posted
Okay, I know that this isn't the sort of thing people generally write on Hatrack, but the site where I generally journal is down and probably will continue to be down until the owner finishes moving and sets the server up in his new house. But I need to talk about the things I'm struggling with right now. And in a way that allows for the possibility of feedback.
Last January, I was pretty happy with my life. I had a job that I was good at-- managing a franchise restaurant-- and that paid reasonably well. In fact, I was making more money than I'd ever made at a job before and the company's owner had just given me another raise that I didn't even feel like I really needed. My roommate, who was my best friend at the time (and who, since June, has been my boyfriend), was working in the same position at a different store at the same company and making the same amount as me-- an amount that would allow either of us to pay all our bills and have some left over. I had some personal drama going on; my life wasn't perfect, but it seemed like it was going pretty well, and I was optimistic about the future.
On a Friday toward the end of January, the owner abruptly called a meeting. He told us that he'd sold the company to some fellows who had offered him a ridiculous amount for it-- more than twelve times what he makes in a good year-- and he felt that he'd be a fool not to sell, especially since these people had promised him that they loved the way he ran his company and would keep everything about the company the same. They wanted to keep him on as an adviser for six months after the sale of the company to ease the transition and promised to keep all the employees at their original rate and in their original positions. However, after they'd signed the contracts, they told my owner that they didn't want to keep the store managers because the store managers were overpaid and anyway they had relatives that could do it for minimum wage. So the meeting was to tell me, my roommate and a handful more of my good friends that we no longer had jobs. In the aftermath, all of the original employees but two that I know of quit, leaving most of my friends out of work.
A different franchise-owner in the same franchise contacted my mentor who had trained me and also lost his job in the transition, looking for people who could do the job of store managers. For himself, my mentor declined, but he arranged a meeting between this new owner and my roommate, another former store manager and myself. He hired the three of us to each manage a store in his new franchise, which was, unfortunately, much further away for all three of us. The new owner proposed a pay rate that was two dollars an hour less than we'd been making, said he was unsure about the benefits of paying us on salary or hourly, but we'd start salary while he thought about it, that the job included paid vacation (two weeks), and provided health insurance and he'd start us with a $500 sign-on bonus (to be deducted pro-rata if we left before six months) and regular bonuses as soon as he figured out a reasonable bonus system. This new owner said that he was fine with our hiring people who'd quit at the old stores and professed to really admire our old owner and methods.
My roommate went to work at one store and our friend went to work at another. I had to start later than them, so I bounced around several stores until it was decided which store I'd end up at.
The new owner told my roommate to fire all of his new employees as soon as possible if not immediately. Conservatively, my roommate fired one of his new employees after about two weeks. This led to a chain of events where all his employees but two walked out. He made arrangements to hire two people who had formerly worked for him and who had tried to stay on at the old company with the new owner. They were desperate but because our new owner refused to pay them their former rates, they came on with a bad attitude and didn't do particularly good work. I found out that in the time they stayed with the old company, they'd begun stealing from the new owners and cutting corners everywhere they could and resented having to work properly for less money at the new company. My roommate regretted hiring them, but even in retrospect didn't see that he had much choice. His store received very few applications and the few he had were from obviously unsuitable folks. And in the meantime, the new owner had begun putting pressure on my roommate to fire these girls as well. In the end, he had only two employees plus himself and ended up working several shifts as the only person in the store while the other managers refused to help him find people or to loan him people so he could have a day off. In the month and a half he was there, he never got a single day off, and finally quit without notice in disgust. The owner reduced his hourly pay on his final check to minimum wage and deducted the amount of the sign-on bonus from what was left. He then claimed that my roommate owed him money from the health insurance he'd signed up for. (Which was something like $150/month for a single person.)
I got to my store, and was also instructed to fire everyone. I fired one person right off the bat because in addition to being incompetent, she was unpopular and anyway I knew I would never be able to work with her. Because I started by bouncing between stores, I found an employee in an overstaffed store who I saw right off was exceptional and we got along very well. She agreed to transfer to my store, knowing that it would be awhile before it was running smoothly. While I hired and trained people so that I could fire the remaining employees (who really were bad enough that I can't see why they were hired in the beginning), I didn't get any days off. Even days when I wasn't having to get to work first thing in the morning, someone was bound to call and wake me. In two months I hired nine people; all but three walked out with varying amounts of notice. Most went on to easier jobs that paid better. Several of them stole money. However, I held the store together and sales doubled in the couple of months I was there. In the beginning, the owner often said that he wanted to pay me more, but couldn't afford to. He also said several times that I was the best manager he had. I did feel like I should have been paid more, but I also felt like I wasn't such a great manager because I knew fully well that I was falling behind on paperwork and that the store wasn't as clean as it should be. Eventually, he stopped saying things like that and stopped seeming receptive to my ideas.
When I finally got to the point where I had a solid crew and could start focusing on the things I'd left undone, the owner told me that I had a solid assistant manager who could take over for me and that he wanted me to take over another store that was struggling.
I went to the new store where the second-in-command resented me because she felt that she should have been given that store before me, and she's really rather prickly. She feels that my working as hard and fast as I know how is an insult because it's as if I'm saying that I think she's incompetent. After a couple of weeks, I found out the problem with this new store: the night-time employees were stealing on a fairly-large scale. I fired both of them, and hired someone new. She finished up training and then quit, leaving me with very few prospects. A day-time person quit and was replaced with a girl who seems a little shady-- her stories don't quite add up-- and somewhere along the way we developed cash-control problems, and are coming up ten dollars short here, seventy dollars short there.
I have begun to feel very discouraged at my job. I like the job and I like feeling needed and important, but the owner decided to go with paying on salary, which means I work 40-60 hours a week and get paid the same regardless. He instituted a bonus system that generally nets me ten dollars a week. My old mentor began telling me that I needed to demand a raise since I've now managed four of the owner's stores, a job (general manager and fix-it-guy) my old mentor did for our old owner for approximately four times what I'm paid. However, I know that the owner did not give either of two other managers who asked for them any kind of raise and they both left. The former general manager asked him for a raise and he did give her one only to turn around and fire her two months later.
I don't feel like I can leave this job because A) I no longer have the appropriate paperwork to prove my eligibility to work in the US and have no idea how to go about getting more seeing as how I cannot prove my identity and B) although I'm having a hard time making my bills on my salary, it is at least coming in regularly.
When I told my old mentor as much, he got very snippy with me and told me essentially that while I wasn't obligated to take his advice, he wasn't obligated to speak to me any more. And he hasn't.
In the meantime my roommate spent several months unemployed and about three weeks ago got a job as a regular employee in a similar restaurant nearby. His car had stopped working, so we were sharing mine, which was a pain, of course. My car was working, but desperately needed the brakes done and had a problem stalling at red-lights. I worried it would get worse or break down altogether, but at the same time, we spent a week without power because we couldn't afford the power bill. My roommate's phone is shut off and has been for several months. I'm obligated to have a phone (so that my employees can prevent me from ever having a full night's sleep), but it's been shut off a few times.
Also, our water heater stopped working in the midst of all this. We called the landlord, but when the workers came out to fix it, they discovered that we have cats and said that we had to pay a $300 pet deposit before they would fix it, so we've been going to friend's houses and to my roommate's Mom's house to take showers as a supplement to the icy-cold sponge-baths. (And, of course, to avoid eviction we made a payment plan with the apartment complex.)
So yesterday I told all my employees that I was taking the day off because it was my boyfriend's birthday and we planned to spend the day together. All of my employees promised me that they wouldn't call unless they absolutely had to.
I received my first call at 7:30 in the morning, and my employees kept calling all day long: fourteen work-related calls in total. By six pm, I'd developed a headache, and by nine, it was a migraine complete with light-trails and nausea. Around nine, my boyfriend suggested we go to the store to get something to eat and drink to see if that helped. It helped for awhile, but then I got so sick that I had to lay down and move as little as possible.
Eventually I fell asleep, probably around midnight. My boyfriend took my phone and told me that if my employees called this morning, he would answer and would get me only if it was important. He would take messages for things that weren't pressing and is quite capable of answering basic questions himself. So, he told me, I could feel free to sleep in until I was done sleeping.
