Power-Hungry Manager
I was an employee at a well-known breakfast chain, particularly popular for their wide selection of pancakes, for nearly three years. I was decently well-liked among the employees, and had a very good friend who had just been promoted to a shift manager by the former general manager, who was a really great guy that unfortunately got transferred to a different store against his wishes. He was replaced by a horrible, power-hungry shift manager that no one cared for.
So a typical work week for me was six days a week, between 60-70 hours a week, with Tuesdays being my only day off. My shifts ranged from eight hours to as much as an 18 hour double-shift (important later). I worked this schedule without complaint for years of my life.
Unfortunately on September 10th, I fell very ill while at work with no known cause. This was accompanied by very severe, stabbing pain in my lower right abdomen. I called the general manager (it was about 12am at this point) and informed her I planned on leaving to go to the ER, to which she told me if I left, then I would be fired.
Now at the time, I really needed this job, so not wanting to be fired, I decided to work through my shift. I had two hours remaining, but it was a nightmare to work through. Finally, 2am rolled around and I immediately left to drive to the hospital. Upon arrival, I was admitted almost immediately into the hospital due to scan results showing an inflamed appendix. I called the general manager, and let her know that I was being admitted to the hospital, and would keep her updated.
Her response? “If you’re going to try to get out of work, can you at least find someone to cover your shift in the morning? Some people…” Note at this point, it was around 3:30am, my next shift that she wanted me to cover, was at 8am the next morning. A few hours later, I was notified that I needed an appendectomy, and it would be scheduled for the following morning. I agreed, signed the release, and called up my manager to notify her. I told her that I would be out of work for at least a few days, but after surgery I’d let her know. It is important to know that I kept her informed throughout my entire absence.
So surgery went smoothly, however they found that I had a gangrene infection in my appendix that appeared to have spread. Due to complications involving this, my hospital stay ended up being two full weeks.
I was discharged at noon, and drove to work almost immediately after discharge to inform them I was out of the hospital and cleared to come back, as well as bring the hospital note, proving I was there. To my surprise, the regional manager is there. I walk in and find both the regional and the general manager at the front counter having a conversation. I slide the note towards them on the desk, and inform them that I was cleared to come back to work.
The general manager looked at me in utter disbelief. “Excuse me? You’ve already been terminated for no-call-no-showing for two weeks.” I reminded her that I did, in fact, keep her informed, and had proof. She cut me off, and with an annoyed tone, said that she’d give me another chance. I came back in that night for my shift, luckily working with my friend the shift-manager. I was also training a guy I had never seen before.
My friend later called me into the office, and that’s when I learned that I was only rehired so that I couldn’t file a wrongful-termination suit, and said that the person I was currently training was my replacement. The general manager had plans to fire me the next morning. As shocked as I was, we immediately hatched a plan.
So this restaurant was dirty. Huge roaches infesting the kitchen and dining room, black mold, rotten food mixed with fresh food, water leaks so bad the carpet in the dining room is literally decaying, you name it. We have reported these issues to the general manager multiple times, but nothing ever happened. My friend sent the trainee home, with the excuse that our labor was too high, and I spent the remainder of my shift taking pictures of every continuous health-code violation I saw.
Finally, the next morning rolled around. I woke up to a call from the general manager. Sure enough, she demanded that I turned my uniform in because I was being terminated immediately. I drove up there and asked for the reason behind my termination, and she replied that I was a “lazy worker who always complained that they had hours.” Not in the mood to argue, I simply turned in my uniform, and left. But that’s not the end of my plan.
I was one of the only food-safety permitted employees. I had just renewed my permit, so all of the information in the class was fresh on my mind. I also distinctly remember the health inspector teaching the class stated that if we wanted to report our workplace, just come in, ask for him, and bring evidence. I went straight to the health department, asked to speak with him, and supplied seven written paragraphs of every violation, as well as all of the pictures I had taken to back my claim up.
He informed me that with the picture evidence, it would be hard for the restaurant to fight. He also informed me he would follow up with a surprise inspection the next morning. The next morning, I woke up, and found messages from my general manager, calling me a “snitch”. Luckily, my friend recorded the entire inspection from the office.
The regional manager was slapped with a hefty $7,000 fine for allowing unpermitted employees to work, and the restaurant was ordered to shut down operations to clean. However, being a barely-profitable franchise, the franchisee (who owned many other locations) closed it down and ran off.
Now as much as I want to feel bad for the people left without work, I don’t, and for the decent employees, the story actually has somewhat of a happy ending, as most have moved on to better things.
Story credit: Reddit / furry_control