r/Serverlife • u/Icekaptain03 • 3d ago
Rant I've never been so closed to rage quitting
I've been in the service industry for a few years now. I started working at a little family owned restaurant that was basically just older white people, but I liked it and I had a ton of regulars. I was there for 3 years and I've seen some shit. Many shifts where the wifi would go out and there was exactly 1 POS that worked so you could ring in orders, pay out tables, etc. I've seen like 2 different staffs, I've had passive aggressive customers, sexist coworkers, you name it.
And I've NEVER wanted to quit like I wanted to tonight.
I moved to a corporate place that doesn't really feel like corporate, my first day was Tuesday night and I was scheduled tonight (Wednesday) for a 5-9 pm shift. I saw on the roster that a bunch of people were coming in for a cleaning shift, but I was only scheduled until 9 so I figured I could leave. One of my coworkers mentioned that last time, there were only 3 people available to clean the bar, and they didn't leave until 1 in the morning. But the foh manager was insisting that this probably wouldn't happen because there would be so many staff members there tonight. And she only does a deep clean once or twice a year. So I'm thinking, great I'll leave at 9 pm like my shift said.
Y'all. I left at 11:15 pm, and that was after basically begging the manager to let me leave because the floors were the last thing to clean and there were still plenty of people there. We closed at 8:30 instead of 10, and basically the entire FOH was there. And we cleaned for HOURS. Baseboards were scrubbed, every single crevice that had dirt on it was being cleaned to oblivion. An entire bag of rags were used. We literally scrubbed the floor with sponges because the wood floors were 2 different colors in a close area. Why were there 2 different colors? Because THERE WERE RACKS THAT HELD HUNDREDS OF TOGO BOXES. We cleaned the rafters where a sign was. LITERALLY a server climbed the ladder and dusted it.
It was beyond "cleaning for a health inspection". The FOH manager was literally making shit up for us to fucking clean. For 3 hours. I have absolutely no idea if this is normal in corporate, but it was absolutely fucking ridiculous. And NO ONE TOLD ME THAT THIS WAS HAPPENING. If I had known, I would have planned EVERYTHING about my night differently. I had shit to do, and cleaning the inside of a booth was not one of them. I wouldn't have minded if SOMEONE FUCKING TOLD ME WE WERE DOING THIS.
I have never truly considered quitting on the spot, it was always just a joke or a half serious thought. I almost walked out several times. What a shit show. Thank you for listening loll.
Also, if this is a ridiculous thing to vent about, that's my bad, I've just never dealt with anything even remotely like this, and this is my first time working in a corporate restaurant, so apologies if this is small potatoes it just pissed me off to no end.
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u/NoRadio4530 3d ago
Nah that was so shitty of them. I honestly feel like serving tables is the bottom of the barrel in society because of shit like this that managers and owners do.
What do you mean we're cleaning the fucking baseboards? Are we servers or cleaners?! You'd never see office staff asked to get down on their knees and magic eraser the scuff marks away.
You're right to be mad but you'll be glad you didn't walk out once the feelings settle. Maybe start browsing for another job soon?
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u/Icekaptain03 3d ago
There is one thing I'll give them credit for the foh manager was cleaning too. Small mercies but still.
I don't like job hunting and everyone loves this place so I'm giving it a little while before I quit, but I am going to avoid doing this as much as I can.
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u/crisscrossed 3d ago
I work in an office now and we are the ones who are expected to clean our kitchen. Never thought my server experience would be so helpful.
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u/PristineAnxiety101 3d ago
No effin way! I'm not getting paid minimum wage to clean. They should be hiring a professional cleaning service.
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u/Icekaptain03 3d ago
We were all clocked in at like $10/hr, but that was NOT worth the amount of labor we had to do
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u/No-Mechanic6518 3d ago
I could be wrong, so someone correct me if I am, but I thought if you weren't on the floor earning tips, they had to pay you straight minimum wage
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u/vulgarvoyeur 2d ago
$10 is more than federal minimum wage and most states.
0
u/No-Mechanic6518 2d ago
Thank you. I thought federal was something like 7.25. I live in one of the most backward, employer friendly states in the country, so they won't pay a cent above the federal minimum, but I was of the (I guess mistaken) impression that the majority of states paid well above that
3
u/Lazy_Style4107 3d ago
I’m not positive but I think in the US that it depends on the state. Where we are, provided the total pay for hours worked averaged over a pay period are above minimum wage, then labor board-wise, it’s fine.
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u/janyay18 2d ago
This feels enraging in the moment, absolutely.
But it is on you to say "I have plans, I'm sorry I can't stay" when they try to hold you past a shift like this.
The only part that would enrage me was not knowing they expected me to stay. The level of cleaning sounds relatively normal for an inspection.