This morning at six am, there was a furious knocking on my door. I didn't want to get up and buried my head under the covers. The person at the door turned and pounded at my neighbor's door and then my door again. I got up and answered. It was two Hispanic gentlemen I didn't know. They asked me if that white car that was on fire was mine. I said that I certainly hoped not, but alas: my car was completely filled with smoke and when I opened the driver's side door, I found it the door itself was filled with campfire-sized flames. It might've been cozy except for the smell of melting plastic and the fact that my car was on fire. Feeling surreal and faintly silly, I went inside and grabbed a bucket of water and wondered if I ought to call the fire department. Three buckets of water and it was out, allowing me, and my newly awakened boyfriend to survey the damage. The entire driver's seat is an ashy pile of slag. The under-side of the passenger's seat is eaten-away but the top-part didn't catch. The steering column is warped and melted and the gear-shift is much worse. The windows are so blackened that I doubt they will ever be translucent again. The back seat is virtually untouched except for smoke-damage.
Then, of course, the calls from work started up with the endless drama. Between eight and ten, I had ten phone calls preventing me from even considering trying to sleep. These phone calls are aside from the ones to arrange a ride to work tonight and to see if perhaps I could get my paycheck early so I could start to do something about the fact that my car was on fire.
But all in all, I feel like the death of my car is the blow to break my back. I could barely keep up with the problems I had, and now this-- which would have been daunting at any time. I'm at a complete loss. I don't know what to do.
Posts: 1751 | Registered: Jun 1999
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posted
You can't afford cats. Give them to a shelter.
Read your employees the riot act.
If you have (or had) a car, you must have a driver's license, no? So how are you unable to prove your identity?
Posts: 10645 | Registered: Jul 2004
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I can't even imagine your stress level right now. It must be somewhere around nuclear meltdown.
It sounds to me like regardless of your financial situation, maybe working at this place in the position you're in is more damaging than quitting and finding a different job might be. I'd start looking, if you already haven't, for another job in another store. I'd also ask the owner for a raise and see what happens. If it goes well, good, and if not, then hopefully you'll have found a job somewhere else by then.
Have you called the insurance company yet about your car? Mine generally doesn't make you pay the deductable if whatever happened isn't your fault, and it sounds like it isn't. Do you know what happened to your car? I didn't think cars spontaneously combusted that often, so I'm curious as to what the police report says.
Seriously though, your job sounds like a hole, and I'm generally the last person to tell someone to quit. My advice usually hovers around "do the responsible thing and suck it up," but in this instance I think the crap you're dealing with just might trump my usual advice.
Good luck, you have my sympathies.
Posts: 21898 | Registered: Nov 2004
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A new job with a decent boss could be just the thing. Doesn't help much with the immediate woes of transportation, rent, and other obligations, of course. I'm sorry to hear about the way things are piling up.
Can you delegate more at work? Are the people calling at all hours unable to handle things without your input, or do they just lack confidence? Or authority?. The latter two can be fixed, especially the last.
Sounds like you're a go-to person for your boss, and he's demonstrated that he needs YOU by putting you in charge of difficult tasks. This probably gives you enough bargaining strength to get a good raise - the key will be going in to the bargaining fully intending to come out with a raise or having agreed to part ways. Bluffing may not be a good idea.
Of course, to do this you need to have other options open. You really need to work out your documentation, if at all possible. If simply impossible (trying not to probe too much here) then you need to consider options such as running a one person contracting business (residential window washing is one my brother does, with only a tiny capital outlay and reasonable success).
Posts: 4287 | Registered: Mar 2005
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I second the suggestion of getting the police onto that car. It sounds like it's within the realm of possibility that a disgruntled employee or former employee might have attacked you.
Posts: 10645 | Registered: Jul 2004
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Dean, I'm sorry you're having to experience this. I'll third the suggestion that you should talk to the police about your car. Even if there isn't foul play involved here, I imagine that you'll need a police report for your insurance company (the car is insured, right? It wouldn't even occur to me to ask, but since it sounds like you may be driving without a license it occurred to me that it might not be).
[quote]I don't feel like I can leave this job because A) I no longer have the appropriate paperwork to prove my eligibility to work in the US and have no idea how to go about getting more seeing as how I cannot prove my identity and [quote]
What paperwork are you missing? Are you a US citizen (I've always just assumed that you were, but I realize that you might be Canadian or something)? Replacing missing documentation can be a problem, but it is unlikely to be an insurmountable one, and the reward for doing so will very likely be a significant increase in your income and decrease in the general level of stress in your life. It's essentially the key to improving your situation.
