Couldn’t “Manage” To Get Out Of It?

I worked in a kitchen where whoever was on the close ran the shift. I ran closes two or three times a week. I rocked into work one day and started doing my stuff and doling out tasks as and when they needed doing. One of the newer staff members decided they weren’t following my orders because I wasn’t any higher up the food chain than they were (in their eyes).

New Coworker: “Dude, why should I do that? You’re not a manager. I’m gonna carry on doing my job.”

“His job” at the time consisted of standing around waiting because it was about 10:00 pm on a Monday evening, and nobody was ordering food.

Me: “Nah, man, I’m on the close, so it’s my kitchen. We need to get this place cleaned, and I’m allowed to delegate roles. You’re lucky I’ve given you an easy job, really. You could be doing what [Coworker]’s gotta do, where you’re guaranteed to get first-degree burns if you’re not careful.”

New Coworker: “F*** you. I’ve told you, I’m not listening to you. I’m done in two hours, and you’ve got no power over me.”

An actual manager walked by at that point

Manager: “Hey, kid. This is [My Name]’s kitchen for the night. If he tells you to do something, you do it. He can run a kitchen better than I can, and if I have to come in here to make you do some actual work, I’ll make sure he gets you cleaning behind the grills.”

It’s always fun to see a lazy worker get reamed for being a d**k.