I worked at a large, multi-country food chain for over a year and a half, half of that year as a caterer. It wasn’t a great job at first, but it’s food service, and it was pretty cushy and easy going for that field. I was attending college the whole time. I worked night shift closing, 5 days a week, 8 hours a shift. Full time. Never got benefits, and the question was dodged every time I asked. I didn’t mind though, I got free health care from elsewhere. I rapidly shot up, becoming a ‘team lead’ in about 4 months and entering the line to become a manager in 7. I waited four months to even start my manager training, and every time was told ‘you’re next!’ While I continued working my ass off harder than the other team leads to show I was worth it. I never got that promotion, or the extra 3$, because I put in my 2 weeks. Frantically, the managers offered me a new position, one price matching the new offer I was made. 16.50 an hour plus tips. All I had to do was switch to morning shift.
That was the beginning of the end. Immediately I knew this wasn’t a great gig, it was extremely stressful, but at least I had help. I was hired to assist the Head Caterer, and we got along like a house on fire. All was good for 1-2 months, but finally, Head Caterer snapped and quit. Management was accepting wayyy too many orders for us to handle. We already weren’t able to take breaks. With the two of us, we had to do math to determine which deliveries would even be worth it, sometimes turning down a good amount of money because we wouldn’t be able to finish other orders in time otherwise. And then it was just me.
It was fine for a while, through most of summer actually. And then the stress just kept piling on. I was in the store 6 days a week, sometimes 7. I never got breaks. I worked 8-10 hour shifts, always checking the time and fielding calls from potential clients while rushing to finish orders too big for me alone. For reference, for every 800$ you have, you should have an extra person. I was routinely doing 1400-1800$ by myself. The managers denied me help and literally told me to go without a break because they were too busy. Every day was stressful, and yet I continued to make my times, sometimes even early, and enjoy my tips. Except I was always, always stressed and dead tired.
As school starting picking up, they kept taking massive orders and expecting me to do it myself or with skeleton crews. 3k? They can handle that with one other person. 5k? We can give you three people. I was so stressed I wanted to die. I was regularly having panic attacks in the store and then the managers would mock me for breaking down. After mocking me for breaking down, I’d getting written up for embarrassing the store OR I’d get written up for not ‘having enough urgency’ if I didn’t panic. Once again, I never got breaks. I was a literal permanent staple at the store and they treated me like garbage. I Was so stressed I thought it would be easier to fake a concussion than go to work. It was, and I got a break, but I was mocked by the managers for what they thought was a legitimate actual concussion.
And then there was the psycho religious zealot who would constantly blast homophobic sermons that also called for corporal punishment on children, wrote religious based notes on everything she touched, and would scream and yell at you if you asked her to stop. Management did NOTHING and every single day she harassed me until it all culminated to where she literally scratched herself on a cardboard box and screamed the store up and down claiming assault. I was harassed, bullied, stressed, and exhausted every day and nobody cared.
Why did I stay? Because my paychecks were fat for my age. I got 1500$ every 2 weeks. I could earn 300$ in tips in a day from one order. But after literally having panic attacks every day, being lied about by management, throwing up on the side of the road because I was so stressed, I had enough. I called my general manager and told him if he didn’t get someone in the store NOW, I was walking out. We had 3/6 people for a 5,000+ day and one of them ACTUALLY walked out. A manager who isn’t going to be punished, mind you. I was fired the same day I quit (next day) because “you can’t talk to me like that,”
Management failed me on every level. I was written up for bullshit, refused breaks, mocked, criticized, bullied, harassed, and prosthelytized to daily at work. I hate that place and I will never, ever go there again in my life. Money only means something when you have a life to spend it on.