It’s All About Perspective

I had been working at a local chain pizza delivery store for a few weeks when [Manager #1] announced that he was going to be out of town on a Saturday, two weeks hence. No problem, the owner would just send a replacement from one of the other stores for the day. The other employees started getting nervous; apparently, there was one manager in particular, [Manager #2], they didn’t want.

Thursday before his day off, [Manager #1] told us that [Manager #2] would be managing the store Saturday evening. Everyone groaned, even though [Manager #1] relayed the owner’s assurances that the issues had been addressed with [Manager #2].

During a lull on Thursday afternoon, [Manager #1] explained to me that [Manager #2] was disliked because she couldn’t close the store in a timely manner. Normally, we start breaking down the make line and cleaning up after the late rush (when we get one or two orders per hour). Pizza ingredients go into their metal tubs and are placed on a cart, and the cart is wheeled into the cooler. The make line is washed down, etc. We spot clean as necessary so that when we close at 2:00 am, it takes no more than thirty — maybe forty-five — minutes to finish cleaning and walk out. [Manager #2] couldn’t lock up in less than ninety minutes, even on a “fast” night.

Saturday night, I found out why everyone was groaning. We weren’t allowed to break down the make line because we got three orders between 11:00 and midnight, so clearly it was going to be even busier, even later. Since [Manager #2] was expecting another large rush, none of the late-night drivers were allowed to leave early; they had to stay until the store closed at 2:00 am (which is when she allowed us to start cleaning) and help with cleaning up before she would start checking them out. Then, she had to complete the paperwork and prepare the bank drop before we were allowed to leave.

Sunday afternoon, [Manager #1] came in and called me into the office.

Manager #1: “How did last night go? Did you get out early?”

Me: “Oh, yeah, we got out early—”

[Manager #1] interrupted, surprised and pleased.

Manager #1: “Really? How—”

Me: “I mean, a lot of people consider 5:00 am to be ‘early’.”