Posts: 16059 | Registered: Aug 2000
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posted
My car started on fire once by itself. Something was shorting out the battery. Luckily I caught it in time and only had to have the wiring harness replaced. Don't assume it was foul play. This does happen to cars without any outside help required. You definitely should have called the fire department, though. That's what they're for. I'm glad you got it put out, regardless. I hope it's salvageable.
Deany, you know you're welcome to come for a meal and/or shower at my house any time. I definitely think your boss should provide means for you to get out of this jam, but it doesn't sound like he will.
I would certainly get your birth certificate from your county of birth. You can get your mom to vouch for you or whatever, and they'll send you a new original for a fee. Then you can get whatever documentation you need from that. Surely you have a drivers license, though, right? That and your social security number should be all you need to be hired somewhere else, I would think.
Try places like the power company, or other more reputable restaurants, banks, etc. You have enough work experience to get a better job that treats you better than that. You can put your roommate and other friends and coworkers down on a resume as references. Or you can put your old boss. Your new boss doesn't sound like a very reliable person and there's no telling what he would say. Just leave his name off altogether.
I was so upset to hear that things are worse with you now in so many ways. I had been so delighted to hear how well you were doing, managing stores, working so hard, and all that. I'm sorry things have taken a turn for the worse. I know that you have the talent and intelligence and energy to find a better job where you'll be rewarded for your efforts. Good luck with everything. Call me on my cell (I got the land line disconnected because we never use it) if there's any way I can help. It's having charging/battery problems that make it unreliable but leave a message and I'll find a way to get back to you.
Posts: 6246 | Registered: Aug 2004
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Most places require, as part of your new-hire packet, a driver license or non-driver ID and your social security card as proof of citizenship. My social security card was in a wallet in the car, and is now ash. My driver license is both suspended and expired. Before I could get a non-driver ID, I'd need to get a copy of my birth certificate and my social security card and to pay the warrant (driving without a license ticket). I can't get a copy of my own birth certificate because I'd have to get a notary to mark the application that I am me and none will do it with an expired license. My mother or father could get it for me, but my mother refuses and has been refusing for about two years. My father, who I got in contact with after six years, said he would, but hasn't and isn't in good health. It turns out that getting a social security card is more or less the same. Getting my license unsuspended requires me to track down the lady whose car I hit in 2004 to get her to sign off that I paid for the damage to her car. I've been trying to track her down for three years. Apparently the official check that she cashed isn't proof enough that I lived up to my financial responsibilities to her. People point out that there ought to be a way around this, in case she died or something in the meantime, but I haven't been able to find one yet. My boyfriend's Mom had an ingenious idea that he could apply for it on my behalf as a "domestic partner" but it turns out that we have to have joint bills and joint checking accounts (to indicate a degree of seriousness that a roommate wouldn't rate), which we do not.
No, my car wasn't insured, and even if it had been, I would have only had simple liability, which wouldn't cover a fire.
The fire is probably my own fault, I think. I can't think of any other way for my car to have caught on fire but that a cigarette butt found its way into the car, probably when we went to the grocery store and that it slowly burned all night because with the windows closed it couldn't get enough oxygen to really flare up. My car was surprisingly air-tight, based on the very little amount of smoke that escaped.
As for my boss, I don't think he'd do more than turn out his pockets, claim to be broke, and call that the end of it. If I said I would leave, he would tell me that I needed to do whatever I needed to do, and then proceed to bad-mouth me to the people I left behind.
Posts: 1751 | Registered: Jun 1999
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Hmmm. Since you seem to have no particular difficulty with breaking laws, have you considered a fake ID with, say, your real SocSec number on it? That would give you a starting point.
Posts: 10645 | Registered: Jul 2004
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dean, have you tried VitalCheck for your birth certificate? I ordered mine online once without ever showing ID.
Posts: 26071 | Registered: Oct 2003
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Just because it seems as though you may not be sure, this link to the I-9 (a pdf) contains specific information (check page 4) about what documentation you have to have to be hired by any company in the United States.
There's actually a variety of different document types you can use, either alone (Passport) or in combination.
