Pretend Pockets & Fat Cats: I Quit My Restaurant Job
on February 3, 2013 at 11:05 pmBy now I’m sure you’ve all heard the well-circulated story about how a pastor at a St. Louis-area restaurant refused to tip an automatically added 18% gratuity on religious grounds and then went ape-shit demanding everyone get fired when it went viral.
Yeah that sucks. And unfortunately these incidents happen at restaurants every day. I could spend hours around a campfire recounting horror stories of guests just like this one.
Imagine my relief when I landed a job as an improv comedy actress making literally over 15 times what I made hourly as a waitress. As soon as I got that job, I earned myself one of these:
Although my patience and balance would never let it happen, I envisioned a few different scenarios of ragequitting as so many of my cohorts before me had. I thought of choosing the perfect guest who epitomized every barf-encrusted jumbo jerk I’d ever encountered, been stiffed by or snapped at like some kind of lapdog, grabbing my dignity by the horns and just completely freaking out on them before walking out.
What I didn’t expect was that the epitome of all douche canoes I had been waiting for would end up as my general manager.
Please, dear god, give me Jennifer Aniston instead.
When I first found out that my restaurant would be having a new general manager transferred in, I asked my good friend Neil, a former employee under this man, what he thought of him.
He replied, “[Shithead Fatcat*] is the worst human being I have ever had the misfortune of working for.”
Followed by, “No, the worst human being I have ever met in my life.”
*Names changed out of respect
Here is a consolidated list of some changes that Shithead Fatcat made at my former place of employment under his tyrannical regime and why they contribute to me resigning:
1. Eliminated “Team Member of the Month” Program: I was the last Team Member of the Month before it was given the axe. Every month one hard worker would be selected, get their name put on a bulletin board with a little star around it, and eat free for a week. Can’t be having that. The company money has since been redirected to allowing Fatcat a week’s worth of free meals every time he works.
2. Became “Big Brother”: When I first heard that Shithead decided to install multiple surveillance cameras throughout the restaurant, I actually got excited. We’ve had issues with employees stealing from coat pockets and purses in the break room as well as issues with walk-outs, and I thought the cameras might finally rectify these situations.
False. They are non-recording cameras that link to an iPhone app, installed for the sole purpose of Shithead Fatcat finding arbitrary reasons to yell at employees from the comfort of his own home.
So far this technology has done nothing to prevent continued dine-and-dash incidences or thievery. And speaking of dine-and-dashes…
3. Issued policy that ALL dine & dash incidences be paid for in full by “the server responsible”: That’s right. If some scumbag teens want a meal for free and book it, you are expected to become The Flash, tackle them to the ground and force them to pay up. Otherwise, you get to pay for your guest’s meal out of your own pocket – and that’s on a $2.65/hr salary. Not to mention, the price of the meal is still added to your total sales, which accounts for how much you still have to tip out your food runner, your busser, and your bartender accordingly.
I once worked with a mother of 7 who had to pay all $200 she made during her double shift as well as $20 she brought from home to cover an entire party’s bill after they snuck out on her while she was being double sat. That one was painful.
4. Began demanding nonsensical tribute from employees: Upon employment, employees are given a four-digit clock-in number. Optionally, employees may use small plastic company swipe cards to access their screens. When Shithead Fatcat entered management, he began telling employees without swipe cards that they must either pay $20 for a new one or forfeit their shift. On a nice summer day when I rode my bike to work and accidentally forgot my swipe card, Shithead actually told me to ride home and get it and ride back.
Assuming swipe cards look like this…
$20 worth of tiny plastic lies
…I became skeptical, wondering how 2-inches of plastic could possibly cost $20. A manager from another store in the area confirmed my suspicions by telling me that in addition to simply using 4-digit clock-in numbers, one could also use their license or an old gift card as a free means of swiping. Busted.
5. Issued policy that employees must work without being paid: It has always been a suggestion that you arrive 15 minutes early for your shift, and it has always been preferred that you complete your closing duties within 45 minutes of being cut, but now it is strictly enforced, with no monetary payoff. You are obligated to begin your shift 15 minutes early, but you may not clock in until your shift is scheduled to start. (No $0.66 for you!) You are obligated to complete your closing duties within 45 minutes, and if you do not, a manager will manually clock you out, and you will finish your duties unpaid. And it gets so much worse.
