I have been working at a local bakery mainly as a cashier for just over a month; my only other job experience was working for 2.5 years at a retail store during high school (I liked the job but I left because I was starting college and needed to focus on my education).
My summer break started last month (April) so I started looking for a summer job. I landed one at a bakery about 30 mins from home, and I was excited to start because I have been to this bakery before and their baked goods are just incredible, I am impressed every time.
I went in for my training shift and I was incredibly overwhelmed because it was extremely busy, even though they wanted me in on a day that they thought wouldn’t be that busy because they didn’t want me to be overwhelmed lol. I was so lost during that shift and thankfully I got some help from the other workers, but I was mainly by myself.
Then my next shift was about a week later so I kinda forgot some of the things I learned during the start of my shift, but then adapted a bit more quickly than last time. I saw that I was getting 1 shift per week so I asked if I can have more shifts, and they said they will try to get me some more, which ended up with me having about 2-3 short shifts/week which isn’t really enough for me, but I was happy that they were fulfilling my request anyways, and I figured I would ask them about more shifts a bit later so I wouldn’t come across as annoying/desperate (maybe this is the cause?)
All of these shifts took place on busy days during busy times so there was no time to get to know my coworkers personally, like not even talk with them about anything except about a task we were doing in the moment or something. Then there were maybe 2 or 3 times where it finally wasn’t that busy so there was a chance to chit chat a little bit. Everyone has been there a long time except for me so naturally everyone was already talking with each other and not to me. I’m an introvert and I also have social anxiety so it’s hard for me to start conversations with most people that isn’t to do with work, especially in a group setting such as this. They weren’t being mean or cold, it just seemed like they forgot I was there and their conversations seemed to have a lot of inside jokes which would have made it kinda weird if I tried to join in. Plus I didn’t want to set off a bad impression by engaging in chatting when I could be doing something more productive instead, so I was keeping myself busy while the others were talking. Maybe once or twice they would ask me how my weekend was or something and I would respond and act interested in how their weekend was, but they ended up talking with each other again. I kept reminding myself that I’m new and that my main purpose was to work and maybe through time I would find something in common with the others there and be a part of their “group”.
Then today I got a call from work and it was one of the managers (not the owner) telling me in the nicest way possible that the owner of the bakery doesn’t think I’m a good fit for the company. I was shocked and extremely sad because I actually liked working at this job and other than the fact that I’m not a chit chatter, I couldn’t think of a reason why I wouldn’t be a good fit. A few times they asked me to cover a shift when someone called in sick, and I came in each time, and my attendance was excellent and I wasn’t late except for 1 time where I was 1 minute late, plus I stayed longer than I should have a few times as well. I didn’t complain about anything nor did I make any huge mistake that may have costed the company something (of course I made some minor mistakes which the manager helped me with them and said it was completely okay and that it’s a way of learning). She even praised me for my work a few times which made me feel even more motivated.
The bakery has some products that contain peanuts and tree nuts, which I’m allergic to. If I wear gloves while handling these products, I’m completely fine. I even let the bakery know about this when they hired me but still, perhaps this is a reason?
After the call, I just sat in silence for like 5 minutes. This was while I was in the car (I was driving and stopped somewhere to answer the call) and thankfully my boyfriend was there with me so he comforted me and said it’s not fair at all. I understand the laws about firing without a real cause in Ontario but I didn’t think it would happen to me, and now that it did, it makes me scared that it might happen again with a future job.
I’m not looking to sue or anything like that, I kinda just wanna get this off my chest. I still live with my parents at home so I’m not in desperate need of money right now, but I just wanna be productive and earn some money this summer. I’m not sure if I should include my experience here at this bakery on my resume or not. Anyways, this post is much longer than I thought and I’m not looking for pity, although I personally think that firing for basically no reason is kinda unfair.