Eyes Closed On The Late Close

(I have just started my first food-service job ever at a well known smoothie chain. It is my first closing shift, and I’m working alone with one of the night supervisors. We close at 9:30 pm, and I have been told the closing staff usually leaves around 10:30 pm.)

Night Supervisor: “Okay, I’m going to go in back and count down the tills. You get started on the closing list, and I’ll be out in a while.”

Me: “Okay. This is my first closing shift though…”

Night Supervisor: “You’ll be fine.”

(I get to work like he says, but I am unfamiliar with the tasks, so it takes me a while. I am still working on the list when he finally comes out at 10:30 pm.)

Night Supervisor: “Whoa, what’s going on? We’re way behind.”

Me: “Sorry, but I don’t really know the jobs yet.”

Night Supervisor: “This isn’t good. Let’s hurry and get done.”

(By the time we finish the list, it’s 11 pm. The supervisor approaches me with the sign-in sheet.)

Night Supervisor: “We can’t let them know how late we were here. We have to be out by 10:30 pm at the latest, or we’ll both be in big trouble.”

Me: “What do we do?”

Night Supervisor: “Just mark yourself down as 10:30 pm; it’ll be fine.”

(I’m a little upset by this, but naive enough that I go along with it. A few weeks later, I’m joking with one of the supervisors on the day shift.)

Me: “Yeah, I’m pretty slow at the closing stuff. [Night Supervisor] and I ended up staying until 11 pm the first time I did it, and had to lose the half hour of work so we wouldn’t get in trouble.”

Day Supervisor: “What? You’re not responsible for that. It’s [Night Supervisor]’s job to make sure things get done on time. You wouldn’t have been in trouble at all.”

Me: “Really?”

Day Supervisor: “Yeah, don’t listen to a thing he says about that. He’s the slowest closer anyway.”

(That was the last time I let someone talk me into working for free!)