Posts: 2267 | Registered: May 2005
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I think Hatrack is a great place to post if you need help. I am sorry that I don't have any advice, other than to second Dag's recommendation of VitalCheck, but I hope it all works out for you.
I know all about working for jerks who don't follow though on their promises.
Posts: 15082 | Registered: Jul 2001
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Most states have a process to order a birth certificate without showing ID. I have a friend who lost all vital documents including ID in a fire and all she had to do was swear a statement under oath that she was her.
Posts: 21182 | Registered: Sep 2004
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quote:Originally posted by ketchupqueen: Most states have a process to order a birth certificate without showing ID. I have a friend who lost all vital documents including ID in a fire and all she had to do was swear a statement under oath that she was her.
I just had to make a phone call and answer some questions. Got it in the mail about a week later.
I'm really sorry you're going through all this, Dean. I don't know what to say other than reiterate that you really need to do some serious job hunting. This "franchise restaurant," is this fast-food? If so, get out of that job market altogether. Those kinds of jobs are designed to take and take, particularly from those who are dedicated and work the hardest, until there is nothing left or you give up and quit. And the real kicker is no one will really care. The restaurant won't fall apart in your absence. Your boss won't realize what a wonderful asset you really were and call begging you to come back. You'll just be replaced and the cycle will continue with the next poor sap that thinks he's moving up in the world.
Trust me, you'd be happier working the line at Waffle House 40 hours a week at $9/hour than continuing to do what you're doing now.
Posts: 1945 | Registered: Jul 2005
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Rollainm, based on random posts by dean in the past, I'm pretty sure I know what franchise restaurant he works at. I managed several of them for 4 years.
Those of us working in those positions don't get much respect from most people. The general conception of such work is the one you described... or similar, but more condescending. But the fact of the matter is that you're wrong. Or, perhaps more accurately, what you said is not always right. I've been where dean is (well, all except the ruined car. That seriously sucks, you've got my sympathy. )
When I was in dean's position, it was definitely hard work, but it wasn't thankless. My bosses knew exactly what kind of asset I was, and have called begging me back many times. Until I moved to a different state, I took them up on it when their situation was dire enough.
All that said, dean, there are other opportunities. The skills you've acquired won't just help you get jobs within that franchise, they will help you expand to entirely new career paths, if that's what you choose. The sort of management you're in can be one of the most stressful jobs out there, if you let it. Some days the only way I survived was by coming home, curling up next to my girlfriend, and going into a coma until one of the stores needed me again. If the stress is hitting you this hard, I strongly recommend scouting out new opportunities. They're out there, I promise.
Posts: 3580 | Registered: Aug 2005
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I know with everything else going on, my suggestion may sound cost-prohibitive, but you may really want to think about obtaining the services of lawyer to help you straighten out your issue with your driver's license and your ID.
I know, easier said than done, but maybe check into a type of legal aid?
Posts: 14428 | Registered: Aug 2001
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quote: Those of us working in those positions don't get much respect from most people. The general conception of such work is the one you described... or similar, but more condescending. But the fact of the matter is that you're wrong. Or, perhaps more accurately, what you said is not always right.
I'm not sure where you got condescension from what I said, but if that's how it came across then I'm sorry. I'm speaking from the 7 years I spent working in food service and the experience of others I've known. Yes, I realize there are luckier people with these jobs, but this seems to me to be the exception, and what I've described has applied to nearly everyone I've known who's worked in this industry for a significant length of time.
Posts: 1945 | Registered: Jul 2005
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I heartily agree that a better job is crucial, just as soon as you get your documentation and transportation problems solved.
Posts: 6246 | Registered: Aug 2004
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quote: Those of us working in those positions don't get much respect from most people. The general conception of such work is the one you described... or similar, but more condescending. But the fact of the matter is that you're wrong. Or, perhaps more accurately, what you said is not always right.
I'm not sure where you got condescension from what I said, but if that's how it came across then I'm sorry. I'm speaking from the 7 years I spent working in food service and the experience of others I've known. Yes, I realize there are luckier people with these jobs, but this seems to me to be the exception, and what I've described has applied to nearly everyone I've known who's worked in this industry for a significant length of time.
It didn't sound condescending to me, if that helps...it sounded like you were concerned.