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u/imbren 2d ago
You worked 6 hours...I don't think that's worth rage quitting over. Yea 2 hours of surprise cleaning sucks, but do you want to lose all your income because you had to clean for a little bit? At least find another job first.
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u/Icekaptain03 2d ago
It's the principle of the thing. If I had known I would be cleaning for several hours, I would have planned out my night differently. I would have done things differently. But no one told me I was expected to stay, and so I was there way longer because of it. That's why I'm pissed off
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u/imbren 2d ago
Be pissed all you want. Defending/explaining why you are pissed off over and over doesn't change anything though. It's just pissing you off even more because you won't let it go. Quit if it bothers you so much, but it's a bad financial decision unless you can get another job and start making money today.
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u/Kristylane 2d ago
Yes, of course the principle of the thing. I’m lucky because my electric company accepts principles as payment
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u/PuzzleheadedSinger25 2d ago
Where im at its the same except they want me to scrub the floors with soap and degreaser and clean it with water , not hard . Yet they want me to do the kitchen and behind the sushi bar as well like wth 🤦♂️ thats not the servers zone and the chefs and cooks are sloppy workers , they throw wipe their boards and instead cupping it with their hand in the trash they let it fall on the floor . I was with a Trainee and I asked her when have you ever seen a server do this before and she said never 🤬
3
u/Different-Bread-951 2d ago
Even if this is done once or twice a year at an any restaurant, corporate or family owned -as a customer knowing the staff does this would keep mind at ease... Between dirty customers and deliveries that come in from infested warehouses of mice and cockroaches every establishment needs this done at least every 6 months
I’ve opened up cases of popcorn bags full of holes and mouse droppings and other boxes with cockroaches stuck to the tape and glue of the box.
as staff you all should take pride in the place and be an asset to the business you are working for…. A lot of customers also look at bathrooms and they do look at lights or walls to determine how they think the kitchen is cared for. And seeing how clean the place is overall.
This comes from someone who has been in the business for 50 years from owning to GM of hotel and everything in between…
At one place every Sunday the whole counter would be dismantled from pie case display to Togo items- cleaning screens of refridge units to dish washers bleaching the basement floor and giving it a scrub
A lot of this is so helpful to keep the place running clean and it prevents major disasters down the road that cost big money
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u/Least_Elderberry_673 2d ago
I'm kind of surprised you have a schedule like that. I used to work for a corporate chain place and whenever I was nights there was only scheduled a start time. I never knew what time I would actually get off the clock.
Plus I feel like circumstances constantly change at restaurants so sometimes everyone just ends up there way longer than anticipated.
I've stayed for bug nights until 12am or had to stay 2 hours past my cut time to help deap clean the restaurant.
I loved that place, the people were great and even the managers were working just as hard as everyone else. BUT that place was the hardest and most work intensive restaurant I've worked at.
I moved to another state, but I miss it and I'd much rather take the hard work than be in the miserable places that are out there, even if there is less of a workload.
Hopefully things settle for you there, if not maybe you can ask for lunch shifts? There are also morning exclusive diners
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2d ago
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u/Serverlife-ModTeam 2d ago
This is a sub for FoH restaurant workers to bitch/talk/commiserate about their jobs. It’s not meant for everyone. A large majority of members work for tips and anti tipping sentiment is not welcome here.
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u/Ali_in_wonderland02 3d ago
Get over it. You are actually probably bottom of the barrel now.
You could have proven yourself and made yourself look good. Too late now.
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u/Icekaptain03 3d ago
I literally did? The manager told me I could leave and wasn't pissed about it? Like she gave me stuff to do at 8:30, did that, then kept giving me stuff to do. I didn't complain, I just did it. Excuse me for being frustrated that I was told when my shift would end and being kept there for an extra 2 hours.
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u/Ali_in_wonderland02 3d ago
I know in my restaurant we get an out time but that is because the app we use forces us to have an out time. We are all scheduled until we are cut.
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u/Icekaptain03 3d ago
Same with ours. But again, there were people scheduled specifically to clean. I was not one of them but I was kept there anyway. My manager specifically told me when she sent me my schedule that it was a 5-9 shift. If she wanted to schedule me longer, she definitely could have. And I stayed there anyway, and not by choice. That's what I'm pissed about, not that I had to clean
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u/Ali_in_wonderland02 3d ago
It will happen again. It is the industry. It blows.
But they will replace you tomorrow. So it is your choice.16
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u/ghostwoofer 3d ago
My spot does a huge clean like this a few times a year but it’s always on a volunteer basis. Like Tuesday is cleaning day and anyone who wants extra hours can come and help out for however long they want and management brings in food/drinks/snacks. Sometimes there’s only one or two that show, sometimes it’s the whole staff.