I recently left my grocery store job that was paying me $14.50 an hour due to them cutting my hours almost in half for no reason. They said they were hiring full time, I applied for a full time position, but once I started they said the best they could do was 39.5 hours, not counting the mandatory half hour breaks every day. So really I was working 37 hours a week. The past few weeks they've brought that down to 20 and started interviewing people for my position.
I applied to a new place because I have about 3 years of kitchen experience. I've been working at restaurants since high school, am ServSafe certified, and even did a couple college prep and college culinary classes before I was forced to drop out. They were hiring for a prep cook during the day and line cook at night. The salary posted was $16 an hour.
I arrived at the interview and the man interviewing me was immediately condescending, saying I looked too young to work there. I told him I was 20 and he said I looked like I was 17. I handed him my license and he just looked at it and was like “hmm, alright..” He said they weren't looking for cooks that young but I could wash dishes part time if I wanted.
I told him I wouldn't mind washing dishes occasionally but I was more interested in being a cook full time. I said I was looking for at least $16 an hour and he laughed and said the best he could do was $12.50. I told him about my kitchen experience and he just said sorry but I don't think you'd be a good fit here, you're a child looking for a grown up salary. I just got up and left, I'm not trying to work for an asshole like him.
$12.50 is ridiculous, especially with the current state of things. Or maybe I'm just an entitled kid who needs to suck it up and get a job at McDonald's. (I've worked at a couple fast food places, they all suck. If you work at McDonald's I appreciate you)