I was part of the weekend midnights crew of a fast food restaurant. I was new to this position. My workplace was extremely toxic, managers not communicating to staff, passive aggressive management with ridiculous expectations and little resources, and constantly being called in despite them knowing my schedule and asking me to work on days I have booked off. They do not make new staff do training videos or any training information until they know they will get audited, then they make us all do them at once even if we’ve been working there for months. This resulted in a staff in which 90% of the people have no clue what they’re doing. I’ve worked for this chain before and am consistently picking up the slack of everyone else including management. This weekend was the final straw.
We always work midnights in pairs of 2. My partner last weekend was new. He lied on his resume and said he worked at my chain before. They didn’t check any references and hired him on his word, and put him with me despite him not knowing how to do anything. Make drinks, ring in orders, use the dishwasher, nothing. They find this out and instead of firing him, he gets more training shifts and never showed up, so they finally fire him. Last night my partner was another new person with the same scenario. Tonight was the final straw. My partner changed AGAIN, to a new person who has never worked at my chain before, they didn’t make him do any training videos, and I found out when I GOT TO WORK that I was training him. So not only am I now expected to do the jobs of 2 people, but I also have to take time to show this person how to do things. The night ended with him only knowing how to use the dishwasher. I did not train him because I already had so much to do that I could not miss because it would ruin the morning staff’s shift. I felt terrible for this being his first impression of the job and apologized for being upset about the situation. I reassured him that none of this was personal and I was frustrated about the situation and not at him. I wanted to show him how to fill orders and tried my best to let him try out what he was comfortable with, but I literally did not have the time to be thorough enough for him to get a good understanding. I had to take orders, fill them, prepare all baked goods for the morning, do dishes, deep clean the machines, document all my cooking, change all garbages, while also being mindful of all the expiration times of our products. This is the work of two people, and I am doing it myself. Keep in mind that this is also my SECOND WEEKEND on midnights, after working afternoons mostly. So not only am I training someone, I’m also training someone to do a job I don’t even fully know how to do yet. We were busier than usual which also didn’t help. I ended the night in tears.
I’ve had enough. I finished all of my important tasks, wrote an immediate letter of resignation, and put it in front of the manager’s office when they got there and I know they could see it. I walked out and then get a voicemail asking where I am. They are so incompetent that they cannot notice a note right in front of them. Part of me feels guilty for them not seeing it yet but part of me is too burnt out to care. I did what I had to do to make the day shift go smoothly, and got out of there. I’m anxious, nervous, and feeling guilty, but at the same time I am so relieved I never have to set foot in that establishment again. Tomorrow I have an interview for a job in my field of study, and I am looking forward to it. Even if I don’t get it, I would rather be broke for a few weeks than feel like vomiting every time I walk into work.