Help Them Earn, Don’t Make Them Burn
I’m the author of this story. In that story, I was suspended without pay for three weeks while Human Resources investigated a customer complaint directed at me for accidentally using a word considered discriminatory.
I uploaded my story to Not Always Right, and a lot of the comments told me I shouldn’t have put up with having no pay for a customer complaint.
As I am young and this is my first job, I wasn’t sure what was normal or not, but I built up some confidence and I arranged a quick talk with my manager.
Me: “Hey, [Manager], I wanted to talk to you about my suspension.”
Manager: “Yeah, that was terrible. I’m sorry they did that.”
Me: “I’ve been talking to some people, and I’ve come to the conclusion that I don’t think I should have been suspended without pay. I should have been paid while the investigation took place and only disciplined if it was proven I had done something wrong.”
Manager: “Yeah, I agree.”
Me: “You do?”
Manager: “Well, yeah! It was totally unfair.”
Me: “Then why did you let them do that to me? The investigation concluded I wasn’t at fault!”
Manager: “Listen, kid, you’re young. This is America, and these big companies, they don’t give a s*** about people like us. I’m going to level with you. ‘the district manager has been trying to make us do more with a 10% budget cut this quarter, and your suspension was part of that budget cut.”
Me: “I almost failed to make rent because of a budget cut?!”
Manager: “No, it was because of some stupid customer who didn’t have anything better to do than just target some minimum-wage teen!”
Me: “Am I going to get the three weeks of pay back-paid?”
Manager: “Of course not. You’re hourly, not salaried.”
Me: “Fine.”
I finished out my shift thinking about what I wanted to do, and I eventually decided to quit. If the company wants to save money so badly that they will throw a worker under the bus, then they can make savings by not paying me.
I started a new job yesterday at a small family-owned bakery. The hours start super early, but I am in the back away from customers and there IS NO CORPORATE! Should keep me out of trouble while I save for college!
Question of the Week
Have you ever served a bad customer who got what they deserved?