Dan, I know where you are coming from, and I think you are right. A lot DOES depend on your bosses, in that type of job more than just about any other. Still, the food service industry in general is well known for very long hours and below average pay, and for having one of the highest turnover rates. Fast food is the bottom of the food industry in all of those categories.
That being said, the flaws are with the industry, not most of the people working in it. I know I spent 12 years in various roles in food service and I met some of the hardest working people I have ever met there. But even those places had a HUGE turnover rate compared to any other job field.
The fact is that you can make better money with less stress in almost any field. There are exceptions....I loved working at 2 of the places I worked, and would recommend them highly to anyone.
But those places are the exception, not the rule. At least IMO.
Posts: 15082 | Registered: Jul 2001
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First, I'm so sorry you're going through all of this.
Now, go to Vital Records and explain that all of your documentation was in the car which went up in flames. There will be a way to recreate all of that information for exactly this kind of reason, and they'll be able to help you through that process.
In the meantime, get the police and insurance involved on the car situation. Maybe it was just a cigarette, but what if it was an electrical short or worse, arson? (Considering the mechanical issues you were having, though, sounds like the fire could be a blessing in disguise)
Once you've done that, get on the job search. You need to get out of that company fast. I'm reading that you're being seriously abused and being used to abuse others. Which is part of why arson comes to mind.
As for the lady from the accident in 2004, you may have to get lawyers involved on that one. Talk to Legal Aid and see what they can do to help you there.
Posts: 4515 | Registered: Jul 2004
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For the most part that's very good advice, Goody, but since she had neither insurance nor a license she's probably better off not pursuing things with regard to the fire. It sounds like the fire totaled the car; probably better just to sell it to a scrap yard, at this point (after stripping it of its tires and so forth, assuming that they're in decent shape).
Dean, what is public transportation like in the city where you're living? Would it be feasible to ride a bicycle or scooter to work?
Posts: 16059 | Registered: Aug 2000
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Rollainm: I should have just said "similar, but also condescending". As in, your attitude wasn't, but most of the time the reactions I received were similar to yours but with a dash (or, sometimes, a large scoop) of condescension tossed in.
I wasn't really offended by what you said, I just think it's worth realizing the fact that maybe, despite the stress, on some levels Dean loves what (okay, Dean, are you a he or a she? Sorry, I called you a he earlier, but someone else called you a she) he or she does. I know that, no matter how insane and stressful my job got, I still loved it. It was exactly where I wanted to be at that point in my life, and I learned countless invaluable lessons from it.
Dean, if you feel like you're not getting what you want out of this job, it's time to move on. You will find work, and chances are good it will pay higher or be less stressful. Or both. If you think there's a way to change your job into being something closer to what you want, then that's a viable path to pursue as well.
Posts: 3580 | Registered: Aug 2005
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I second or third, as applicable, all the advice about records, lawyers, and such above. Another piece of advice, which is of course worth its weight in uranium: Take a deep breath. Select one paperwork problem and kill the little bugger. Try to ignore all the others until the first one is dead. Worrying does no good, making progress does!
Posts: 10645 | Registered: Jul 2004
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quote:Originally posted by King of Men: I second or third, as applicable, all the advice about records, lawyers, and such above. Another piece of advice, which is of course worth its weight in uranium: Take a deep breath. Select one paperwork problem and kill the little bugger. Try to ignore all the others until the first one is dead. Worrying does no good, making progress does!
This is the kind of advice I need, and regularly fail to live up to.
Posts: 4287 | Registered: Mar 2005
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quote:I have begun to feel very discouraged at my job. I like the job and I like feeling needed and important, but the owner decided to go with paying on salary, which means I work 40-60 hours a week and get paid the same regardless. He instituted a bonus system that generally nets me ten dollars a week. My old mentor began telling me that I needed to demand a raise since I've now managed four of the owner's stores, a job (general manager and fix-it-guy) my old mentor did for our old owner for approximately four times what I'm paid. However, I know that the owner did not give either of two other managers who asked for them any kind of raise and they both left. The former general manager asked him for a raise and he did give her one only to turn around and fire her two months later.
Ha ha. Yeah, fantastic stuff right there.
Drop that sh*t like third period french.
