My son got fired...questions about finding a similar job

In My Humble Opinion
1

Ivyboy was working as a server at Sonny’s BBQ. He got dozens of glowing customer satisfaction cards, picked up every shift he possibly could, and after three months, had started getting requests from customers that he be their server.

So, why did he get fired? We have a suspicion it had to do with a complaint he made when corporate was in town…his shifts had been messed up for a couple of weeks, changing without notice, approved for shifts that were later taken away, etc. He brought it up and got the usual “We’ll look into that for you.”

The “official” reason he was fired was because a customer complained (supposedly) that he was charged less than he should have been. Apparently, this guy kept ordering salads, and instead of charging him for each individual salad (I think the guy ended up getting three different salads), my son charged him for a soup/salad bar, which was cheaper.

The manager told him when he showed up at work that his intregrity was in question and that he could no longer work there. This is also a restaurant where several of the servers use drugs and a manager is dating a server.

So, my son got up bright and early, donned his suit, and is pounding the pavement for another server job, since he likes the work and can make pretty good money at it. He is afraid, however, to mention his experience as a server since it would get into the whole “why are you not there anymore” thing.

Do restaurants care about that sort of thing? Would they call the restaurant and get a reference if he listed Sonny’s as a former employer? Or can he just say that he’s looking to make more money in tips (he’s applying at Outback’s and Carrabba’s in addition to other restaurants) and that’s why he left?

He’s a bit frantic right now, since the next payment for his college is due on the 20th and he has nothing right now, since he was catching up with his father on what he owed us (car insurance, money fronted for car repairs, that sort of thing.) Obviously, he thought he’d have more time to get money saved up for school, but we can help him out in that area if things don’t pan out well for him in time.

2

It sounds like one of his managers had it in for him. I ran into the same thing when I worked at a theater. I was a pretty good employee, never slacked where customers could see me, was always willing to sacrifice a night to cover a shift, etc. Most of the managers really liked me, but one scheduler didn’t. I still consider the pay period where I only worked one shift and earned $25 to be nothing less than an insult and a cowardly attempt to get me to quit.

Anyway, I don’t think he should ignore his past experience. It’s too valuable in helping to land a new job. For the “Why did you leave” question, I’d leave it vague and complimentary, something like “I believe my experience has made me more than competent to work for a more successful restaurant like yours.”

Honesty is probably not the best policy in this case, although if it can be spun properly I usually prefer to go with it. Maybe something like “I made a judgment call to keep a customer happy that the manager didn’t agree with. I am happy to abide by management’s limitations on my authority if they’re made clear ahead of time.”

3

Restaurant managers don’t usually tend to be the most professional people.

Back in my restaurant working days, the manager hiring could care less why you left a previous restaurant job. If they needed help, they’d hire you. The easiest way to get hired is to apply, apply, apply.

Reason for leaving? Couldn’t get enough shifts is the best reason to give. Every restaurant goes through periods of feast or famine with servers.

4

I think the chance that restaurant managers within the same town would give at least informal references is pretty high, unfortunately for your son.

Also, I don’t know how successful he will be at acting like he’s never been a server before if he lies on his application. He’s a young guy, he’ll start to tell stories like “this one time at Sonny’s…” and could easily write his own ticket out the door of a new job for lying on an application. A lot of employers have a zero tolerance for that, because some omissions (felonies, fired for embezzlement) are pretty darn serious.

My recommendation would be to state the facts as they were explained to him, he billed a customer incorrectly for some salads and now realizes how important it is to bill properly. As you correctly note, restaurant managers put up with a lot worse than this on a regular basis.

It might also make sense for him to appeal his termination to Sonny’s corporate HR. Not that the manager didn’t have the right to fire him, because legally he probably did, but the difference between fired for dishonesty and fired for a mistake/not getting along with management is a meaningful one. For example, it could be the difference between unemployment eligibility or not. A calm, professional appeal might also result in HR telling the manager not to go stirring things up by giving more than a “dates of employment” reference.

5

Wow, I just ate there a month ago!

6

Why did you complain to the management about your cheap meal, salad guy?!

:wink:

7

:smiley:

For the record, the service and the food was great. But they had these ceiling fans on full-speed directly over the booths. It was cold! But they graciously turned them off when I asked.

