What was your first job?

[pixeljunkie]

lol 100% true. When I worked at Walmart in the 90s sometimes Id get assigned "stockman" for my shift which meant collecting carts from the parking lot, mopping up spills in aisle 3, and cleaning the bathrooms.

Women are much much more disgusting than men.

For those not into grossness, I'll spoiler this.


On several occasions cleaning the women's room involved emptying out the tampon/pad receptacles. They normally didnt make it into the bin on their first try so they'd just drop em on the ground. Once, apparently a woman had some kind of heavy cycle and took the tampon out and smeared her blood over the entire seat. She basically painted the thing.

Then there are the ones that missed the toilet entirely and shit on the floor next to the toilet instead of in it.

Mens room? "Ah damn, gotta mop up those piss drops that hit the floor." Women: Bring in the hazmat suits.

barf - EXACTLY true. The part i hated most was the stench was way worse.

 

[GohanX]

lol 100% true. When I worked at Walmart in the 90s sometimes Id get assigned "stockman" for my shift which meant collecting carts from the parking lot, mopping up spills in aisle 3, and cleaning the bathrooms.

Women are much much more disgusting than men.

For those not into grossness, I'll spoiler this.


On several occasions cleaning the women's room involved emptying out the tampon/pad receptacles. They normally didnt make it into the bin on their first try so they'd just drop em on the ground. Once, apparently a woman had some kind of heavy cycle and took the tampon out and smeared her blood over the entire seat. She basically painted the thing.

Then there are the ones that missed the toilet entirely and shit on the floor next to the toilet instead of in it.

Mens room? "Ah damn, gotta mop up those piss drops that hit the floor." Women: Bring in the hazmat suits.

I thought I was prepared for the spoilered part but I most certainly was not.

 

[Fygee]

First job was in 1979 at the age of 13, going on 14 at an arcade called Fun Factory. Stayed there until they closed down a couple of years later: started hanging out there and then the tech started allowing me to go with him out on street routes and picking up the nuances of the business. My first real check paying job was Games People Play, a great little arcade until I came to work one morning and the doors were locked due to non-payment on the site. Found that another person who was trying to get a foothold in the game room business and had him look into the games left on site and he eventually bought the place, lease and hired me. Later on, worked in an arcade at the Arizona State University campus that was owned by the old game company Venture Line (known for the videogame Looping and the cocktail table pinball Joker's Wild). After the company folded, went to work for Golfland in 1988. Their tech trained me quite a bit and I helped him with a side job at a local pizza chain call Pistol Pete's Pizza. After getting fired from Golfland, stayed with Pistol Pete's until 1993, when they were bought out by Peter Piper Pizza. Less than a year later, I left to work with one of the old Pistol Pete's manager to Pepi's Pizza. Stayed there until they closed in 2010. Finally, got hired by Peter Piper where my general manager went to after the place closed and didn't mind it since it was a franchise operator. Corporate took over in late 2020 and stayed there with my new official title: Technical Manager and still work there to this day.

1979 to 2025. 46 years working on games. Only job I've ever had and wouldn't want to work in anything else

I have so many fond memories of Pistol Pete's Pizza. Used to go there for birthday parties, field trips, and end of season little league soccer games. I still think of it every time I drive by where it used to be. Been an Antiques Mall for decades after it was briefly Peter Piper and then closed for good. The commercial with the sweaty, overweight cowboy guy is permanently tattooed into my brain.

Was this in Vegas? I didn't think they were anywhere else.

 

[wyo]

It's more about the cardio, endurance and stamina. I have what many would describe as a 'dad bod' even though I'm not a dad so I could use some work if I was ever inclined but I'm not out of control. It's more that I've been less physically active in the past couple of years so the legs get tired faster. After the wife got sick, there were less and less neighborhood walks and the like so here I am.

Yeah I just meant at least you're not starting from 290lbs or something.

As for first job, mine working for a newsagent delivering papers daily from 12-16, then I worked at a small video rental place.

 

[100proof]

lol 100% true. When I worked at Walmart in the 90s sometimes Id get assigned "stockman" for my shift which meant collecting carts from the parking lot, mopping up spills in aisle 3, and cleaning the bathrooms.

Women are much much more disgusting than men.

For those not into grossness, I'll spoiler this.


On several occasions cleaning the women's room involved emptying out the tampon/pad receptacles. They normally didnt make it into the bin on their first try so they'd just drop em on the ground. Once, apparently a woman had some kind of heavy cycle and took the tampon out and smeared her blood over the entire seat. She basically painted the thing.

Then there are the ones that missed the toilet entirely and shit on the floor next to the toilet instead of in it.

Mens room? "Ah damn, gotta mop up those piss drops that hit the floor." Women: Bring in the hazmat suits.

