Overtime And Over It

I worked at a coffee shop. 

My shift was 5 AM – 1:30 PM, and often around 1 PM, giant groups of kids on school field trips would come through the area (this was a coffee shop located in a major city, very close to a bunch of museums). I had been working a lot of overtime because of it, to help my coworkers through the rush.

I got written up by my supervisor. Why?

Supervisor: “For doing too many overtime shifts without approval. You are not working overtime again. You’ve lost overtime privileges until corporate deems you can have them again. Working overtime again prior to that will result in further disciplinary action.”

The day after I was written up, right as my shift ended, three big buses FULL of kids unloaded and filled the shop.

At 1:30 PM on the dot, my watch alarm went off, and I went to clock out. The store manager who wrote me up the day prior said:

Supervisor: “Wait, where are you going?”

Me: “I lost my overtime privileges, remember?”

I clocked out, retrieved the shift drink I’d made for myself right before the rush, and left.

The next day, I was informed my overtime privileges had been reinstated.