TLDR: Last summer, I quit my job on the spot 2 weeks after my mom had brain surgery because my bosses were stressful/mean people and I felt emotionally weak. A year later, one of my bosses waited on me at a restaurant and afterwards said “Have a good summer, should be as long as you don’t have to work”
Hi all,
So last night I went out to one of the more upscale restaurants in my city and the manager/owners husband at my last job was my waiter.
It was a locally-owned grocery store deli job and I quit without notice about 2 months into working there. For context, during the time I worked there, I was caretaking for my alcoholic mother (i’m 20 and an only child). I took the job because the schedule (35 hrs, 7 hr shifts) allowed me to drive to her house to check on her and not feel burnt-out everyday. That quickly went the opposite direction because the schedule was all over the place. I had no time to care for my mother and her condition was worsening. I finally asked my manager (owners husband) to be put on the schedule we agreed upon, and he treated me like it was a special request (and lectured me), but did it.
Before the schedule change, I ended up leaving my mom alone for 3 days and during that time, she had a brain hemorrhage from hitting her head and didn’t go to the hospital until I found her. I told my bosses about the situation and they were understanding. However, they were short staffed and it was becoming very draining. I had just had an 11-hour shift with a new hire, and my other boss (owner, wife of the other boss) dug into us about how “today was a bad day, you guys didn’t do a good job, you’ve (to me) been here for two months and you’re asking so many unnecessary questions”. She was ‘tough’ so this was very on brand. I guess I have a thin skin, because I quit before my next shift.
So back to two days ago. My old boss was my waiter (i think he works at the restaurant part time), and at the very end of the meal, he says “Have a good summer, should be as long as you don’t have to work”. I forgive him because i’m sure waiting on me was much worse for him than it was for me, but it did hurt lmao. Especially considering my situation, but honestly, it was my first lesson in “No one gives a fuck, especially an overworked small business owner”. Just wanted to share this because i thought it was sort of relevant to this sub.