Employee Shares The Wildest Rules That The ‘Five Guys’ Manager Expects Everybody To Follow
Interview
Think of a few things you don’t like about your job. Is it the money? Perhaps the backbreaking conditions you have to endure every day? Truth is, if a horrible manager is not on your mental list, consider yourself to have a fairly decent job.
After all, studies show that almost 50% of people have quit their jobs because of their horrible managers. We’re not sure about u/Sweaty-Union-7686, but they must be on the verge of leaving Five Guys after all the things this person has had to put up with because of one sergeant-like manager.
Keep scrolling down to read what delusional things this manager has said, as written in this r/antiwork post.
Working at a busy fast food diner is grueling enough work
Image credits: Marcel Heil (not the actual photo)
More so when you have a superior who will be happy to make your life into a living, sizzling hell
Image credits: Julian (not the actual photo)
“After getting yelled at for this twice early in the month I spent working at a McDonald’s in downtown San Francisco, I started imitating my coworkers and aiming to arrive 20 minutes before my shift just in case the train was running weird that day,” wrote Emily Guendelsberger, the author of ‘On the Clock’, in her investigative piece of journalism for Vox. She couldn’t believe how stressful low-wage jobs have become in the last decade.
The reason for that is partly the over-the-top management. Something that Christine Matheson-Green, the founder of Just The Sizzle publication (“for foodies and people in the industry”) and former restaurateur, has experienced herself whilst running 10 successful restaurants.
Back in the day, Green used to do 100 hour weeks, she told Bored Panda. “I never made my employees do crazy hours because I was the one who did it. What I learned instead is when someone goes through the steps and they become a chef or a manager, it doesn’t necessarily mean that they will be good at managing a kitchen.”
She believes the real problem lies in the system which allows unqualified people to be promoted beyond their abilities to lead. Turns out, Green’s not far from the truth: studies showed that 1 in 2 managers do not receive any management training. Plus, they are usually are promoted not because they make staff feel more productive or better about themselves, but purely because they did what they had to do and did it well. Means justify the ends, right?
The things you’re expected to do for minimum wage
A manager from hell isn’t the only thing this restaurant should be concerned about
This is how people reacted after reading the story
Speaking about the grueling hours, physical and mental toll that comes with working in the kitchen, Green admits that managing staff can sometimes get the better of every manager (“every restaurateur has its own issues”) — although there are ways to work around it. The first thing she suggests is an emphasis on manager’s training.
“The way I ran my kitchens was always based on common sense. Everyone knew what their roles were. Our preparation was always up to scratch. But there are always so many moving parts that it was inevitable someone will slip up,” she said. “And so what I found that a 10 minute debrief before the beginning of every service, letting everyone know that they can speak up, really brought the team together.” Despite patchier moments, Green points out, being honest with each other was the crux that helped to keep the staff loyal and hard-working. Free soft drinks at the end of each shift help too, she recommends.
“The great thing now is, although there’s massive shortage around the world, it’s much easier for you to go to someone and just say, ‘Look, I don’t think you’re a good manager. You’re making my life miserable. I don’t have to put up with this,'” Green told us.
She’s aware of just how difficult it is to be the change you want to see in the workplace. For that, Green suggests “going to someone in power with a solution,” rather than offering only a complaint. “What I used to tell my staff is, ‘Never come to me with a problem — come to me with a solution.'”
And if the upper management is as approachable as a wall of bricks, as is often the case with large corporations like McDonald’s — there are greener pastures waiting for you. Perhaps with a manager worthy of your time and commitment.
When it's time to punch out for the day I'm gone. I work to live. I don't live to work.
People Like that are the reason why you can order animal s**t online and mail it to others.
i am guessing this is America as it seems only in good ol U S of A can bosses treat their employees like s**t anywhere else they wouldn't get away with it also they can just fire someone just like that what happened to 1 verbal and 2 written warnings their staff turnover must be huge
What state is this? I don't know of any states that don't also mandate one 10 to 15-minute break for every 4 hours worked, on top of the 30 minute mandatory lunch break. So report them to the Dept of Labor. Even better, everyone reading this go harrass their local 5 Guys manager about whether they're at least giving their employees mandatory breaks or not.
Ohio has no break or lunch requirement. When I worked at dunkin I used to eat or take a couple minute break whenever it got slow.