The kind of "painting" you're referring to is apparently common in people who were sexually molested. Teachers are told to look out for it in kids.

The More You Know(tm).

 

[bubba966]

First jerbs i had was boff when i was 14, can't recall which one was first exactly though. One was i was an engraver for a marine electric shop. So all the electrical panels n shit that got installed in the fishing boats in the are I'd engrave all the labels/tags on what the switches n lights n shit were. Was pretty ez work an i was makin $4.50/hr which was above minimum wage at teh time.

Other jerb was being a heavy equipment operator at a cement plant unloading the raw materials off of barges. So I'd tie up the barge when it came in, measure he low it was sitting in teh water, grease up the bucket an some other shit on teh crane. Then wait till i ran a front end loader on the barge to push the material into piles big enough to be grabbed by the crane. Then cleanup teh dock when it was all done. Was hard work but was $18/hr.

Those 2 jerbs is wat paid for my AES in late '91

 

[Arcademan]

I have so many fond memories of Pistol Pete's Pizza. Used to go there for birthday parties, field trips, and end of season little league soccer games. I still think of it every time I drive by where it used to be. Been an Antiques Mall for decades after it was briefly Peter Piper and then closed for good. The commercial with the sweaty, overweight cowboy guy is permanently tattooed into my brain.

Was this in Vegas? I didn't think they were anywhere else.

Pistol Pete's Pizza started in Arizona (where I worked in 4 of them) but have a number of locations in Las Vegas which I visited a few, most notably Decatur and Alta near Arizona Charlies Casino. The overweight cowboy was a guy named Larry Jonh Wright, advertiser for the chain. After Peter Piper bought them out, they closed the stores and pulled out of the Vegas market. Several years later, they re-entered the market but after a couple of years pulled back out.

 

[Arcademan]

Lots of Pete's in the business.
Do you miss the hay days of arcades when the innovation of video games was still in the arcade? Seems like it is al clawgames and tablet games in the arcades now. Last time I had a real whoa moment was with the star wars battle pod. That game was pretty sweet.

I long for the golden days of video games in the store. One of the locations I used to work at was the first in the state to get the original Mortal Kombat when it first came out. Wasn't a big money maker until players started figuring out fatalities and all that fun stuff. Alas most of the old games can be played or downloaded at home so redemption games became the bread and butter of the game rooms. My store has only 5 true video games (Raw Trills TMNT, Deadstorm Pirates sitdown shooter, Terminator Salvation shooter, a pair of Fast & Furious Super Bikes and Super Cars), the rest ticket games.

 

[2Heed]

Worked at Burger King for my first job back in '97. Gross job, the polyester uniforms retained every stench in the place no matter how much they were washed, and some of my coworkers were legitimate psychopaths. Pretty par for the course.

The one thing I'll never forget was how our training videos were on a TV and a Phillips CD-i setup in the back room. I never imagined they'd use the CD-i for anything post-1993.

 

[Taiso]

Worked at Burger King for my first job back in '97. Gross job, the polyester uniforms retained every stench in the place no matter how much they were washed, and some of my coworkers were legitimate psychopaths. Pretty par for the course.

Are you able to eat Burger King today? I know people that worked at pizza joints and fast food joints when they were kids and to this day, the thought of eating that food makes them almost nauseous.

 

[GohanX]

Are you able to eat Burger King today? I know people that worked at pizza joints and fast food joints when they were kids and to this day, the thought of eating that food makes them almost nauseous.

Hey, it's me! I still won't eat Little Caesars today, and it's been 27 years since I left.

 

[Taiso]

Hey, it's me! I still won't eat Little Caesars today, and it's been 27 years since I left.

When Little Caeser's was new in my area, I tried to order pizza from them. They said they wouldn't deliver because I lived on the west side of a road that was their delivery range limit.

I asked 'So I can't have pizza pizza?'

The guy on the phone said 'no, I'm sorry.'

I said 'Well, fuck you fuck you' and hung up.

It's a true story.

 

[Tarma]

So, none of your first "jobs" was as a fluffer? I call bullshit.

 

[Neodogg]

So, none of your first "jobs" was as a fluffer? I call bullshit.

I don’t think roker’s mom has an account…

 

[NeoSneth]

16 - Fast Food
17-19 - Office Supply Store
20-21 - College Print Shop during semesters ; Rebuilding Apartments in the summer/Apartment Super

I enjoyed my time with all of these, and learned some great skills. I can totally understand parents that dont want their kids to work during these years, but I learned a ton at all these jobs, even if they were shitty. I still use what I know from gutting and rebuilding apartments. Plus the overall maintenance as the super. It was low income apartments and a crippled manager coached if he wasnt out on pain meds.

oh, and i was fired from the first two. lol

 

[The Chief]

When Little Caeser's was new in my area, I tried to order pizza from them. They said they wouldn't deliver because I lived on the west side of a road that was their delivery range limit.

