Mmm, The Afraid-Of-Being-Called-Racist Discount

(The fast food restaurant where I work is only a short walk from my place of residence, so my friends and I often go there and use my employee discount. I have never been given a weekend shift in the eight months since I started. Yet, lo and behold, the one time I misread the roster, I am assigned a Sunday morning shift and do not realise until Sunday morning when I wake up to three missed calls and texts from the shift manager. This is the first shift I have ever missed. Up until now, this particular manager has been friendly with me, even giving me the 50% discount any time I come into the store even though it is only reserved for our break-time meals. But after this incident, his attitude completely changes. He becomes a lot more commanding and bossy, stops making casual conversation with me, no longer gives me the 50% discount, and looks for any reason to not give me the usual 20% employee discount, like if my order is over $20 or if I am ordering from the cheaper items list — while these are technically the standard rules of the discount at all stores, managers have always been a lot more lenient with employees from their own store. When my friends and I enter the store on this night, I notice [Manager] is working this shift and let them know that I’m not likely to get a discount. I am a 20-year-old female of Southeast-Asian descent with light brown skin.)

Manager: *curtly* “Hey.”

Me: *politely* “Hey! Can I grab a [small family box meal] and two [cheaper items], please?”

(My manager silently puts my order in and the total comes up on the display as $20.95.)

Manager: “Your whole order is over $20, so I can’t give you the discount.”

Me: “That’s fine, just on card ple—”

Manager: “Also, how come you didn’t show up to your shift today?”

(I am about to tap the card to the machine when I stop and frown at him.)

Me: “What?”

Manager: “You were rostered on for six to ten this morning. Where were you? That’s the second shift you’ve missed in a month without notice.”

Me: “What are you talking about? I’ve been double-checking the roster every week since that shift I missed, and I definitely wasn’t rostered on at all today!”

Manager: “Yes, you were. We called you multiple times and you never answered, let alone called back to explain why.”

Me: “I’ve had my phone on me all day and never got any calls, let alone notifications for a missed call. As for the shift, I had university lectures starting at nine am today! I don’t think I even have today in my availability, and usually [Manager who organizes roster] puts me on six to ten Monday!”

Manager: “Well, you’re going to have to talk to her, because I sure as heck—” *he goes silent and stares at me intently for a second* “Wait… Aren’t you [Other Female Southeast Asian Employee]?”

Me: “No! I’m [My Name]! I’ve worked here for almost a year now!”

Manager: *sputtering and going slightly red* “I knew that… I did know that! And [Other Employee] doesn’t even go to university.”

Me: “[Manager], you’ve known me since I started!”

Manager: “Oh, God, I’m sorry! I just… I don’t know what… It’s really late… Okay, I’m sorry. I genuinely feel really bad. Um…”

(The manager taps on the register screen a couple of times and my displayed total is immediately halved.)

Manager: “I’ll give you the 50%.”

(I tap my card against the machine and wait for the approval.)

Me: “Thank you. Hope you get some sleep.”

(While we usually eat in the dining area, we decided to take this one home. I assured my friends, who had overheard most of the conversation, that I wasn’t hurt or offended, and we rejoiced at getting a $10 meal for four people. But the next time I went into the restaurant to buy food, the manager had gone back to his previous ways and refused me the 20% discount for ordering off the cheaper items menu. The only difference was that when he served me, he made a point to clearly say my name.)