughter Grace because he never met her so I will see him soon. Oh and I got my stupid phone too fixed the week after!

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