For this story, we’ll give the character a name. Let’s call the person Chris, for this story is gender, as is the human soul, ambiguous. This story will interchange the use of him and her, speaking of only Chris.

Chris an artist, full of ideas and concepts of wonders with a singular goal in life to deliver her ideas to the world for all to see and be inspired. If she was to get paid for her art along the way, that would be perfect.

Until that day comes, like the rest of us, he has to provide for himself a means of daily living. While a talented artist, she is not in a place in her life where her art can satisfactorily self-sustain her.

So, Chris gets a job through a temp agency which, by it’s definition, would satisfy his needs to pay his current and ongoing bills; such as rent and groceries on a temporary basis while he focused on the work that means most to him: his art.

The temp Agency is responsible for finding work for Chris that matches her skill set and issue a paycheck to her direct deposit on a weekly basis after she secures a job offer. In the past, Chris had never any trouble getting a job (though keeping one is at the heart of this story).

But Chris is optimistic and lands a decent paying job with a Bank — particularly in the mortgage department — where there would not be any sales and all he would have to do is update mortgage records of homeowners.

If she did well through the 90-day contract, she would have the chance to be asked to stay on full-time and gain medical benefits and a secured position with the company. There were no guarantees and Chris understood that. In order to prove her worthiness, she had to excel at the bank because medical benefits and greater pay from what the temp service offered would come in handy while she still perfected her art.

May 1st

Chris is nearing the completion of his art. He labored over the work for more than a year — putting his heart into every inch of the work. Anything else would be considered touching up, so going to the initial interviews to the temp agency wasn’t distracting. They sent him an email that they would send them to an interview to meet the bank managers on May 17th and to await another email for the time, place and further details.

Chris made sure she would be available that day by clearing her schedule — optioning to continue her art after the interview appointment.

By May 15th, with no emails or phone calls from the temp agency, Chris reached out to agency to ask, with only two days remaining to the date, was there any news?

“The date has been changed. Be there on the 20th.” Said the temp agency.

Chris had to ponder, what if I didn’t call to ask? When were they going to tell me? I canceled my day just for this interview. 

From here, the soul of Chris started to feel pain.

On May 18th, she received the email giving her direction to go to the bank and whom to meet.

Chris arrived, on time, to her scheduled appointment at the bank on May 20th. Upon arriving at the security desk, Chris introduced himself, but the security guards could not find his name on their appointment list.

Chris re-checked his email, confirming she was at the right place at the right time. Unfortunately, the temp agency sent over Chris’ information under the wrong name: “Ed”. The security guards, making light of the matter, allowed Chris to continue through the interviewing process nonetheless.

Chris sent an email to the temp agency, since calling usually went to voicemail, to inform them that the bank had her name wrong and they should correct it. They respond by email saying they would contact the bank managers and have it updated.

All through the interview process, the managers were delighted with Ed, no matter how many times he corrected them to say his name was Chris, and they offered him a position with the bank. The bank said: “We will start you May 30th! Be ready and come prepared. Your agency will get back to you from here.” Chris gladly accepted and reported the good news to his temp agency.

On May 27th, with no word from her agency still, Chris understood the game and realized the agency was either short handed or very lax in providing information, and/or correct information, when needed. Chris called the agency and sent multiple emails to understand what was happening since the bank said to start on the 30th. Do I just show up? Do I need to bring anything? Can I please have the courtesy of knowing how to schedule my time and preparedness?

With extreme attitude, the agency let Chris know they would inform her of the details when they are prepared to issue them out and Chris felt the twinge of something breaking in her soul — now that she has given this agency close to a month of her attention and gave her own art less in the process.

Was all this worth it? He asked constantly. I need the money, but is it worth the aggravation if the people I work for don’t seem to care about my time and value? Worst of all, it’s with a bank. A colder and less creative field than her art.

Remembering why she needed the job in the first place, she sucked it in and accepted what could not be changed — while her soul started to shout it must change!

On May 30th, he received the call that the dates were changed and he would be starting June 1st — with all the necessary details to start that day.

June 1st

Chris arrived at the bank on time and immediately — all managers and internal employees of the bank — referred to Chris as Ed, because the agency did not correct the matter. Ed was entrenched in their system. Everything from ID cards, to complex usernames and password structures.

Ed was here to stay.

To Chris, this wasn’t a big deal because she knew she was personable enough to correct someone and, optimistic enough to believe, that person would acknowledge her real name moving forward.

But not at the bank.

