Happy New Year… or not so much to everyone.
One woman shared calling in 2023 as she was fired from her job as a waitress after standing up to her manager, who tried to assign her to tasks she wasn’t trained for.
The woman’s manager wanted her to do her job as a waitress and a dishwasher, as there were no dishwashers scheduled for the morning shift.
So the waiter informed the manager that she was not being paid to do the dishes.
In a TikTok video that has been viewed more than 4 million times, the waitress, Caelyn, reveals that she worked at a bar and grill in Iowa and was scheduled to work on the morning of New Year’s Day.
She explains that during the morning shift, there are no dishwashers scheduled in the kitchen and they only arrive at night.
Prior to the incident that resulted in her being terminated from the restaurant, Caelyn claims that she never had any problems with managers or employees and that she was always on time and did her job correctly.
On New Year’s Day, she arrived at her shift 15 minutes early and got a head start on her suits for the day, as business was slow at first. That, however, quickly changed.
“I started getting tables and I got really busy really fast,” says Caelyn. Also, not all of the plates and cutlery from the day before were properly cleaned.
Caelyn approached one of her managers for help. “I went to my manager and said we needed cutlery,” she says. She emphasized that cutlery was needed ASAP.
She joked, “or I could just tell them [the customers] eat the food with your hands”. His manager didn’t appreciate his sarcasm.
“He then told me he was going to show me how to make the silverware,” says Caelyn, which confused her, as she was never trained to do dishwasher work and is currently waiting tables.
His manager was annoyed, but started washing the cutlery himself. When Caelyn suggested that he hire a dishwasher for the morning shifts, he criticized her and said that she could hire one herself if she wanted to.
“I am a server,” she says. “It’s not my job to hire people.”
Despite the restaurant being full, Caelyn says her manager cut her early from her shift, which left her disappointed.
After closing the remaining desks and completing her closing tasks, she went to her manager’s office to clock in.
While in the office, Caelyn’s manager tells her that he cut her off earlier due to her “attitude”.
“I said, ‘I’m sorry if that came across as an attitude, it wasn’t my intention’ and then he went on to say that if I wasn’t a ‘team player’ he doesn’t want me here anymore.”
She told him that she doesn’t earn enough to do dishwasher work.
Frustrated by that, Caelyn stood her ground. “I told him I don’t get paid $16 an hour for dishwasher work and I wasn’t trained for it.”
Her manager sent her away, informing her that she needed to do some “self-reflection on being a team player.”
Caelyn told her manager that she would be happy to be trained as a dishwasher for a higher salary if that’s what he wanted, whereupon he demanded that she leave the restaurant and forbade her to speak to her other manager about the situation.
Later, Caelyn called her manager’s superior to report what had happened. Sadly, after speaking with her manager, they informed her that there was “nothing they could do” and she lost her job.
“So that’s the story of how I got fired from my waitressing job on New Year’s Day because I didn’t make silverware,” she says.
TikTokers supported Caelyn and criticized her manager for expecting her to do work she wasn’t getting paid for.
“If you are a tipped worker being forced to do the job of a non-tipped worker, I am pretty sure that is illegal,” commented one user.
“A good manager helps where necessary. He should have made the cutlery and helped with the waiters and cooking. What needed to be done,” pointed out another user.
“They did you a favor. Toxic work environment and you would never be happy there. You are exactly correct… know your worth,” another user wrote.
“You seem to have a great sense of humor and a positive attitude. It won’t change anything, but it’s their loss,” added another.
Megan Quinn is a writer for YourTango covering entertainment and news, self, love and relationships.
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