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I've had teaching jobs overseas with more strict rules than that. Eg. Pay deduction for number of mins late, warnings, no substitute teachers, unpaid sick leave or any kind of leave, no christmas holiday. No leaves for 6 months after starting job, not to mention all those things weren't in the contract and never told to me. Found out on the jobs. Eventually gave a 1 month notice to 2 of them and left.
From the posts, kids nowadays are a different cut then previous generations. At most jobs you're expected to show up 5-10 min early, not at your starting time because by the time to settle in to work, it'll be 10-15 from your starting time, so yes, you need that cushion. I know fast food is not glorious, but it's a good starting point, or work a real shitty job like Agriculture or meat/fish industries. With that in mind, shut up, and get to work kids, no btching allowed.
Man, you guys are soft. Time to lean time to clean. Agree 100% with 90% of what I read. Suck it up buttercups.
Stuff like this makes me glad I ended up working a union job with an aggressive local
Stuff like this made me glad I stayed in the military for 20. I did work McDonald's for 3 months at 17...that's why I joined USAF.
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This sumnabitch is nuts. I hope this place is somewhere that he can get his butt handed to him by the DOL.
Can't help but think this is an issue with hiring too many lazy kids in fast food who don't actually need a paycheck to pay rent. In my Dashing nights, I've seen far more kids in fast food schlepping around looking at their phone or talking to each other even when there's a few people in line and waiting cars in the drive thru (looking at you, Popeye's). When you have to call out for assistance because nobody is paying attention to the counter (McDonald's), and a kid responds with "Oh, hey, yeah?", that's half the problem there. Conversely, the places where at least one or two people actually look up and say "Hello, welcome!" upon the door opening and someone walking in are the better-run places and those tend to be tea places, Baskin Robbins, and non-chain pizza places.
Yeah this is terrible, along with all the AITA posts that are Pandas latest thing. I realize there's assholes out there, I know quite a few personally. But these are all hearsay and need to be read with a bit of scepticism.
Aside from the breaks, this seems strict but reasonable?? I don't want my coworkers disappearing at random times without telling anyone. I want people to see what needs to be done and do it. I am not itching to leave if I'm being paid by the hour. How much you're getting paid is a pittance anyway. I used to pick up plenty of weekend shifts from teens who would rather be out socializing.
Fair enough but the rule of thumb for anyone insisting they're a team leader is: how would I feel if MY mgr sent this and is this the tone of voice I would use and are these the words I would use if I were being filmed?
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Lol I managed papa John's pizza for 20 years, before that I managed full service restaurants and kitchens. I always treated my employees with respect and I never asked them to do anything I didn't do myself. Employee retention is part of a managers job. As is Employee training. Also giving out praise is more effective than negative criticism. If an employee is not doing the job correctly it's not their fault, it's the managers fault for not training the employee correctly. If I had an employee who did something like a good job cleaning all on their own I would reward them with say a free pizza to take home. Their off time was as important to me as to them so I would bend over backwards to adjust their work schedule to what they needed. It's simple, you treat your employees with the respect they deserve. You will have employees who will take pride in their job and stick around a lot longer.
I worked at a Rudy’s BBQ, and I was getting paid around $9/hr for putting up with extremely shitty managers and GM. Right when I found out I got the job, I asked the GM if they offered cross-training, and he said “No, we don’t offer that here.” After I was trained in 3 shifts, I kept getting yelled at by my managers for me messing up on small things when I had no idea what I was doing because I wasn’t trained on it. AND I asked for help and they flat out ignored me. My final straw was when my GM called me an idiot right in front of my customer, all because I didn’t know where a scoop was for the meat. I basically had to endure mental abuse from my superiors for a little over 2 months.This happened a couple years ago and it STILL mentally affects me to this day.
Managers have it just as difficult as everyone else. Owners are always on top of them to make sure policies are being followed. They are paid maybe $5 more if that and yet they have to deal with all the complaints, issues, call ins, get called in and all the crappy workers like 99% of the people messaging in this forum. That list up there that is being commented on is 95% reasonable. I would change a couple like make sure stuff is it restocked and ask a manager what you can do maybe 15-30 BEFORE you leave so you don't have to go over time. The place I manage at is very much like a family. We go out to eat after a shift or give out free meals to workers who don't have enough money to eat or who did a great job. How is it unreasonable to not take pride in your work? I take pride in running a great shift or smashing a busy rush hour. You don't have to take pride in your work but a good worker will. It's all about how you look at it. You will always enjoy a job more when it means somethin
Just told a boss that she was completely unorganized and toxic. That her policies were unacceptable and everything was run like a total sh1+show. When I told her I quit, she says "awesome". There's sooooo much more to this.. dead people, ptsd.. oh I should right a redit.. she texts me, good luck with your "future endeavors". Not kidding, quotes. That was yesterday.. got a new job today with a private entity and side work to finish my week. Corporate America blows!
