I got a job as a waitress in 2020 because it was the only place that got back to me. Think of it like Denny's in terms of food, but not a chain. One day I was working alone (aside from the cook) and my stomach was feeling off. I assume I'm still hungry and it's just because it was late in the day when I was able to have lunch since a rush finished. I eat something small, but it doesn't make me feel better. Barely an hour in, I'm vomiting and shitting like I'm an extra in Bridesmaids. In between this, I'm trying to contact my boss and other employees to cover me and my husband because I was barely able to stand upright for long. NO ONE GETS BACK TO ME. (Aside from my husband telling me to call him if I can't drive myself home.) Because no one got back to me, I was the only one on the floor taking orders, bussing, and serving. Even one customer asked if he wanted to call an ambulance for me because I was shining with sweat and looking horrible.
I don't know how I managed to survive, but I did. I did a majority of the closing tasks (yes, closing). I drove home, spent the night going back and forth to the bathroom. Turns out it was food poisoning. When I told my boss what happened and how many times I tried to call her, she reprimanded me for not going to further detail about what was wrong with me. Apparently, all she was able to understand was “something is wrong with me” and “I'm sick”. I'm sorry I didn't send you a novel, but at the very least reading “I'm sick” or my many voicemails should be a concern. To her (mid) credit, she understood me calling out when I got COVID, but didn't seem to tell the other waitresses as when I did come back I was “jokingly” blamed me for leaving them short-staffed that week.
Looking back, that was the moment where working that job didn't sit right with me. While the tips were decent, it felt just as bad (emotionally) that for all the times I stepped up and helped them, they didn't help me. I covered them for their plans and moved my schedule for them, but knowing they wouldn't come when I really needed it made me never want to do more outside my schedule. When I got a new job, I spent my remaining days helping another girl look for a new place to work.
Now they're really short since me and two other girls quit, lol.