Posts: 15421 | Registered: Aug 2005
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I must echo what others have said regarding your job situation: if you're managing one store and tending to the responsibilities of that store, you're a manager. If you're being transferred from stores you've gotten running in a satisfactory condition to ones that are having major problems with the anticipation that you will get them running in a satisfactory condition, you're not just a manager; you're a fixer. I mean, the job goes under various titles, but consultants get paid through the roof for these kinds of services, and if your boss "can't afford" to pay you what you're worth, well, apparently he can afford to have whole shifts of employees who engage in significant acts of theft. I hope you can get your ID and car situation worked out (again, much sympathy), but once you do, there's no way you should be putting up with this treatment. A boss who won't spend some money to keep the people who make a profitable business possible deserves to lose them.
Posts: 3826 | Registered: May 2005
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Thanks for the advice and kind words, everyone.
I'm female, Dan_Frank, for the record. =D
On the subject of being a fast-food manager, I do think that a lot depends on the owner. My old owner was a terrific guy who managed one or another of his own stores for the first five years he owned the franchise and regularly worked with us in the stores after twenty years as an owner. He paid well and rewarded hard work. He and his general manager had extremely high expectations, almost impossibly-high expectations, but in trying to live up to it all, you did a better job than you ever knew you could. Employees left, but many of them came back, often more than one time. You knew that if you did a good job and played fair, there was always a job waiting for you if you needed it. The general manager kept up with former employees and called them if he heard that they were in a bad way. Most store managers stayed for about a year and left on good terms and in a much better financial situation. Most employees who stuck around for more than six months became assistant managers. There was health insurance included at no cost to employees, a liberal food-plan, bonuses (for everyone, not just managers), and regular raises for people who cared about the job. The owner was heartbroken when the new owners didn't take care of his employees and has loaned several of them (myself included) money to help in the meantime. Both the owner and his general manager considered the entire franchise, former and current employees, to be almost a sacred trust-- a collection of people that they had nurtured and were responsible for. (Which is why the former general manager nags me about demanding a raise.)
My current owner just seems kind of clueless. He isn't generally an abusive or unkind person, but he doesn't seem to understand, on a visceral level, what it's like to not have money. At one manager-meeting, we were discussing how much time we should give new employees to get black pants for their uniform. (The other parts of the uniform are provided on the first day.) One manager suggested until their first paycheck. Another said that the previous owner of those stores had given them until their second. The owner replied that that was ridiculous because when he had gotten approval to buy the franchise, he had gone out and bought a week's worth of uniforms. It honestly didn't seem to occur to him that a random person getting hired at a fast-food place probably didn't have enough money to go out and buy things for a job that may or may not work out.
Despite all that, I do consider my job rewarding. At one point, I worked at a bank as a teller, and I found that I felt miserable and sleepy all day long and fit in really badly. I need to move around and keep active at work. I like the feeling of being the person who is always carrying the heaviest load. I like the constant customer-interaction. I like training people. I like seeing my employees improve. I like the feeling that I'm doing something difficult that lots of people would have trouble doing. I like when one of my employees (who's bounced around eight or ten fast-food jobs) says that I'm the best manager he's ever worked for and who wants to work in any store I work in. I like knowing that I'm as good at my job as any manager in the franchise and better than most. I kind of like being the person who gets called whenever there's a problem. I like the feeling that I'm still improving at my job. I like knowing that throughout this company, I have number of friends in all the stores who respect me, so I always hear the best gossip and I can usually get someone to come in to work on his day off just because I'm in a bad spot. I like being responsible for my people. I like being their advocate. I like helping to make decisions. I hate firing people (even the ones who I know are stealing), but I like how quickly the store improves when the bad apples are gone. I like knowing that my store is generally beating last-year's numbers. I like knowing that I doubled sales at my last store. I like being faster and more versatile than others. I even like working open-to-closes.
I like my job. I don't hate the owner. But I wish he understood what I've learned. Sometimes he's penny-wise and pound-foolish. I don't think he's a terrible owner, and I think he'll be a better one as time passes. I like being the person who can intervene with him and the person who knows how to work around him when necessary. I am the person he listens to the most, and I think he respects my moral compass even when he pushes at it or finds it inconvenient.
I haven't ever abused my employees. I haven't fired anyone who didn't obviously and richly deserve to be fired. The managers I've seen him fire have been obviously in the wrong. (And I'm not saying that because I got their jobs immediately after.)
