I (21F) have been working as a host in restaurants for three years now. My current restaurant has a free rewards program that us hosts have to mention to every table. The town this restaurant is in is super small and very local. Everyone who comes in during my morning/early afternoon shift is either a regular or old and doesn’t understand emails. Somehow we apparently need seven signups per shift. It’s basically impossible for our location unless it’s a rare busy shift full of new people or I make fake emails to use for it. The managers still insisted on having a piece of paper at the host stand with “REMEMBER THE REWARDS PROGAM,” on it every day. They never said it verbally and they never made any mention that it was such a big deal. They didn’t say it either to customers when they would sit them or interact with them. No host ever really mentioned it.
In March, I worked around 40 hours per week doing doubles every day Monday-Friday and I was fine with it. It got my bills paid and let me have some extra money for fun on the weekends. Soon, I noticed that my hours were getting cut to around 20 per week, then to around 15 per week, and then even 8 per week. I tried asking my managers what was up with it, but they kept brushing me off until one of them had a warning meeting with me before she took “disciplinary action,” claiming she was talking to everyone who wasn’t doing it and I was just the first. She said that the reason my hours were getting cut was because I wasn’t mentioning the program. She asked me to list eight reasons of why I wasn’t mentioning it. I did and she actually admitted all them were valid points, but she would still be limiting my hours until I got the sign ups higher. I started looking for another job after the meeting because she also said I will never do doubles again ever and I felt disrespected. They hired a bunch of people after that which also made getting shifts hard.
Now, my hours have just now went back to normal and I have a second job. My coworkers who also hate the program said that they never had a meeting with her or any of the managers about it. I’m trying to stay here for a little longer since the pay is actually high for my area and I’ll have to leave in August anyways. I’m going back to school in the fall and I had to use my college money I saved up to live off of for the month of April and now I have to start over with a matter of months left before the deadline. Not only did they screw me over short-term, they potentially screwed me over long-term and they don’t care. I didn’t think they would, but hoped there would be some shred of humanity and empathy in them about it and not pay with my money to prove a point. All of the people they hired except one has quit and the managers ask me to stay sometimes. It’s satisfying to say, “Sorry I can’t,” and leave.
Fuck Chili’s.