For context, I work at a “hip” family owned vegan place near my college campus. I genuinely enjoyed working there, and worked 4 days a week coming in right after I got out of my classes most days.
I closed every night I would work and worked every Friday, Saturday rush. I have only been working there for about 1-2 months, and I worked my ass off every day because I genuinely cared about the place I worked at and my coworkers.
I was scheduled to work yesterday (Labor Day) and was heading to work (literally an hour to thirty minutes early) and my check engine light started flashing and my engine started misfiring. Now if your check engine light is flashing at ALL you want to stop driving, pull to the side of the road and get a tow to your nearest mechanic. Because driving even one or two minutes after the light is flashing is not only super dangerous, but could cost some very costly damage to your car.
So, I pull over and call my manager the second I pull to the side of the road. I let her know what happened, and that I had to wait for a tow. She immediately says “could you come in if we get you an Uber to the store…or do you have to wait with your car?”. I literally had to wait for the tow truck, and then with the mechanic afterwards if I had any hope of having my car working for school and work the next day (I have to attend my classes, they’re 3 hour long studios so if I miss even one I’m immediately put insanely behind. Plus I have to go to work like the minute my class ends to get there on time for my shift). I let her know that, and tell her I will reach out to anyone I can to see if I can possibly find coverage.
I reach out to EVERYONE, no one can make it. I let her know and then tell her I’ll let her know when my car is fixed and if it’s done in time I’ll drive from the mechanic to work.
She says that’s fine and to keep her in the loop. It takes an HOUR for the tow truck to get there, and then multiple hours for my car to get fixed and by the time it’s drivable it’s already 9pm (my work closes at 9 and then I usually get out at 10 when closing tasks are done). I didn’t think I’d be able to even make it in time to help close, so I let her know what happened after the tow truck showed up, paid the bill and went home.
The next day she texts me out of the blue something along the lines of “sorry to tell you this through text but, we will be taking you off the schedule from here on out, have a good day” which blew my mind. That was the first and ONLY time I had ever called out since I started working there. I also never showed up late, had a great attitude the entire time and worked as hard as I could every shift.
Then the owner of my work calls me, and blows my mind. He tells me that I “clearly didn’t care enough about my job” since I let my cars engine misfiring keep me from coming in?? And then proceeds to tell me that apparently all the managers have been telling him that I have been messing up orders, have not been “focused” enough and have been talking instead of working.
That last part really confused me. Considering the only things my manager had been telling me is that I had been doing a really good job and catching on quickly. They had never told me any of the things the owner on the phone was talking about at all. And as far as “messing up orders” was concerned, I literally get stuck on expo window alone during every single weekend rush. So I have to run out food, organize the food in the window, and pack to go orders all while we’re insanely busy all by myself 90% of the time? I thought I was doing pretty well considering I had only been working there for 1-2 months and I have very intense diagnosed ADHD so things like that are even more difficult for me. Not to mention the orders that he was talking about in particular, were Togo orders that one of my other coworkers bagged for me that night. So I wasn’t even the one who made the mistake. I talked to him about this in the most “professional” manner I could muster all the while he belittled me over the phone in the most insanely un-professional way possible.
I’m just floored honestly, I really did enjoy working there but that entire experience really brought to light a LOT of red flags. It’s always hard working for a “family owned” business too, since they expect you to work 50x as hard for them while still paying you minimum wage.
I don’t know, maybe I’m in the wrong here. But I will be enjoying my unemployment benefits while I look for somewhere else that treats their employees better.