This particular course is a 1 month advanced training program on the Snowflake. Snowflake is the best cloud based data warehousing & analytics tool. It is very unique in its approach and design hence most large sized organizations started to use this tool.https://snowflakemasters.in/
Mid-level managers are the worst. They're so worried about being demoted, they go overboard. They insist on all this petty stuff because it makes them feel powerful, when all they do is look like grasping losers.
Federal law makes the first note about only one 30 minute break, illegal. Hourly workers are *REQUIRED* BY LAW to have one 30 minimum break and two 15 minute breaks. Hourly employees are not legally allowed to work more than 2.5 hours continuously without a 15 minute break. Additionally, they are not allowed to work "off the clock" and can only work a maximum of 40 hours in one week. All hours above that 40 are required by federal law to be paid at 1.5 times their hourly pay. Look people...this is the law in the USA. Not a state law, but federal! Know the law and hold your boss/company to it!
You're way off there about breaks. The legal federal requirements per DOL don't mandate anything beyond a meal period of not less than 30 minutes being unpaid. It's the States themselves which determines how long of a shift determines your breaks and meal. If you're a part timer in CA and work only a 4 hour shift as a wage employee, you get one 10 or 15 minute paid break (based on employer). If you work a 6 to 7½ hours shift, you get one break and one unpaid meal period that's usually 30 minutes. If you work a full 8 hour shift, you get 2 paid breaks and one unpaid meal period. If you work a 12 hour shift, you can take a 3rd paid 10-15 minute break.
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And the staff are supposed to "take pride in their work"? And I'm sitting here, shaking my head at this inane comment, trying to think of something suitable to say... These bosses have rocks in their heads.
I've worked customer service almost my whole life.. Waitress & bartending. I do this because I love it. I hated my job I went to college for. I realized I'm definitely not a cubicle desk person. But I will never ever work for a chain or big corp. I choose to work for independent businesses. They tend to treat employees like family & appreciate the hard work you put into your job. I'm "generation X" and was taught no matter what job I have, take pride in my hard work. Once a boss starts expecting you to work past your shift hours, they will push it all the time. Firmly set your limits. You can't get experience until you actually put the time in to learn from bottom up. But I find it sad that so many young people think these are unique experiences to them. No, they aren't abused..they just hit the work force & realize they actually have to work to get paid. I started working when pay was $6-7 hour. I had to endure same bs & Karens as customers. Get experience & negotiate better pay.
your company owes you a paycheck, you owe them the work they hired you for in that time frame, nothing more. Worked for a company and stayed 45 minutes late one night, next morning I was ten minutes late due to an accident on the highway. Was told I owe them the 10 minutes but they didn't owe me the 45 because it was not pre-approved. Our department was cut and all of us let go. They will not provide references but required 3 to be hired.
It's as if, the powers that be, have distracted us to fight amongst ourselves for so long that we didnt have the time, energy or capital to realize that we are imprisoned by this unforgiving system. Broken isn't the right word... servitude, dependance, neglect. Yeah, those fit better. Pledge allegiance to the flag?
I’ve worked my way from a line cook all the way to assistant general manager for five guys and that is not the way I was trained to manage or the way the stores I’ve worked at been ran
At my job, my boss had to put in place a zero tolerance for donuts being left on the copier/printer. If she found another half-eaten donut on the copier, our department would no longer get free donuts on Wednesdays. That is the craziest rule at my job.
Calling bullshit on this. It's actually more crazy that there's people leaving their disgusting half-eaten food on equipment that everyone touches. Leave the donut on your desk when you get up. Don't be a pig.
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Congratulations, you've won the internet today for the dumbest comment imaginable. Well done!
Load More Replies... When it's time to punch out for the day I'm gone. I work to live. I don't live to work.
People Like that are the reason why you can order animal s**t online and mail it to others.
i am guessing this is America as it seems only in good ol U S of A can bosses treat their employees like s**t anywhere else they wouldn't get away with it also they can just fire someone just like that what happened to 1 verbal and 2 written warnings their staff turnover must be huge
What state is this? I don't know of any states that don't also mandate one 10 to 15-minute break for every 4 hours worked, on top of the 30 minute mandatory lunch break. So report them to the Dept of Labor. Even better, everyone reading this go harrass their local 5 Guys manager about whether they're at least giving their employees mandatory breaks or not.
