I don’t mean you need to learn how to create believable characters and craft interesting stories.
I mean, you need to learn how to write legibly.
Even this late in the season (three days to go!), we get new crew members almost every day. Usually they’re day players, but it doesn’t matter if you’re here for a day or for the entire season– you still need to fill out your [glossary]start work[/glossary].
And you need to fill it out neatly. All that time in grammar school you spent practicing writing your name? Here’s where it counts. Sloppy handwriting on your start work is why your name is spelled wrong on the crew list; more importantly, it’s why your check gets sent to the wrong address.
Payroll gets probably close to a thousand start packets over the course of a season. Add to that the constant flow of [glossary slug=’daily-time-sheet’]daily time sheets[/glossary] and time cards, and you’ll realize why they’re not going to chase down every single person who writes like a first grader.
And not to be xenophobic, but if you’ve got a unusual, non-Western name, this applies double to you. I can probably suss out “Adam,” but if you run the letters together on “Vaishnavi,” I’m never going to get that right.
This also holds true for you if you have a non-standard spelling for a normal name. I’m looking at you, SanDeE*.
But forget those special cases. Really, everyone should be careful about filling out their paperwork. It’s not for us in the office; it’s for you. You want to get paid on time, don’t you?
One Response
I’d go a step further than and beg that you please, PLEASE fill out all the contact information. I guarantee that the person who goes “meh, I don’t want them to have my phone number or email, I’ll just leave it blank” is the person that I have to try and contact because they filled out their W4 incorrectly. It’s really frustrating when I’m trying to help you get paid and I can’t get in touch with you.