This was winter of 2019 right before New Years, a manager I had worked for previously was helping open a restaurant/dance club “speak easy” at a local mall. I was offered a bartending position and accepted as the job sounded interesting and fun. When I accepted the position the bar was far from finished, they were still doing construction on the downstairs restaurant and the upstairs was a mess, only the stage was put together. I was asked to help get things ready and as I had already finished my 2 weeks notice weeks before, as construction kept being delayed, I happily agreed to help get things ready. I ended up working about 40 hours in 3 days trying to get that place open for New Years. I loaded couches up 2 flights of stairs, assembled every table in the building, cleaned and set up the bar, and basically worked construction on the building until it was time to open for New Years.
It finally occurred to me to ask what my hourly for my time there was. My manager and friend at the time apologized and said that it was the owners policy to pay barstaff bar wages while they are on the clock. The minimum wage for bartenders at the time was around $4.25/hour. I said that can’t be right as we were not open yet and as that rate is based on the ability to earn tips. She apologized again and said that’s just how he operates. I was livid and said that time spent there wouldn’t even cover the gas I used getting to and from work. She said that she would make it up to me on the schedule and make sure I had whatever hours I wanted in the future. I was never fully compensated for my labor and that time spent.
I still ended up working there a couple of months, which in hindsight is stupid but at the time I was working for someone I thought was a friend. In that time I saw some really other messed up “policy” decisions which I won’t go into here. I ended up getting a much better job right before we locked down for covid. I was still part time at the old place and when lock down was lifted I was never called back to work. My exfriend/manager however was fired during lockdown on her birthday.
Lesson here is don’t be a doormat and always know what you’re getting paid before you agree to work.
Word of warning to any bartenders in the midwest: do not work at a celebrity owned dance club in a certain major city. They will not take care of you.