Man, that line from Dave hits hard. I went through the same thing at a warehouse gig where I thought staying late every night would get me moved up, but the guy who got the supervisor spot was the one who never missed a shift and kept his area clean. What actually worked for me was picking one thing the boss hated dealing with and just owning it, for me it was the messy paperwork at close, and after a few months he started asking me to train new hires. Turns out being the guy who makes the boss's day easier beats being the guy who clocks the most hours.

Did your friend's FoodSaver leak too?

Ever notice how bagels taste different in NYC vs anywhere else? Same thing going on, the water there has a certain mineral thing that changes how the dough rises and tastes. I worked at a spot in Austin for a bit and the water was so hard I basically had to double the salt on everything, total opposite problem from yours.