Participant Profiles
Ms. D (22): One month in. Former restaurant staffer. "I'm so new I still don't know up from down" (laughs).
Ms. E (25): Six months in. Former call center worker. "I feel like I've gradually built my own style."
Ms. F (29): Two years in. Former nursery teacher. "Here I've become the 'senior' now."
"What Fears Did You Have Before Joining?"
D: I was afraid of everything (laughs). "Can I do this?" "What if I run into a weird person?" "What if I get outed?" Getting outed especially scared me — I agonized over it for more than a week before joining. In the end I thought, "If I'm going to agonize this much, let me just call once," and I called.
E: For me, bigger than getting outed was the fear of "what if no one picks me?" Whether I'd be popular, whether nominations would come. I'd worked at a call center, so I'm scared of being evaluated in any job (laughs).
F: My biggest fear was "will my body hold up?" Nursery teaching is physical labor, so "what if this is even more tiring than that?" Also, I had pride in being a nursery teacher, so I had this feeling of "was changing careers really the right call?"
— What was your impression when you called?
D: I thought "oh, a normal person" and felt relieved. No weird intimidation — they asked, "What kind of way do you want to work?" They told me, "Let's start by trying two days a week," and that made it so much easier.
E: Same impression. There was zero pressure of "you absolutely have to join." The vibe was more like "if it doesn't fit, that's the end of it, and that's fine," which paradoxically gave me the impression "this is a proper shop."
"Were There Gaps Between Expectation and Reality After Joining?"
D: There were a lot of gaps in a good way. "I thought it'd be a way murkier world." The staff are kind, the seniors talk to you, no weird hierarchy. The restaurant industry was way more tense (laughs).
F: I get that. The nursery workplace had brutally hard interpersonal relationships (laughs). The first thing that surprised me coming to Ruby was "the atmosphere here is good." There's a culture of women helping each other, and when I first joined the seniors taught me all kinds of things.
E: For me the gap was in "the kinds of customers." I'd imagined more scary or weird people, but Ruby's customers are genuinely good people, a lot of them. Lots of gentlemanly types, and I felt "this job is more normal than I thought."
"What Was the Toughest Moment?"
D: Since I'm only one month in, everything is kind of tough (laughs). The biggest is the psychological pressure of "I'm anxious about how I'm being seen." I can't be confident yet.
E: Around the time I hit my sixth month, the stretch where my nominations plateaued was tough. Fewer than last month — why? I overthought it and got down. When I talked to the staff, they told me, "Nomination counts come in waves, so it's better not to compare month to month," and that made it easier.
F: Two years in, the big tough moments have mostly vanished, but in the first half of year one I had the inner conflict of "was this really the right call?" I had a sense within me that this was a job society doesn't approve of, compared to nursery teaching. But now the sense of "a job I chose myself" has grown stronger.
— Was it easy to consult the staff?
D: It's easy. Even for little things, when I say "Can I have a sec?", they properly make time. And they don't laugh at you even if you ask something dumb.
E: I sometimes consult them over LINE. There are things easier to convey by text, right? Even "this is hard to say directly" kind of stuff, I can get across on LINE. A reply always comes, and the next time we meet, they naturally follow up.
F: Trust in the staff is, I think, the single biggest reason I've been able to keep going at this shop long-term. When you have the security of "if I'm in trouble I can just ask that person," your work performance goes up. It sounds odd, but the workplace environment ties directly to your earnings.
"What's Been Good, What's Changed?"
D: Only one month in, so I can't say anything big, but my take-home is the highest of any job I've worked. That alone is a "reason to keep going."
E: I became able to invest in myself. With skincare and such, I used to scrimp and use cheap stuff, but now I can choose things that actually suit me. It might sound trivial, but I think "the breathing room to treat yourself well" only comes once you have money.
F: The biggest change is "a feeling of independence." As a nursery teacher, there was the security of "being protected by the company," but on the flip side there was the dependence of "what if the company disappears?" Now I earn for myself and manage my own money. That feeling is very much me, I think.
Also, my assets reached ¥15 million. If I'd kept on as a nursery teacher, I'd absolutely never have reached that number.
To Those Considering Joining
D: "If you're wavering, call" is the best solution. Try to decide on information alone and you'll never decide. Once you actually talk and hear them out, it becomes "oh, this seems surprisingly fine." That's how it was for me.
E: I think you don't need to worry too much about "whether you're suited for it." You won't know until you try, and Ruby has a trial-shift system, so you can confirm it before formally joining. Just take that first step.
F: If I'm speaking as a senior: "the first three months are the hardest." But once you get over that, it gets dramatically easier all at once. The reason I've lasted two years is that I endured those three months. If there's someone agonizing the same way, I want to tell them, "Keep going just a little longer."
First Class Ruby — Recruitment Information - Official site: https://www.tfr-ruby.com/ - Location: Urawa Ward, Saitama City, Saitama Prefecture - Hours: 06:00–24:00 (fully flexible scheduling) - Application hotline: 070-1462-0622 (available 24 hours) - LINE ID: ruby2017s