I know why he's tight with money. I've seen the numbers-- this much in net sales, this much in food cost, this much in labor, this much in electricity, this much in mortgage, this much in repairs, this much to corporate headquarters for the use of their name, and so on. He can't afford to pay more without dipping into his own pocket. And maybe he should, I don't know.
I don't know how my old owner was when he started out. I think, though, that he didn't have to be stingy with employees because he managed his own stores and because he started with only two. This owner, I think, is in over his head, but he's learning to swim as fast as he can. I do wish he'd learn to work in stores-- I think his perspective would change if he did-- but overall, as irritating as some things are, he's been generally supportive and encouraging to me.
Anyway, that's probably too much information. In short, my job is a mixed bag, just like most of 'em.
Posts: 1751 | Registered: Jun 1999
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On other notes, buses aren't feasible here. There are some bus lines, but none going where I am. A scooter might work-- I go about ten miles up one road where the speed-limit is around 45/mph. Does one need a license for that? Is that a reasonable speed for a scooter? I'm browsing the web a little bit on the subject, but I still don't know a whole lot about it.
How does one find inexpensive legal advice?
I got my Mom to agree to get me a copy of my birth certificate. She told me that the reason she refused is because I refuse to better my situation and I've spit on all the help she's offered me over the years. I don't think that that's fair, but at least that will help a lot.
I talked to the owner about my car and he said that if I came up with a detailed plan, he would see what he could do to help me.
Posts: 1751 | Registered: Jun 1999
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I checked the date on this thread three times, while I was reading it, because of a strong feeling of deja vu.
Weird. o_O
Maybe I've read one too many threads on Hatrack...
I hope everything works out for you. I second the recommendations to drop that job (and idiot manager). Hopefully, another good opportunity will open up for you in the near future.
Posts: 1813 | Registered: Apr 2001
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dean, honestly I'm super glad that you enjoy the feeling that you get out of your work, but this current owner/administrator is straight-out hosing you.
I don't know how to put it any plainer.
Posts: 15421 | Registered: Aug 2005
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!!! I figured I'd derail this thread a bit (since it looks to be dying anyway) to say that five murdered guys were found in my apartment complex tonight. Here's one news site with a video-on-demand news report:
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Oh no! I heard about those murders but I had no idea it was in your apartment complex! Wow, that's scary. Their throats were cut. Do they have any ideas at all what it was about?
Posts: 6246 | Registered: Aug 2004
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They're not releasing much information yet, aka. Just that they found a truck near the Subway I used to manage that they think is connected. And now, of course, the names of three of the fellows who were killed.
Posts: 1751 | Registered: Jun 1999
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How are things going, dean? Have you figured out any sort of permanent transportation yet or are you still catching rides with friends?
Posts: 6246 | Registered: Aug 2004
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Still catching rides. I'm hoping that we can get Shaun's car fixed tomorrow and then he and I'll go back to sharing, only his car this time.
Posts: 1751 | Registered: Jun 1999
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Just so everybody knows, now that I see where Dean lives, yeah, buses are not an option for her.
Dean, I'm glad your mom is going to help with the birth certificate thing. HOpefully that will be one step forward to helping you get things back on track.
Posts: 14428 | Registered: Aug 2001
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I'm sorry for your losses. If it makes you feel better, it seems perfectly plausible that through your very responsible, alert decision-making, a few untimely breaks conspired to land you in this situation. A few bad breaks.
I'd also start the process of following Goody's advice.
Posts: 5600 | Registered: Jul 2001
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I'm sorry, I don't have anything terribly helpful to say, except that you have all of my sympathies right now, and let me know if there's ANYTHING I can do. I'm a student, so I understand being poor, but I also have the luxury of not having to worry about major bills yet. I can't believe what happened to your car, either... yipes. I'll be thinking about you as you get things sorted out.
And seriously, my e-mail and AIM screen name are in my profile... if you can think of anything I can do to help, don't hesitate to let me know, ok?
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Update! My boyfriend and I managed to afford to repair his car, so at least we have wheels again. W00t! I feel far more hopeful now.
Posts: 1751 | Registered: Jun 1999
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Good deal....have you heard anything about getting the ID situation dealt with? Even if you mom doesn't follow though at least you now know you have other options as far as that goes.
Posts: 15082 | Registered: Jul 2001
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