On Thursday night a 2 minutes to close one of my staff 's mother came in and said, “I am going to steal my daughter tomorrow until about 7:30.” The daughters shift is 4:00 to close (11:30 ish). I just looked at her and said “Do you understand Friday from 4:00 to 8:00 are the busiest four hours of the week?” She turned and walked out of the store without saying anything else. Am I alone in thinking this was way out of line?
The staff did show up for the shift because I sent a text saying she had to be there to keep her job.
I had a parent call me up and say that tomorrow (a Sat. nite) that they were having a suprise birthday party for their daughter and as soon as she showed up for work they were going to take her away. I explained that I was running a business and if they came in and took her away, they should find her a new job as well, unless they could find someone willing to replace her shift. Well dad came in talked to another employee who covered for the first employee so it worked out. However I still don’t understand parents not wanting to have the children learn job responsibility.
This all falls back on the “business owner” people and the “work for a living” people. They just do not get it. It might only be a couple of hours to them but it is the business on the other end of that stick. Hey…next time you going to fly… I am going to take my buddy, the pilot, to a surprise b-day party at the airport bar. It’s all good…it’s his b-day and all! Think ahead…call and ask a few days or a week early and let the business have that extra employee on the schedule to cover for the missing one. DO NOT walk in and just say this is how it is going to be. I know it is not the employees fault…but what do you then do. Call the employee and not only complain about the actions of their parents…but also ruin the surprise? Some people just do not get it! :shock:
The same employee called in sick today. I have my staff on a fixed schedule so they can know every week when they work. She also asked to book one of her shifts off so she can get her nails done for grad. She works 3 short 3 hour shifts and 1 longer shift a week. :evil:
I believe the problem lies in the age of the worker. Frankly, if you hire a kid you should expect to deal with kid problems such as parents, proms, girlfriends/boyfriends, etc. People under the age of 22 are generally either in college and/or are more worried about social lives than working, and as a result have a diminished capacity care about their jobs no matter how well you treat them as a boss.
As a former GM I hired several people during my stint at DP, none of whom were under the age of 25. You guys should really consider this in your hiring practices. Younger people are full of energy, but sometimes that energy can be misplaced.
EDIT: If these are adult workers over the age of 25 acting in the manners described, they need to grow up and have “mommy and daddy” less involved in their employment activities.
I have to categorically disagree with you on this. The best workers I have ever had started with me when they were 14 and stuck with the job for over 3 years before leaving town to go to university. I currently have one that has been here for 4 years and started at 14. It is not the age it is the work ethics that matter most. The worst workers I have ever had were the ones that were over 25.
14? What kind of labor laws do that have up there? Anyway, it is indeed true that the work ethic means more than anything else. The point is that when younger people are hired, they may do a great job but they eventually move on. If I were to start a business (and I am actually considering it at this point) I would try to build for the long haul and would try to gain employees who I know could be around in 5-10 years. Workers are expendable if you aren’t looking for loyalty or long-term commitment.
In Alberta, children aged 12 to 14 may work up to two hours outside normal school hours on a school day or eight hours on other days. Alberta allows absences from school for children under 16 to
participate in an approved work experience program.
If you are willing to pay 2 times minimum wage you may get the odd person that will stay longer but $19 per hour is pretty high wages to work in a pizzeria.
Our two best servers/hostess positions are filled by 19 year old phenoms! Both are more responsible than a couple of the 25 year old girls working, and have had far less “dramas” in the last year. Our single best bus boy is a 14 year old driven to save for his college expenses. Hiring the right folks is not easy, but is necessary.
Our best and most responsible, reliable and mature worker is 16, going on 17. She has been with me for 18 months.
Like Daddio we can hire from a young age (13) but with certain conditions.
Due to our high wages structure we need to employ teens as once they hit 20 they are on adult wages. 16 year olds get $10 per hour plus penalty rates for weekends and public holidays where an adult would be on $19 per hour (+ +).
We have the occassional episode where parents ask for time off for their kids for major family events, holidays etc and in the most we accommodate them. The only time is when we already have someone off at the same time or we can’t get cover for the shift.
I find adults may have more “smarts” than teens but a lot also carry attitude and are sly in getting the yunger ones to do tasks for them.
The best mix - no staff :lol:
Dave
Ok Dave…so who answers the phone while you are out delivering the pizza you just made since you have no staff? I still can’t believe the pay scale down there. :shock:
No staff, no deliveries, all self service. My hole in the wall dream shop - all vending machines , coffee, fries, soda, sweets, and of course that pizza vending machine. All you have to do is go inonce a day and top up the machines and take out the cash. Hey I can set it up in a laundromat
Dave
While I agree it was not reasonable for her parent to ask to steal her and expect a yes at the last minute…I am a bit surprised at the responses.
I have always told my employees if something comes up, because they do for all of us, instead of calling in sick let me know what is going on and if we can work it out we will. It keeps everyones grandma from dying for the 5th time. If I can’t let them off, I will see if it helps out to come in early or late.
I want them to call and be honest with me cuz we all have lives and life is full of surprises. Employees are willing to help out cuz they know one day it is their turn.
Sounds like to me in this situation there wasn’t any room for options.
Just to set the record straight. This was not a great employee. There were 19 notations on her file in the past 6 months. They mostly pertained to switching shifts, being late or missing shifts for various reasons. A couple were about lack of attention to the job and at least one about totally ignoring a managers instructions. I guess you could say I waited too long to fix things.
I still can’t believe the pay scale down there. :shock: