So I work in a “fast paced” restaurant (shitty fast food dressed up as a proper restaurant) and today I was scheduled and came in on time however I had a stomach ache so I waited 20-25 mins after clocking in and went to the bathroom when I thought id have a few minutes but our bathrooms are 1 stall so I had to wait 5-6 mins before the guy in the stall left so I could go. I then did my business and took maybe 6-8 mins total and as im washing my hands my manager opens the bathroom door and tells me I need to get back to work and I cant be taking so long, to which I respond “Sorry there was someone in the stall was waiting on them” he then he brushes my response off and repeats himself so I just say “look man, im gonna use the bathroom if I have to.” and walk to the line to wait for an order about to be ready. He makes a comment along the lines of “you cant use the bathroom as an excuse to be on your phone” and I was not on my phone so he was directly lying about me to justify his attitude towards me. I ignored him and continued to wait on the food, and he squeezes between me and the other 2 people on the line and then has the nerve to look at me and ask me to help (im a runner so I dont have gloves or a hairnet, technically im not even supposed to be touching food or anything on the line and especially not when theres already 2 people on line. I respond to him “what do you want me to help with?” and before I can finish he tells me to clock off and “thanks” me for the help ive been. I just stayed silent grabbed my bag and left.
Im so sick of fast food jobs. It feels like there isnt an ounce of respect in the industry especially for younger people who are easier to dismiss because of age. I work hard and always take care of every customer even going out of my way to ensure they’re at least satisfied with anything we give (Im front lines for spotting shitty tacos, wrong tacos, missing ingredients and things for customer safety like allergies and dietary restrictions) and to be treated this way over a petty disagreement in the kitchen seems so extreme.