Working overtime is grounds for being written up or even terminated, even if your managers are the ones scheduling you in at 40 hours a week and asking you to come in early or stay late. If you have reached your maximum hours, you are obligated to carry out the duration of your shift – unpaid.
That’s a great question, kid I found by googling “child pondering”!
Yes it is! According to state AND federal law, it is illegal to ask your employees to work off the clock.
And finally, the straw that broke the camel’s back…
6. Issued the most nonsensical “fake pocket” policy I have ever heard of: When I was first hired in two years ago, I was made aware of the dress code: black socks, black belt, black apron, black pants with a belt loop and four pleated pockets. Got it. Bought myself a fresh pair of Dickies and got to hustlin’.
Fast forward to two years of positive guest compliments, company-noted appreciation, and a laundry list of unbridled acts all from yours truly.
It is a cold but beautiful February morning and as always I am in a great mood, ready to bring cheer and sunshine to the otherwise miserable atmosphere of gloom that is my place of employment. As I am driving to work, I see a billboard (pictured above) with a young girl ambitiously gazing toward the sky and the words: “Will your actions inspire change?” Beside her is a photograph of Rosa Parks, labeled “Civil Rights Activist”.
I know that it is just a Biggby Coffee advertisement, but as a true Detroit native and a big Rosa Parks fan, the billboard really spoke to me.
As I walk in and begin preparing for what would have been an all-day double shift, I am pulled aside by one of my managers, and the following dialogue transpires…
Management: I can’t let you work today. [Shithead] says you aren’t wearing the proper pants.
Me: What do you mean? These are black Dickies. I have the belt loop. I have the four pockets. What’s wrong with them?
Management: Your back pockets aren’t correct. They are supposed to be just slits, not real.
Me:
Management: Correct. You may return to work when you purchase the proper pants.
No. Absolutely not. I will not metaphorically relocate to the back of the bus. I will not lie to the world with an illusion of useable pockets that are actually slits. I will not work for a man who refuses me work based on the realness of my pockets. Fuck you very much, you just lost one of your best employees.
Workers: Stick up for yourself and your rights.
Managers: Have your employee’s backs and protect their rights.
Everyone else: Be nice to your servers! They deal with some shit!
If you are morally opposed to supporting a business that knowingly breaks the law to fatten the pockets of corporate fatcats, I am not morally opposed to giving you the location of my former place of employment or the real name of my former oppressor.
Consider this my formal resignation.
UPDATE: I’ve been offered some criticism for singling out one man when he is just “carrying out orders” of corporate policy. Unfortunately, that isn’t true. I loved working for the company when I was under the employ of my former general manager. Things were much different; I had the company’s back and they had mine. Things ARE much different at other locations under different management. Things changed when management changed, and thought correlation does not always measure causation, in this instance it did.
For the sake of not entirely demonizing the man, I will say that he does have some good qualities. However, my criticisms of his management performance as listed above deserve consideration. Dude’s got to rectify some issues, even if he’s dogged into it.
I love that you used the photo of the back of the keycard. That was the first thing I pointed out to management when they told me I had to pay for a table that ran out on their bill.
YUMMMMMMMMMM……
This is amazing! The list of everything shithead does wrong can go on and on! This needs to go way more public so everyone knows how much of an asshole he is
The plutocrats think we are stupid… Give up all rights and freedom to just serve them because they pay our wages….. Eat out of a garbage can first…. For real…
Oh I soooo loved this great job girl! And part of being an American is freedom of speech so I will proudly say this assholes name ;) Jeff Hale he was one of the worst managers I have ever experienced! And working for the company god knows we went through a lot. After being a loyal employee for 10 Years I got fired and the reasoning I was given was I don’t feel we’re on the same page! R u fucking kidding me I’ve been on this Page 10 years! Then upon filing for unemployment he flat out lied about my reason for termination just so I could not collect! Who does that to an employee of ten years! This fucking guy! And to sit at a bar and call the restaurant for every little thing employees do there has to be something illegal about that! On my termination paper he put excessive absence from job position why? Cause I Took a 10 minute break and then once went to the bathroom. This is just absurd you can’t take or have breaks! All I can say is Karma is a bitch and the way you treat people comes back to you! That’s why he is a 36 year old single ass,no children, miserable fuck with a lisp to boot I hope he rots! And if he reads this I’d like to say Fuck You piece of shit ! And again great job Laura
Dont be sad Candice, when Hale canned me after 6 years he said. “Now I know the shelf-life of a server”….Bawahahahahahahaha….It was right after B.E.R.
