I have worked at a small, family owned restaurant in Central FL for 4 years. Yesterday I got written up for calling off. I am the only person who has ever been written up in the history of our restaurant. I called off because I was having a massive panic attack, and offered a doctor’s note. In the four years I’ve worked there, I’ve only called off a handful of times. Once because of hardcore eye infection that left me out for 10 days, once because my boyfriend’s mom unexpectedly passed way, and once for COVID.
I’ve picked up shifts for everyone, even when I have a second job now. I’ve been okay with being short staffed because the family and staff members want to go to Disney. On some of those days I’ve been wrecked trying to bartend with a ton of tables at the same time and no support staff… because they are literally all at Disney. Last year and this year I have worked Christmas Eve, Thanksgiving Eve & the day after, Valentine’s Day, and NYE even though it’s literally my anniversary with my boyfriend. Sundays are my days off but since my family is out of town I’ve picked up all Mother Days and Fathers Days.
I wouldn’t be so pissed but within the last two weeks, someone called off on our shift together and left me alone as the only server with no bartender because she had a foot injury previously and had been cleared to work, but she had a boot. She said her foot hurt. I saw Snaps of her drinking at Disney with the staff and managers the morning after. She didn’t have her boot on 2 days later. Two days in a row, one of the other servers was an hour late each day, leaving me to open by myself. We were extremely short staffed because of Spring Break early this week and it got very busy. It was me, a newer server, and the owners wife who was not feeling great. No bartender, no hostess, no food runners, no dishwasher…. Nothing. We got our asses kicked. At one point I had 10 tables and a party of 14 that just sat and went up the owner and begged for him to just make the drinks for the party because I was drowning and I felt like my service sucked and I was behind since I was trying to make not only my cocktails but the new server’s tables’ too. We were just understaffed and it was rough. He sent out a message to the entire staff two days later saying how disappointed he was with us that night & how he would fire us on the spot if we ever complained again.
Y’all, I am done. Is quiet quitting a thing in the restaurant industry?