Dinner Companion From Hell

I work for a huge environmental company. The Unexploded Ordnance Disposal (UXO) division is (or was) relatively small. Most of the guys I've known for years and even though we sometimes have differences we all still got along. In the last few years our contracts have been growing and the business of cleaning up after our government is booming. As the demands for UXO technicians goes up, the quality of the UXO technicians go down. As a result I find myself the victim of some cruel economic model of diminishing returns. We have one of the new guys here right now. He was hired as a site supervisor. That puts him in charge of the day to day running of the job, kind of a middle management guy. Well, he's used to other UXO companies which aren't structured like ours. Most have huge turn over and there is some room for advancement. Here, this guy (we'll call him Bobert) has reached the pinnacle, site supervisor with two of us under him, the QC guy doesn't work for him. He could be in charge of more, but two or twenty, it's all kind of the same. Of course don't give this guy that bit of information. He isn't even in charge yet, and he's running around salivating at the thought of getting his mitts on the boss's shiny white rental truck.

We had a weekly tradition of dinner at a different restaurant on Fridays. This Friday our QC guy decided not to go because Bobert had rubbed him the wrong way during the day. I wish I had followed his lead. I arrived about ten minutes late with the geophysics guys. Bobert and the other guy were already there. Sitting at the bar it took me about five seconds to realize this guy was drunk! Not tipsy but full on sloppy drunk. He's acting the ass and is the living, clichéd embodiment of the ugly American. He's cursing at the top of his lungs in the nicest restaurant in Conway Arkansas. To top it off he's going to force me to have a good time whether I like it or not. He's yelling at me to order a drink. That happens again later on. What follows is a near transcript of a fun conversation with the waitress after we're seated. He pulls out a cigarette and when the geophysist tells him it's a no-smoking restaurant he replies (in the loud voice, of course) that he doesn't care because he's UXO. The waitress tells him it's a no-smoking restaurant and he asks her if she's a cop. She's uncomfortable but politely replies, yes, she is. Then he starts badgering her to see her badge. "No seriously, because I'm trying to explain to my friend, I want to see your badge." This apparently strikes him as witty banter. From a distance it would all seem pretty funny. Up close I ate without chewing while Bobert's head bobbed, as he was literally slipping in and out of consciousness. I shit you not. This guy is a complete and total tool, and he's shaping up to be one drunk, or sober.

I hate to see this more than you know. The first company I worked for when I got out of the Air Force started out small and was soon over run by guys like this. I left for that reason. I've been lucky and with the same company for nine years (a record in this industry) and I hope this run isn't ending.