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Someday, I’d be the one higher up the chain, but today was not that day. Today, I was a paid hermit with only a dodgeball game to look forward to. And I was looking forward to it. Getting paid to run around and hit people? Heck yes.
At noon, a young guy named Pete strolled in with a lunch cart and let me choose from an assortment of cold sandwiches and sides. Then I was alone again, with only the desperate single people’s applications to keep me company. I found myself scrolling straight down to their essay-type answers and the video interviews, since that was where I got a sense of their personality.
People seemed to fall into two categories. Either they thought they were the next big thing and wanted to prove it to us, or they were apologetically applying after being talked into it by friends or family.
What I didn’t know was which group GoWithFriends wanted. I called Brenda. “Okay, tell me about the reluctant versus the eager applicants. Which ones end up being more successful?”
“Hmm. Great question. Do you mean successful as far as satisfaction with the service or successful as far as finding the love of their life?”
“Both I guess.”
“I’m actually going to have Marcel get back to you on those questions. He handles the data on long-term customers.”
“Gotcha.”
I was about to hang up when she added, “I know you’re probably getting lonely in there, but don’t worry. You’ll have company soon. IT will be there later this week to get the rest of the desks set up.”
“Great.” I injected as much feeling as I could muster into that one word, knowing having all this space to myself had been an unrealistic long-term dream.
“Sadie, we expect big things from you. Being a gatekeeper is only a small slice of what we’d like you to do here. We’ll get you more involved in the inner workings when you’re ready, and it’s not something you do alone. When we have any contact with customers, whether online or in person, it’s always with a partner. It’s how we do things around here. Accountability and teamwork. It’s in everything we do.”
“Looking forward to it.” And again, I tried to mean it. Contact with app users? Like doing the video interviews? I wasn’t loving the thought of that. But if it meant moving up, then that’s what I’d do.
Marcel called me a few minutes later, and we had an overly nerdy discussion about people’s motivation when it came to online dating, the lies people tell themselves about why they do things, and how embarrassment and ego come into play. But by the end of our conversation, I had my answer. The eager used our service longer and therefore earned the company more money, but the reluctant daters had better outcomes, which gave the company better street cred.
So basically, I was back to square one, at least until Marcel gave me his parting advice. “You’re looking for the genuine and likable. Those are traits an algorithm can’t see. A program doesn’t have a sense of humor. If you find funny people, let them in. And if someone’s giving you a bad feeling, listen to that instinct, no matter how good looking or good-on-paper you find them. We hired you for your creep-o-meter skills. Use them.”
“Will do.” I got back to work feeling much more confident and productive, coming up with a system for what to look for and when an applicant had put up enough red flags for me to cut them and move on. I lost all track of time until my alarm went off at 1:55, letting me know it was time to meet up for dodgeball.
I logged out of everything and ran a brush through my hair, knowing it probably looked a bit wild after all the times I’d dragged my hands through it. Then I stuck the brush back in the desk drawer and got up to go.
Carmen’s face was peering in the little viewing window of the door just as I was peering out, and we startled each other at the same time.
“Why are you hiding in here?” she demanded, her words slightly garbled through the thick glass. “And not answering your text messages?”
I opened the door and gestured behind me. “Um, because this is where they asked me to stay. My cell phone is in a locker downstairs.”
“Oh.” Her eyes swept the empty office space before landing back on me. “You weren’t kidding when you said you wanted your privacy.”
“I didn’t say that. You said that.”
“So, you hate it?”
“No.” I smiled. “I love it. What are they having you do?”
“I’m in corporate accounts. Finding restaurants and entertainment companies that will let us make reservations with them through the app.”
“Oh.” Since she didn’t work with sensitive information, I supposed she was free to work on it anywhere in the building. “Do you have an assigned beanbag chair?”
“It’s a rocking chair, actually.”
“Let me guess. There are a host of health benefits to rocking chairs. They improve morale, fix attention problems, and clear up acne.”
“I see you’ve met Brenda Sloane.”
“Sure have. She’s the one who told me about the dodgeball room. Please tell me that’s where you’re heading next.”
“You betcha.”
