I managed a bar, and I was the only manager(salaried). Typically I worked 65-70 hours a week. The most I'd done is 88 hours. It became too much and was affecting my health. When I put my notice in some of my coworkers decided to put theirs in as well. When I sat down with the District Manager to talk about who's staying and who's going he accused me of sabotaging them. And honestly, I'm not. The employee's that work their only really stay because of each other. The money they're paid isn't great, the roof leaks when it rains, and the basement floods as well (amongst many other problems). The place should be condemned.
Anyways, last Thursday I met the guy(let's call him Eric) who'd be filling in while they hired a replacement. First 30 minutes I meet this guy and I'm trying to have a conversation with him and the he's just staring me down. Doesn't say a word, he just exudes hostility until the owner and district manager arrive. Owner doesn't say shit to me. Later on I hear him screaming down the hallway about how I'm stealing from him. (I'm not, I'm okay financially, and already have another job lined up) District manager dabs up Eric, and they address each other with matching one letter nicknames. And then I have to listen to the two of them talk to Eric about how “we don't care if you try and fuck the staff, just don't do it in the building.”
District manager leaves, shakes my hand and keeps saying shit like “it's not for everyone” and “you just didn't have what it takes”. No shit it's not for everyone! A 70 hour work week shouldn't be for anyone! It's a horrible way to live. I give you my entire life and only get paid for 40 hours of it? Go fuck yourself.
So, I go back in, the bar opens up. We've been dealing with staffing issues all year because I can't offer more than 14 dollars an hour to cook, and they refuse to pay servers more than 2.83 (paid tips are bullshit) and the servers don't make enough in tips for that to be any different (sometimes they get 0 dollar checks, I've already told them to contact the DoL).
I'll get back on track now though, it's a slow night and nothings really going on, but with Eric and the employee he brought with him we have a fully staffed kitchen. So I decide to get some other shit done. Might as well, now that I finally have the free time to do my job. Every time I step out I tell him where I'm going and what I'm doing (typing up instructions on how to use the POS, mopping up the water downstairs, pulling 24 kegs into the walk-in and then putting them under other kegs (this took forever, they're fucking heavy) and later on in the night he calls me over and says “YO, hey bro, so I think I got it from here, we're not gonna need you this weekend. No hard feelings, it's not for everyone.”
I said some goodbyes and then dipped. Pulled a favor from a friend to cover the lack of a bartender the following day. She had a bad experience with him, I'm going to try not to get into it. Grabbed a drink with her and her boyfriend after her shift there and apparently he said he fired me because “I spent too much time in the basement doing nothing” meanwhile he was in the kitchen cooking maybe 3 tickets at a time.
Anyways, I don't know why I typed all this out. I guess I'm still pissed off at that place, the owner and district manager (who I really want to share more about, they're lovely people… and I'm definitely not their 4th GM in 2 years)
But yeah, that's my rant, I'm in a better place now. The guy I'm working for now literally pays for his employees health insurance personally, tries not to ask people to work more than 38 hours a week (unless absolutely necessary, or if they ask for more hours), the restaurant industry in the city I live in is very small, everyone knows each other, and there isn't a single person who's had a bad thing to say about the owner of my new job.