8

Well, ignore my advice, especially since I don’t actually have restaurant experience. This is probably the least problematic reason your son could give. He still shouldn’t cover up the experience, though.

9

The manager also told him not to discuss it with anyone, since he didn’t want “rumors flying around.” :dubious:

10

Like the one about him fucking one of his servers?

11

I sure hope the manager has documentary evidence of that charge. One’s integrity is priceless.

If that charge remains, then he can kiss goodbye any responsible job even after leaving college.

12

Time to report the manager’s hanky panky to corporate I’d say. Anonymously of course.

13

Food Service doesn’t normally give a rat’s derriere why you left your previous employment unless it was for “stealing from employer”. Since it wasn’t that, he ought to have no problem picking up another server job PDQ. There’s no reason for the Sonny’s manager to give him a bad reference.

I would give Sonny’s as a reference for the next three (3) server jobs he applies for, giving as a “reason for leaving”, “looking to expand my skills”.

And if he isn’t hired in the next three jobs he applies for, in the next couple of weeks, he may be sure that the Sonny’s manager is giving him a bad reference, for whatever reason, and he should look for some other line of work in your town.

Walgreens is hiring. You apply online at walgreens.com, then go in and talk to the store manager.

And tell him to go in to the college’s Financial Aid office and talk to them. Make sure they know he’s onboard with the program but is just having a minor cash flow problem, so they won’t just automatically cancel his registration out.

14

Having three kids his age who have also done the “looking for work” thing, I’m here to say that August is when Food Service is the most likely to hire warm bodies, because all their summer college kid help is quitting and going back to school. Tell Ivyboy to look for restaurants that normally are heavily staffed by college kids in the summers–those are the ones that’ll be desperately hiring in the middle of August.

Also places like WaldenBooks and other retail sales–their summer help is all going back to school. Tell him to go out to the mall. You don’t get tips in retail sales, but the opportunities to advance in Management in a high-turnover place like Game Stop, Best Buy or Circuit City are amazing.

Don’t overlook the obvious, either–Wal-Mart, K-Mart. They’re stone evil to work for, but they pay. Target is nicer.

15

Nah, your advice was pretty good. Saying he is leaving voluntarily when he has in fact already been termed involuntarily is the kind of thing that doesn’t go well if the references do get checked.

That thing about “don’t discuss it” might have been the manager’s coded way of saying just get out of my hair, I’m not going to stand in the way of you getting a new job. Crossing my fingers for ivyboy.

16

It’s a female manager and one of the servers. And my son was able to pick up a double one day because she wanted to free up her boyfriend so they could go out.

I think reporting that to corporate, at the very least, is a good idea.

17

IMO: One thing he should do is figure out who he really pissed off at his old job and why, even asking his old manager if necessary. Not that I’m saying he necessarily did anything wrong, but he should a) make sure he really was in the right and b) evaluate whether he could have dealt with the work relationships better. I’m all in favor of challenging authority, but if you can do it without paying a personal price, that’s even better.

18

A friend of a friend was being bad mouthed by his previous employer. Apparently he was not well liked by his supervisor. I believe he contacted a lawyer who sent a letter and the bad mouthing stopped.

I don’t recall what his line of work was though, nor what the lawyer threatened mr. supervisor’s HR department with.

19

My advice was based on experiences I had as a college kid working in restaurants. My brother has done the restaurant thing for ten years in between his stints as skiing instructor and rafting tour guide.

The restaurant world is not like the regular corporate world. Restaurant managers, especially in mid priced chains, do NOT spend their time doing in depth background checks or interviewing former employers. If they need warm bodies, they hire.

People get into pissing fights all the time with their managers. They quit, knowing they can easily pick up another waitering or bartending job. I couldn’t get enough shifts is a common excuse. How many times does someone who is used to getting prime shifts get moved to the crappy shifts because some hot blonde is hired and the manager wants in her pants? A lot!

Anyway, just keep applying. He’ll run into a place that needs people to start this weekend.

BTW, reporting anything to corporate short of putting poison in the food, is useless. They honestly don’t care about petty BS.

20

Keep us updated. You don’t need this to worry about now, so I’ll keep my fingers crossed for ivylad.