I think that all you fucks are blind and crying over dumb shit that is not true. Here ya go!.. uniform POLICY own it sorry Lauren spendex arent proper uniform! NOBODY HAS EVER had to work off the clock. If u lose or misplace your swip card BUY a new one for being carless.. and LAUREN u were team member of the month like 5 months ago just to clear that up. Cry a river, get over your Lazy worthless self. And find a new job your gonna cry about. JEFF HALE u rule ..be yourself like a Boss! Let these rude assholes be without jobs and play games on the internet. Fuck em
Lisa, Nick has had to work off the clock as an expo, and Kim has personally said at preshift meetings that she would be manually clocking out servers who did not finish their duties in time.
I have never worn spandex to work. Ever.
As far as “being careless”: accidents happen, still not worth $20, especially when there are alternative means of punching in.
I did clarify that I WAS the last Team Member of the Month before the program ended, 5 months ago. No inaccurate information there.
I am NOT jobless. As I clarified earlier, I have a much better job where I make exponentially more money and am treated exponentially better as a human being.
I am glad that you posted this comment to show that this man, as well as those who support him such as yourself, really DO think that us workers are “worthless”. Thank you for providing even more evidence that your restaurant is a hostile and unappreciative work environment.
Great job Lauren!! Kudos to you for putting this unlawful, discriminatory, almost “slavery like ” work enviornment on the chopping block. This needs to go to corporate! And how about Fox 2!?
tl;dr
As I first read this I thought it was fake until I saw the photo of the mag card, I can’t believe the outpouring of sheer distain for one man, this is the opinion and exaggerated account of one person. Jeff Hale is great to work for as long as you do what you’re supposed to be doing, he’s not a babysitter he’s a GM, he does what he’s supposed to do, and that is delegate tasks and enforce standards put in place by the company, these aren’t his rules and just because he was sent to help up and dig us out of the hole we were in, fixing things that are broken and have been for years. Instead of welcoming him people alienated him and judged him before they ever had a chance to meet him, they go by what they hear from their friends. Sounds so unfair, and all the people that “liked” this are entitled to their opinion just as the author is entitled to her own opinion. Standards are put in place for reasons, good reasons. Another thing about this that bothered me was the fact that you are pinning everything that’s wrong on one guy when really these folks should be looking at themselves and what they could do to make their work environment better, it starts with having yourself prepared and put together to work, I mean after all you have stated your opinion that this was your “shitty restaurant job” you seem intelligent so it shouldn’t have been difficult…as it should not be difficult for those still employed at our establishment to hold up their end of the bargain they signed on for when they applied and got hired…
Personally, I went above and beyond for that company. No one who’s ever worked with me could deny that. In addition to documented company and customer appreciation, I’ve never even been written up. All I ever did was have real pockets.
Boom! And if u try to write back in Jeffs defense again ..the coward will not agree to post it for everyone to see. Im glad u hitt all of the bases! Some people have no class
Yes, real pockets, but the wrong pants, the pants you agreed to provide as part of your uniform, it’s great that you went above and beyond that didn’t go unrecognized, and since you were team member of the month you were expected to hold yourself up to the standard, you were an example, no one ever said anything about you as a person, no one attacked your character they simply expected you to have the correct uniform, but this whole thing is attacking one person, not the company who’s standards you were expected to meet up to, it’s a “I hate So and So” campaign and it’s ridiculous…
Nah, my pants were perfect. Black Dickies, straight-leg, 4 pleated pockets & a belt loop. Absolutely no reason to send me off to spend another $25 on fake-pocket pants when I’ve already had to buy 3 pairs this year. Absolutely no reason to send me off to ride another 4 miles home for a swipe card when I could have used my ID. That’s not corporate policy.
I’ve updated my blog post to address your concerns. I don’t hate anybody; I genuinely believe that there is a humanities issue with how staff is treated, especially when an overwhelming majority of his staff have vocalized similar displeasure. What used to be a little family has turned into just a system of replaceable numbers.