Ohio has no break or lunch requirement. When I worked at dunkin I used to eat or take a couple minute break whenever it got slow.
Load More Replies... I've had teaching jobs overseas with more strict rules than that. Eg. Pay deduction for number of mins late, warnings, no substitute teachers, unpaid sick leave or any kind of leave, no christmas holiday. No leaves for 6 months after starting job, not to mention all those things weren't in the contract and never told to me. Found out on the jobs. Eventually gave a 1 month notice to 2 of them and left.
From the posts, kids nowadays are a different cut then previous generations. At most jobs you're expected to show up 5-10 min early, not at your starting time because by the time to settle in to work, it'll be 10-15 from your starting time, so yes, you need that cushion. I know fast food is not glorious, but it's a good starting point, or work a real shitty job like Agriculture or meat/fish industries. With that in mind, shut up, and get to work kids, no btching allowed.
Man, you guys are soft. Time to lean time to clean. Agree 100% with 90% of what I read. Suck it up buttercups.
Stuff like this makes me glad I ended up working a union job with an aggressive local
Stuff like this made me glad I stayed in the military for 20. I did work McDonald's for 3 months at 17...that's why I joined USAF.
Load More Replies... This sumnabitch is nuts. I hope this place is somewhere that he can get his butt handed to him by the DOL.
Can't help but think this is an issue with hiring too many lazy kids in fast food who don't actually need a paycheck to pay rent. In my Dashing nights, I've seen far more kids in fast food schlepping around looking at their phone or talking to each other even when there's a few people in line and waiting cars in the drive thru (looking at you, Popeye's). When you have to call out for assistance because nobody is paying attention to the counter (McDonald's), and a kid responds with "Oh, hey, yeah?", that's half the problem there. Conversely, the places where at least one or two people actually look up and say "Hello, welcome!" upon the door opening and someone walking in are the better-run places and those tend to be tea places, Baskin Robbins, and non-chain pizza places.
Yeah this is terrible, along with all the AITA posts that are Pandas latest thing. I realize there's assholes out there, I know quite a few personally. But these are all hearsay and need to be read with a bit of scepticism.
Aside from the breaks, this seems strict but reasonable?? I don't want my coworkers disappearing at random times without telling anyone. I want people to see what needs to be done and do it. I am not itching to leave if I'm being paid by the hour. How much you're getting paid is a pittance anyway. I used to pick up plenty of weekend shifts from teens who would rather be out socializing.
Fair enough but the rule of thumb for anyone insisting they're a team leader is: how would I feel if MY mgr sent this and is this the tone of voice I would use and are these the words I would use if I were being filmed?
Load More Replies... Lol I managed papa John's pizza for 20 years, before that I managed full service restaurants and kitchens. I always treated my employees with respect and I never asked them to do anything I didn't do myself. Employee retention is part of a managers job. As is Employee training. Also giving out praise is more effective than negative criticism. If an employee is not doing the job correctly it's not their fault, it's the managers fault for not training the employee correctly. If I had an employee who did something like a good job cleaning all on their own I would reward them with say a free pizza to take home. Their off time was as important to me as to them so I would bend over backwards to adjust their work schedule to what they needed. It's simple, you treat your employees with the respect they deserve. You will have employees who will take pride in their job and stick around a lot longer.
I worked at a Rudy’s BBQ, and I was getting paid around $9/hr for putting up with extremely shitty managers and GM. Right when I found out I got the job, I asked the GM if they offered cross-training, and he said “No, we don’t offer that here.” After I was trained in 3 shifts, I kept getting yelled at by my managers for me messing up on small things when I had no idea what I was doing because I wasn’t trained on it. AND I asked for help and they flat out ignored me. My final straw was when my GM called me an idiot right in front of my customer, all because I didn’t know where a scoop was for the meat. I basically had to endure mental abuse from my superiors for a little over 2 months.This happened a couple years ago and it STILL mentally affects me to this day.
