So I was gonna make a throwaway for this but screw it, I'm telling only the truth and if that hurts somebody's (that I know) feefees then so be it. Also this was little over a month ago, so “quiet quitting” was not yet in the mainstream lexicon.
Pizza place. High octane, lotta deliveries. Minimum wage for everybody, 60% of that anytime I'm tagged out on the road. Only reason wages go up is because the state is raising it by a dollar a year. You can probably insinuate where I worked. Anyway. GM is the owner's son. Owner is hands off, “retired,” only comes in a couple times a year to harangue somebody(s) about whatever he thinks they're doing wrong. (Dude has loads of rental property and loads in the bank, I absolutely do not blame him for not being around. In fact, it was a virtue.) GM's gf has a salary and was able to take ample time to have a child (I don't have an issue with this, but any other woman there would not get the same amount of time. Dads either.) GM's cokehead brother occasionally showed up when things were dicey schedule wise. The 2nd-to-the-top guy (but not an AM) was about 95% the way down the GM's shaft, but had convinced everybody he was deepthroating everybody equally. Oh and the owner's gf's son had just started washing dishes. So yeah, one big Vin Diesel family.
I used to put in a lot more effort. I would literally run for my deliveries, in and out the door, to the houses and back to the car. It made the service look really good for the ol sauce shop. I would make food, even though it's never a driver's responsibility to do so. But I stopped doing that altogether when the GM downplayed my time spent doing it, in an argument that preceded the final one by a month or so. Actually, a few months after I started originally, I talked to the GM about eventually being management. Except I handled it poorly and thus he never offered the opportunity. Didn't matter too much, I eventually settled into being a driver because mgt. pay isn't worth the extra stress of working for the Family. I left and came back once, and was relatively content besides pay. Which is what I was running my mouth about in that earlier argument. We were also bleeding workers faster than they were being hired. One insider had been hired within this year. Over a 2 week period in late May, 10 people quit. And I had gripes with several remaining drivers because they were either insufferably stupid, or made exceptions for even basic rules on uniform and car handling. So when I get nipped at for something and another person also does it, it's an exception made by mgt in my mind. Why should I follow simple rules that I don't like if others do the same, get paid the same as me, and face no consequences? This was my attitude for the last several months. However, I did not go out of my way to break rules I already followed. My apathy was simply overflowing.
The main issue that leads to my dismissal is incredibly lengthy. I'll do my best to summarize, but a lot of context will be missing but I promise you, these people aren't worth trusting.
Around late March, the baby was on the way and the parents needed a way to operate the store at daddy's standard while still caring for the kid. This is where 2nd in command comes in. His primary interest is running this store for a year so he can franchise, but the GM is clinging to his salary and focusing on his business (daddy's money is tied up in that too, and decisions reflect that.) In regards to these next details, I don't have the whole truth and never will. Basically, #2 was going to “trial GM” for 3 months and if he met whatever standards, he would get the store. I think the owner and GM had different ideas about how this would work, and I think they decieved #2 in regards to what would happen. But I'm only speculating.
Side detail, owner used to have the 3 other nearest stores. Sold em to a group that has 100+ stores. They almost always tank in quality when they get bought by them. The district manager of those stores was trying to recruit #2 because he knew how great his performance was. But #2 is so hellbent on having this store for a year that he's willing to blow off several different opportunities from the other company (including district manager after 90 days.) So this is why #2 is ultimately going to be loyal to the GM, I figured it out pretty early into the trial. He plays all sides but I can see him slobbin on the GM's sauce station. But I still got to hear all the insidious little details. He didn't tell me everything, I know that, but he told he waaay more than the GM still doesn't know now.
So it's now been several months since the trial period ended and #2 is unsure in his future. The owner is blowing off meetings to discuss it, and the GM won't give him any amount of certainly. This Family's whole shtick is using everybody that dares to work for them. The owner's pockets are lined with profits from minimum wage labor. And I occasionally make it obvious how I feel, often using satire. So one weeknight I'm doing just that, making fun of the situation to the #2 while other employees are around. (I've been aware for awhile that things I say get repeated to the GM. I leaned into this because most of the time, the GM rarely said anything to me, but that didn't mean he hadn't heard.)
Next day I walk into work 11 minutes late and the GM pulls me into an extra room. He's flamin mad about my satire because I mentioned salary (in concept, not amounts.) Several others had snitched, but only #2 was named. He wanted to know why I was discussing his salary even in front of others, and I told him I was having a conversation with #2 and if others heard, “information's free.” This reallyyy sent him and we went back n forth a bit about mostly dumb shit. I rambled about not caring about material things and only wanted a fair wage to live. He mentioned that the store wasn't handed to him and I told him I never said as much. Sounds like a guilty conscience to me. Anyway he's pretty bothered and something lead to me telling him “minimum wage means minimum effort.” He said if that's the case then I am to return my uniform. I said is it not fair, that if you're paying the minimum you have to then should my effort not reflect that? He didn't agree and essentially said that you ought to work harder than you get paid. I guffawed and took off my uniform. So yeah that was about a month ago.
There's a looooot more detail that might make things more clear, but I tried to keep things concise. I just want to tell y'all, stop taking bullshit from people putting profits over your well being. If taking advantage of us is how they fund their lavish security then they don't deserve our effort. And make them fire you when it becomes an issue. They so badly want to make you leave of your own volition, do not give it to them. Tell them what you think and if it's an issue, make them do something about it. And remember
MINIMUM WAGE MEANS MINIMUM EFFORT