My Friend, A Sister From Another Mother (#299)

Tell us about a memorable friendship experience....

Hello #ladiesofhives, Happy New Week. It is also a week that will herald Hive Power Up Day #PUD. I trust that we do what is needful.

True friendship is difficult to find. A friend that will stand with you through thick and thin, watch your back for you, and even stand in for you when the push comes to shove is very rare to find.
Soo... I got a job as a customer service personnel with a music and entertainment firm back in 2012.

My Friend, a colleague and I

While onboarding, I met this female colleague who became a great friend. She was just a beautiful soul. In my first few days of training with the company's customer team, she would always take a few extra minutes to tell me about the company and share a little grapevine that helped me bond easily and find my feet. She also released important information beyond the training room that helped me adjust and adapt with the existing employees.

However, I had a memorable experience with her that shifted my horizon and left a lasting impression on me. My probation period was stated as 6 months in my offer letter; however, after 6 months had elapsed, there was no confirmation or communication from the branch or even from corporate quarters.

At that point, I became anxious. After giving it thought, I confided in her, and she engaged the branch head, only for her to say that she would not fill in my confirmation form, claiming that nobody could do anything about it.

To cut a long story short, my friend took up the matter headlong with the branch manager and escalated the same issue to the head office. At the management meeting, she met with the boss, who confirmed my form had been dispatched but was awaiting the signature of the branch manager to continue the process.

At that juncture, she requested to meet with the group chairman and tabled the issue. He summoned our branch head to present her reservations on why she would not append my form. When she could not provide any, the chairman requested my presence at the head office, where my confirmation and promotion letter to customer service manager was issued to me.

When I checked the date, I noticed that the letter was drafted exactly six months into my probation, with my key performance indices results submitted by the HR team.

A colleague and I back then

This left a significant impact on my life and reminded me that some friends are closer to us than we think. Since then, I have not reneged on lending a helping hand when I can. My friend was not just a friend but a sister from another mother.

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