I asked 'So I can't have pizza pizza?'

The guy on the phone said 'no, I'm sorry.'

I said 'Well, fuck you fuck you' and hung up.

It's a true story.

This is a great story, and fortunately for you they did you a favor. Absolute worst pizza in the game, I’d rather have a frozen Tony’s. It’s too bad because there’s one right by my house I drive by every day. Wish it was a Papa John’s.

I will say every once in a blue moon I grab an italian cheesy bread and go hard on the zap pak seasoning. Still trash but a guilty pleasure. The little pepperoni pizza cups aren’t bad either.

 

[Taiso]

Papa John's has stepped up their game in the past few years. For 'economy priced' pizza, I don't think there's a better option out there. It even tastes good reheated from a microwave, which is extremely rare for pizza.

 

[wyo]

Friend of mine used to work at Domino's in the 90s and made the best pizzas but can't eat them any more. The quality was a lot better back then. Now they are barely above frozen grade. Lil Caesars still seem about the same at least. Their deep dish square pizzas are decent junk pizzas.

 

[wyo]

Papa John's has stepped up their game in the past few years. For 'economy priced' pizza, I don't think there's a better option out there. It even tastes good reheated from a microwave, which is extremely rare for pizza.

Yeah every now and then I will get a legit great pizza from Papa John's but they are not reliably great.

 

[Taiso]

Their bread sticks are , as the kids say, when well made.

 

[Fygee]

Pistol Pete's Pizza started in Arizona (where I worked in 4 of them) but have a number of locations in Las Vegas which I visited a few, most notably Decatur and Alta near Arizona Charlies Casino. The overweight cowboy was a guy named Larry Jonh Wright, advertiser for the chain. After Peter Piper bought them out, they closed the stores and pulled out of the Vegas market. Several years later, they re-entered the market but after a couple of years pulled back out.

The Decatur and Alta one was the main one I went to and the one that's been an Antiques Mall for a long time now.

Next time you find yourself in Vegas, and assuming you haven't been there yet, definitely check out The Pinball Hall of Fame.

For those who don't know what we're talking about:

 

[Lagduf]

First job I ever had was helping my friends dad during the summer when I was maybe 15 or 16. He did electrical and hvac mostly. He hired me, his son, and two of our other buddies and paid us $10 an hour which was just about double minimum wage.

I can only assume he wanted to teach us some work ethic and keep us out of trouble. Worked for him on and off (mostly summers) until my first year of college.

We even worked on some government contracts on the local Air Force base lol.

Then the first real job I applied for I worked in the receiving department, part time, as a delivery driver on my college campus. That was an ok gig. I took all the packages we got from UPS, FedEx, etc loaded ‘em up in to a golf cart and drove them to the departments they needed to go to. Had a dumbass hand scanner and everything. My boss was an alcoholic, often drunk at work, and it was not a secret that he was drinking on the job. Worked with a huge student from Trinidad who did the same job as me who somehow managed to flip over our delivery golf carts three separate times, lol.

After that I got a job at a gas station. My sister worked there along with her friend, whose dad owned the place lol. Worked that job for awhile then moved to working at gas station which was across a parking lot and a street form where I lived at the time. Was about 200 yards walk to my college as well. Didn’t drive my car much at all during that time and it was pretty nice.

 

[racecar]

That’s one of the security questions ….

 

[Arcademan]

The Decatur and Alta one was the main one I went to and the one that's been an Antiques Mall for a long time now.

Next time you find yourself in Vegas, and assuming you haven't been there yet, definitely check out The Pinball Hall of Fame.

For those who don't know what we're talking about:

Saw the Rock-a-Fire Xplosion show at the Pecos location. It was the only floor level stage show in the company which working on it would've been a nightmare. All the air pressured hoses and electrical wiring was under all the characters. On a stage show, you open a side panel, stoop down and work on it but floor level, they had to dig into the foundation and you'd have to go underground. Ouch! And yep...Larry John Wright and his advertisement business is still around.

 

[2Heed]

Are you able to eat Burger King today? I know people that worked at pizza joints and fast food joints when they were kids and to this day, the thought of eating that food makes them almost nauseous.

I have no problem eating there, seeing how it was so long ago. However, most of the stuff I preferred to get with my discount back in the day, like the BK Broiler (grilled chicken sandwich, later renamed the chicken whopper for a year or so) and chicken tenders, haven't been around in eons. The chicken fries are the spiritual successor to the OG chicken tenders these days, I suppose.

On a related note, I miss creativity like this image below. Pick'em ups were such a cool marketing gimmick, and the retro soap comic packaging gave a fast-food box of foodstuff a quasi-sophisticated vibe.