Good Help Is Hard to Find: Part 2

Katie, our current receptionist, waltzed in at 9:35 yesterday morning. In an attempt to help her out (and to ensure that she has a fighting chance at NOT getting fired), I decided to give her some advice. After all, if she gets fired, I will suffer the most because I am expected to assume the responsiblity of answering the phones in the absence of a receptionist. I told her that I had worked at as a receptionist in various law firms in Boston before I started working at this firm. I told her that I was reprimanded for being 1 minute late and that consistent tardiness is never tolerated at any firm. She admitted that she was late that morning but denied being consistently late. When I pointed out that she arrives EVERY DAY at 9:20 ever since her second day of work (she actually showed up on time her first day), she replied, "That's ridiculous! You can't expect someone who takes public transportation to be on time every day. Public transportation is so unreliable!" When I told her it was her responsibility to arrive on time and suggested she leave home earlier than she does now, she repeated her response regarding the unreliability of public transportation. Before I could tell her most of us at the firm take public transportation yet manage to get to work on time, the phone rang and she promptly picked it up to signal the end of our conversation.

Needless to say, I do not like this girl. Even though I would suffer if she were gone, I actually do not care if she gets fired. She doesn't do her job well at all, arrives late every day and leaves early. And she has only been here for two weeks!

Addendum: This morning, she came in at 9:20 again. Normal individuals would consider that arriving late for work. I guess in Katie's world, 20 minutes late shouldn't count as late. You'd figure with that mindset, she'd leave 5:20 p.m. every day instead of 4:50 p.m.