Posted on 08/11/2005 by Some people should never own a business.
Viewed: 677 times
I got my very first job scooping ice cream a couple miles from my house. It was a good job with nice coworkers and wasn't too overly stressful. The only thing that bothered me was the store's owner, who was a very stingy older woman.
Obsessing about gaining profit, she barely discounted employee purchases (imagine getting a 20% discount on a scoop of ice cream) and placed a hefty document of rules upon my coworkers and myself. "Overscooping is stealing," it read on the bottom in bold, serving as a reminder of the scale on the opposite end of the store to weigh every single scoop of ice cream we were to give to customers. (This may seem relatively reasonable from an owner's point of view, but it just doesn't work when a sixteen year old is working by herself (a common occurance) with thirty people waiting impatiently for ice cream.)
So when I was still a newbie, I was introduced to the common practice of sneaking ice cream. Scoops, shakes, sundaes, quart containers- you name it, at least one of us made it at one point. What was the point of getting a minimum-wage paycheck drained by an abysmal discount when we could just take it and eat it? Most of the price is for worker labor anyway. So we treated ourselves to ice cream like we felt we deserved, and occasionally shared the wealth with our friends.
Everything seemed jovial, until one not-so-fine day at the end of December when the owner strolls in. Friends with unpaid ice cream in hand, she proceedd to ask them if they paid for it.
"Yes," one automatically chimed, looking at me nervously.
And then, to our horror, the owner proceeded to check the paperwork on the register as proof. Sure enough, my friend's alleged purchase did not exist. And with a glare, she said she needed to have a nice little chat with me.
Ugh.
Surrounded by boxes of ice cream cups and sundae spoons in the back room, she told me that she wasn't necessarily blaming me, but she had noticed for a long time that people had been giving away ice cream. I played it cool, acting like I hadn't seen or done anything, until she pretty much blurts out that she knows I have been. So why not say so?
Fortunately nothing major happened- I wasn't fired and I thought I was in the clear of any more trouble. Until the next morning that is.
Mother wakes me up practically screaming because she got a call from the owner, saying I "stole" from her and that I've been "slacking off a lot". This suprised me to no end, considering I have never heard of anyone remotely professional doing such a thing.
"You're not cleaning tubs!" Mom screamed, looking at a post-it note that she took notes on during her past conversation.
After about fifteen minutes of yelling, she told me to go and I never heard anything about it again. I wasn't grounded like a normal teenager, much to my relief. So all was beautiful in the world, right?
Wrong.
Fast forward six months and I'm the last of the remaining workers. After a tense winter everyone pushed on until quitting at the beginning of the summer for college. I had some nice new co-workers, but it wasn't the same.
So a friend got a job nearby at a food place and, a few times during the summer, he would bring me dinner during work since I wouldn't have time to get any myself. I decided to return the favor to him- but only when there was no chance of the owner stopping by- by making him milkshakes. I got my food and he got his drink (free for the both of us), and it seemed perfect.
It was just last night, actually, when she appeared and- after a few tense hours of her behind the counter with me- asked me to step outside. She proceeded to tell me that she had heard that I have been regularly trading with the food place. So, basically, that I was "stealing" again. I told her it was only a few things with my friend but apparently one of his co-workers had come in and told her that he trades with me regularly and wanted some free stuff.
So who would be stupid enough to talk to THE OWNER (who is much older so it's not like she was mistaken for someone else) about getting free stuff when they knew I'd get in trouble, especially if they said my name. It makes no sense.
But no, it didn't stop there. I also apparently told a co-worker that "it's ok to steal". And not one, not two, not even three, but FOUR people had complained about my behavior.
WHAT
THE
HELL
Needless to say, I got fired. No more ice cream for me. But with only a few more weeks to go until school starts I found myself not really caring. I told her she could keep part of my paycheck to cover what I "stole" to humor her but now she's actually considering it. So basically I lost my job (which everyone will know about in a few day's time), AND I may not get a paycheck.
So, what's the lesson here? Is it:
a) Don't take food that's not yours (which doesn't seem like it's someone elses when you make it yourself)
or
b) Don't get caught taking food that's not yours (which doesn't seem like it's someone elses when you make it yourself)
I suppose I'll have a little time to figure out my answer. But in the meantime, I have to figure out how I'm gonna break the news to my parents before the owner does.
POST A COMMENTbrother from another mother(08/11/2005)
Serious advice: Try not to put so much of the blame on the owner, I bet deep down you know she's just protecting her hard earned business/money. Take accountability for what happened and your actions. I'm telling you, from someone who's been there...your parents will respect you so much more for being adult about it and showing remorse. You will have a much easier time with them and they'll go MUCH easier on you. I hope you get to read this before you talk to them.
SomethingToThinkAbout(08/11/2005)
I don't agree with her calling your mom but what if it had been your store?
AZGEM(08/13/2005)
Don't forget, even if it seems like it wasn't a big name job, it is still a job reference for future employment and you certainly don't want "theft" on your resume.
FEAR(09/15/2006)
Screw her! Damn you can't have a little free ice cream? Don't worry about it. As far as job refernces, just don't put it down. I used to have a boss at a hobby shop who would steal shit from the other stores (like if it got mis-delivered), but her fired an employee for taking 5 bucks outta the register to buy something to eat, which he paid back when his wife came later that day to pick him up!
Walk the Planks (08/11/2005)
The ice cream is the store's product and merchandise. You were giving it away for free. After the first time of getting caught and being told about it, and if your friend was bringing you free food, you should have paid for his milk shake. No one could have accused you of stealing then. Think ahead.
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