The Help

 

I had an interesting encounter yesterday after a rare opportunity to run and grab lunch.   With my line of work, it's hard sometimes to find time to tear away from support issues especially when we have some of the most demanding customers at times.   

So why did I feel like "The Help"?  In going to my office, which is in a downtown high rise building, there are "doormen" who act as watchers before you get in.   Then once you're inside there's a couple stations of front desk workers you have to get by.   Then you have to scan your badge in the turnstile before you can get to the elevators where you have to scan your badge one more time to select your floor.

Working in downtown Chicago is definitely different from working in the Chicago burbs.  In the burbs though I definitely needed my car.   I believe I may have had to scan my ID at the front gate before parking and then scan it once more to get in the building.   It is nice that I don't have to worry about driving to work.

So anyway I decided to pick up lunch to bring back to the office.  I walked to the Ogilvie Train Station which is home to a French Market and other food vendors.   It's a cool area where you can order food and either eat there or take it back to the office.   I had a customer meeting within the hour so I opted to take the food back with me.

I ordered two mini-pot pies (ironic since I'm using Octavia Spencer's photo from The Help carrying her famous "chocolate" pie...LOL) from one of the vendors.   I stopped at another one to pick up some bubble tea.   So my pies were placed in a plastic brown bag and I decided not to pierce the bubble tea with my straw.   I'm walking back and make my way back to my high rise when one of the doormen shouts at me that I'm going in the wrong way.   The doorman whom I've seen before isn't the nicest person either.   There's another one that always takes the time to say good morning as folks enter.   This guy skulks to the side.    He could be socially awkward I suppose.

So he's telling me I need to go through the delivery entry.  I was taken aback but quickly told him that I work in the building.   A second doorman who was different from the one that always greets everyone tried to cover it up by saying he himself was newer.   I guess I can't expect them to remember everyone as there's 1000's of folks that go in and out.   But I literally left the building less than an hour before.   I do think the food in the bag and my unopened drink may have thrown him off.   Plus I was dressed casual.   But that made for an awkward moment.

It doesn't help that the doorman in question was white.   He's actually the only white doorman as well.   I don't think I was stopped because it was race related.    But it adds a potential layer of complexity to the issue.   Anyway it definitely gave me pause.   I may have also had my ID in my pocket.   I'll have to remember to keep it outside my pocket when walking towards the building next time.