Managers have it just as difficult as everyone else. Owners are always on top of them to make sure policies are being followed. They are paid maybe $5 more if that and yet they have to deal with all the complaints, issues, call ins, get called in and all the crappy workers like 99% of the people messaging in this forum. That list up there that is being commented on is 95% reasonable. I would change a couple like make sure stuff is it restocked and ask a manager what you can do maybe 15-30 BEFORE you leave so you don't have to go over time. The place I manage at is very much like a family. We go out to eat after a shift or give out free meals to workers who don't have enough money to eat or who did a great job. How is it unreasonable to not take pride in your work? I take pride in running a great shift or smashing a busy rush hour. You don't have to take pride in your work but a good worker will. It's all about how you look at it. You will always enjoy a job more when it means somethin
Just told a boss that she was completely unorganized and toxic. That her policies were unacceptable and everything was run like a total sh1+show. When I told her I quit, she says "awesome". There's sooooo much more to this.. dead people, ptsd.. oh I should right a redit.. she texts me, good luck with your "future endeavors". Not kidding, quotes. That was yesterday.. got a new job today with a private entity and side work to finish my week. Corporate America blows!
This particular course is a 1 month advanced training program on the Snowflake. Snowflake is the best cloud based data warehousing & analytics tool. It is very unique in its approach and design hence most large sized organizations started to use this tool.https://snowflakemasters.in/
Mid-level managers are the worst. They're so worried about being demoted, they go overboard. They insist on all this petty stuff because it makes them feel powerful, when all they do is look like grasping losers.
Federal law makes the first note about only one 30 minute break, illegal. Hourly workers are *REQUIRED* BY LAW to have one 30 minimum break and two 15 minute breaks. Hourly employees are not legally allowed to work more than 2.5 hours continuously without a 15 minute break. Additionally, they are not allowed to work "off the clock" and can only work a maximum of 40 hours in one week. All hours above that 40 are required by federal law to be paid at 1.5 times their hourly pay. Look people...this is the law in the USA. Not a state law, but federal! Know the law and hold your boss/company to it!
You're way off there about breaks. The legal federal requirements per DOL don't mandate anything beyond a meal period of not less than 30 minutes being unpaid. It's the States themselves which determines how long of a shift determines your breaks and meal. If you're a part timer in CA and work only a 4 hour shift as a wage employee, you get one 10 or 15 minute paid break (based on employer). If you work a 6 to 7½ hours shift, you get one break and one unpaid meal period that's usually 30 minutes. If you work a full 8 hour shift, you get 2 paid breaks and one unpaid meal period. If you work a 12 hour shift, you can take a 3rd paid 10-15 minute break.
Load More Replies... And the staff are supposed to "take pride in their work"? And I'm sitting here, shaking my head at this inane comment, trying to think of something suitable to say... These bosses have rocks in their heads.
I've worked customer service almost my whole life.. Waitress & bartending. I do this because I love it. I hated my job I went to college for. I realized I'm definitely not a cubicle desk person. But I will never ever work for a chain or big corp. I choose to work for independent businesses. They tend to treat employees like family & appreciate the hard work you put into your job. I'm "generation X" and was taught no matter what job I have, take pride in my hard work. Once a boss starts expecting you to work past your shift hours, they will push it all the time. Firmly set your limits. You can't get experience until you actually put the time in to learn from bottom up. But I find it sad that so many young people think these are unique experiences to them. No, they aren't abused..they just hit the work force & realize they actually have to work to get paid. I started working when pay was $6-7 hour. I had to endure same bs & Karens as customers. Get experience & negotiate better pay.
your company owes you a paycheck, you owe them the work they hired you for in that time frame, nothing more. Worked for a company and stayed 45 minutes late one night, next morning I was ten minutes late due to an accident on the highway. Was told I owe them the 10 minutes but they didn't owe me the 45 because it was not pre-approved. Our department was cut and all of us let go. They will not provide references but required 3 to be hired.
It's as if, the powers that be, have distracted us to fight amongst ourselves for so long that we didnt have the time, energy or capital to realize that we are imprisoned by this unforgiving system. Broken isn't the right word... servitude, dependance, neglect. Yeah, those fit better. Pledge allegiance to the flag?
I’ve worked my way from a line cook all the way to assistant general manager for five guys and that is not the way I was trained to manage or the way the stores I’ve worked at been ran
At my job, my boss had to put in place a zero tolerance for donuts being left on the copier/printer. If she found another half-eaten donut on the copier, our department would no longer get free donuts on Wednesdays. That is the craziest rule at my job.
Calling bullshit on this. It's actually more crazy that there's people leaving their disgusting half-eaten food on equipment that everyone touches. Leave the donut on your desk when you get up. Don't be a pig.
Load More Replies... Congratulations, you've won the internet today for the dumbest comment imaginable. Well done!
Load More Replies...
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