Ok, they were picking on you, believe what you want, my points have been made and like I said everyone is entitled to their own opinion but facts are facts and there are two sides to every story…and then there’s the truth. If everything you say is accurate then I’m sure something would have happened alerady to address that. We had been slipping through the cracks due to lazy management and lack of follow through that’s the illusion you were under, that family feeling you were getting was nothing more than the ones before Jeff that gave up on our location, they stopped enforcing rules and people were getting comfortable in their bad habits, not being prepared to work…we can go back and forth all day, that’s not what I’m looking to do, people have worked off the clock because they are there and it’s the nice thing to do the managers don’t tell grown adults they have to stay and work they either just do it or they are asked. They are free to say no, but who’s a dick like that? Fake pockets are not a requirement but inverted slit pockets are,fake real, whatever, you are not a victim who was singled out you were obviously on the radar for not following protocol. You can only tell a person so many times until you have to part ways, you seem to think you’re exempt to the rules and I bet if anyone else who was higher up in the company than our management team they would have told anyone that they aren’t in proper uniform if they weren’t wearing the pants clearly stated as a requirement the day you were hired, should have been a deal breaker from day one not what two years later…
I don’t want to go back and forth either, I’m just going to point out the hilarity that the guy who DOESN’T want to work off the clock for a company that wouldn’t even comp a portion of a walk-out’s bill is the “dick”. (You may be interested in knowing that making servers pay for walk-outs is also illegal, according to federal labor laws.)
Best of luck with the new management style. It’s cool that it works for you. I’m just not about that life.
People who have been following this story would like to see in writing the company’s official policy regarding the uniform, working off the clock, and having to pay for dine-and-dash customers. Can you provide that to back up your story, Diana? How did this person get Employee of the Month (or whatever it was) if she wore the wrong uniform?
Honestly, Lisa and Diana I held both of you to clearly a higher standard than deserved….I have lost a good amount of respect for the both of you from reading this nonsense you’re attacking Lauren with….worthless?? Lauren was a damn good worker and ALWAYS went above and beyond her expected duties as not only a food runner but server and employee in general….I have worked for this company for 5 years and have been there through two general managers and I find it hard to believe the quality of our restaurant has gone down simply to “server laziness, error, etc.” as our managers like to tell us….they like to tell us to “set others up for success” yet us as servers are NEVER set up for success…for example…when we constantly run out of boxes, food, pop,etc. and our guests are angry because we don’t have an item more than one time of them coming into our establishment…that reflects OUR TIPS…of course, nothing is done about it because it doesn’t affect the paycheck of certain people…I personally have had my whole book stolen from me and know of MANY others who have had money stolen….so why these cameras do not record I have no idea…they render pointless considering our GM is usually at the restaurant….whose monitoring the cameras then???? And what about this lovely “Strictly enforced” uniform code?? Funny that I have had to buy three different pairs of shoes in the past few months when I have personally witnessed a manager slip on wet floor…nice slip proof shoes !!! Just saying….if the majority of our employees are making the same complaints……theres got to be an issue…
I follow policies no matter who’s managing, I did not attack anyone’s personal character I only stated thing that I know are true, I don’t work on these shifts and am not responsible for other people’s actions but my own. I stand by what I said, these are not the standards of one person, they are a company’s standard. I never ever said anything about Lauren’s work ethic I actually said the complete opposite when I said that she didn’t go unrecognized in what she gave that place.
Sam I love u and im sad that u feel different about me. But what Lauren did was wrong and childish. Yeah..quit your job and move on.. no Lauren was bored and felt she needed to trash a man that she dosent even know. Jeff is really a nice guy and if there is a problem he will fix it. Nobody has the balls to talk to him if there is an issue. Its bullshit. Every work place has rules follow them its not hard.
I love you both I just am dissapointed in your words….a lot of policies we have at work are not even corporate policies because if they were ALL of the restaurants in the chain would follow them….I’m not saying he isn’t a nice man however, his personality has nothing to do with how he works at work…and it’s pointless to talk to him because nothing ever changes. You wanna know what? We had a gas leak at work one evening and guess who came in and just delegated us to do what we were already doing…got some food…ate in the office and left….didnt even wait around to make sure his employees exited the restaurant in a timely, safe manner…but you’re defending his “good nature” why??
I’ve had several bad bosses, that’s my shitty luck. In some of the cases I complained enough for them to pay me to shut up and go away. I may have got money but it wasn’t enough for what I was put through nor did it solve anything, those people have never had to own up to their behaviour. We are not in high school anymore or are we?