Even his own manager, whom he will work with for the next 90-days, will always, daily and without fail, call her Ed as if it were the very first day on the job.

Even emails from the agency started arriving under Ed, no matter how many times Chris complained.

Chris had the foresight to advise all concerned that, unless they fix his name, it may be an issue come the day he was to be paid!

Sure enough, when the first paycheck was to roll around, her money was not deposited into her checking account — information she provided as far back as early May!

A check would be issued — sent through the mail — and she was forced to wait an additional week to receive it. Not a big deal, at the time, because most jobs pay bi-weekly anyway.

Still, what troubled Chris was the negligence of the agency — and always being called Ed through the halls of the bank. What amazed her was I just told you yesterday my name is Chris, but you constantly refer to me as Ed. Doesn’t anyone care who I am on a basic level?

Unfortunately, Chris knew the answer to be no.

The bank demanded that every employee express empathy and care for every customer they speak to. Notices, reminders, handouts and training classes were provided, by the bank, on how to connect with customers and show that they were the most important person to them.

Ed was expected to study and perfect how to speak to customers — thus connect with them emotionally to provided excellent service — thus decreasing Chris’ ability to come home and create her art on a daily basis. Why? When she was expected to give emotionally to others, even at the work place, very little was left for herself when she came home: tired, drained and exhausted.

In order to keep this job through the 90-day period, he was expected to give 110%. At home, she gave herself maybe 10% and it started to reflect in her art.

I need them to keep me full-time. Why bother. They barely care that my name is Chris. I have so much I want to do in my art — but I’m too tired to do any of it. Oh, look. I have to go to bed early in order to leave and get to work on time. I’m not getting anything of ‘me’ done. It’s just a name. I can depart from my identity for a paycheck, can’t I?

This is when her soul started to scream.

So, this went on for the next two 1/2 months until one payday, he didn’t get a check deposited.

Again.

Up until now, even with the error of Ed, she was paid on time. She was finally beginning to pay her debts and catch up on things — even worked out a payment plan with her federal student loan — to be deducted from her account once a month.

She found out her paycheck wasn’t deposited when the student loan representative claimed they couldn’t extract a payment.

She called the agency payroll office and they assured her a payment was deposited.

He called his bank, and was told, due to some sort of refund to his account, they conducted an investigation that froze his account for less than an few hours. They apologized for the issue and her account was free to be used again.

To this day, Chris’ personal bank account never gave definitive reason why they froze her account and for what refund. Chris rarely, if ever, returns anything she buys! Regardless, the moment they froze her account, it set off a series of events that tortured Chris’ very soul.

Aside from being unable to pay this month’s deduction to her student loan, other payments she coordinated could not be paid as well. According to payroll, they would have to wait for the bounced payroll check to return to them, and after that, they have to issue a paper check and mail it. Expect it in another week or so.

By the next payroll date, Chris waited anxiously for a correct payment to be deposited to her account while still waiting for the check to come in the mail.

Nothing.

Calling payroll again, he was informed that they erased all of his personal banking information. She would have to go physically to her temp agency office to re-submit her account number and routing number to reestablish the banking information.

Chris was angry — demanding to know, when she had the time the previous week, why they didn’t inform her of this before? She could have provided her account and routing number when she had the chance!

Both her personal bank and payroll bantered about their apologies — but it still affected Chris financially and emotionally now that she had to wait for two checks to arrive in the mail — going on two weeks of no money.

Additionally, no artwork.

“Good morning, Ed.” Said her manager — the same one she always had since she started while listening to customers complaining about their mortgage payments for one of three homes they already own — as if they suffered.

Could you hear it? The rupturing of a soul?

Enough. The agency was full of idiots that didn’t give a damn. The bank was full of supervisors that cared less enough to call him by his correct name for three months straight — and they expected her to provide excellent service — dangling the possibility of taking her on full-time.

Such is the way of all workplaces. You’re just a number.

However, a few days prior, an employee of the bank was sent out by ambulance.

Chris never found out why or what happened, but the idea of laboring for a place that refused to get her name correct and the sporadic failure of getting a simple paycheck on time — then what if she got sick and needed to be carted out by ambulance? Was she prepared to give this company her all like that employee did and still not have anything of her own art completed?

Did she want to leave this life with a tombstone reading: Here Lies Ed: She Gave Excellent Customer Service.

Chris walked out that day and never looked back. Chris would rather struggle with a singing soul and than a tortured one.

The worst part …

The best part …

This is a true story.

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