For identification reasons, I can’t tell you the location of the store, as I am worried about legal consequences that could arise if they see me smearing their public image.
In late 2001, I was really hurting for money. I had just dropped out of college, and my parents kicked me out. I couch surfed for a while until I could find a place to stay. Being only 20 years old and with very little job experience, I settled for a position as a delivery driver, making about $3.25 plus tips— back in ‘01, people weren’t really accustomed to tipping, but the money wasn’t awful. I quickly moved up the ladder and later became the assistant manager of the store, in early 2002. I was promoted to manager in 2003.
Fast forward to today, I have been the store’s general manager for 15 years. 15. The pay for GM where I am is pretty good, but not amazing for the area I live in.
The issues really started when corporate came for a store inspection, and saw that things are kept in good shape. They also let me know that they have seen my hard work, and are considering for a promotion that would bump up my salary about 30%. All of my employees think I deserve it. They tell me I am one of the only reasons that they stay at Pizza Hut, because I treat them like people, not commodities. Things looked good for me, but they were considering a GM from a different store as well. They decided that the best thing they could do was do a panel interview of us both, side-by-side, so they can compare use each. Let’s call the other applicant “Don.”
Admittedly, I like Don. He seems to be a great GM, in the practical sense, but his ideas about work culture are flawed. Typical, “we’re a family,” bullshit. He doesn’t like giving raises and he expects people to work to meet the needs of the store, not the other way around. He is very charismatic, so I think that’s how he gets people to like him.
The interview went well for both of us, but afterwards, one of the interviewers pulled me aside and straight up told me, “we’re giving Don the job, and you won’t have any opportunities to move up past GM.” It turned out that Don is the nephew of some Pizza Hut bigwig, and that they were going to give him the job no matter what. They just wanted to make it look like there was an interview process. I told him to start looking for a new GM, because I am quitting effective immediately. They tried to backpedal and offered me a 10% raise, but I just said, “fuck you, corpo,” and left the office immediately.
I went to my store the next day and let everyone know what happened. 2 people quit on the spot, including the assistant manager. I gathered my things and left one last time. 20 years down the drain. Just feels so surreal.