A Different Perspective

So I've selected another path to explore in this journey called life.  It's been a real eye-opener so far working in the fast food franchise industry, the most bottom rung of the most bottom ladder.

I think for the most part I have never looked "down" on the people who served me coffee or fries through my car window.  Honestly though, I'd have to admit that I was quick to label these people as stupid, if there was a mistake in my order, sometimes even worse.

Finding myself in a position with a need for a little extra money but stiff parameters around my availability, I took a part time overnight position as a Sandwich Artist three nights a week.  This enables me to help out with the care of my adored grandson, now almost two.

I am an educated, intelligent, creative person.  For the most part, I've found that my coworkers are similar...trying to do their best around the circumstances in which they find themselves.  Some of them are single mothers working a second job so they can pay the oil bill.  Some of them are people who have gotten in trouble with some bad choices and are struggling to make things right again.  There are youngsters trying to earn money to go to college.  I work with one young mother who is not only the sole support of her young daughter, but also a sick parent.  She struggles to pay rent for an apartment without enough bedrooms for everyone.   Yet others, like me, who want to earn a little extra money around the need to raise young children.  My coworkers, generally speaking, do not deserve the judgement or contempt of the customers they serve for a subsistence wage and are regularly exploited by the corporations for which they work.

I truly enjoy the work.  My nine hour overnight shift passes in what seems to be a blink of an eye and I regularly return home tired and satisfied.  I feel more satisfied with the work I currently do than I did in the past working more prestigious positions for excellent salary and benefits.

What is the most discouraging in this industry is the exploitation by the corporations of the employees on whose backs their profits are made.  It disgusts me.  The corporate powers that be seem to rely on the ignorance of their employees regarding employment laws and the rights we have.  In my short tenure I have seen where rules, policies and procedures are arbitrary, either not enforced or enforceable,  insanely difficult to follow, or just plain ludicrous.  Some things just don't make good business sense...my training was laughably inadequate which I know resulted in a degree of financial loss for the company.  After a mere 20 hours of "training" which amounted to nothing more than doing the work that my "trainer" didn't want to do, I was left unsupervised.  The care of the store, the register, the inventory, the sanitation, customers, etc. all in my hands with no support.  I suppose I should feel flattered that they had faith I would be okay, however I suspect there was lack of desire for that situation to be different.  Rather than receiving encouragement or acknowledgement of those tasks I completed well and efficiently, I received texts on my phone, MY phone which I pay for, during my off hours, disrupting either my sleep or the responsibilities my home requires.  MY time, MY phone...messages telling me I did not fill the beverage cooler, or cups & lids.  (Mind, I probably didn't even sell any beverages out of the cooler and maybe sold 3 sodas which required cups, meaning that  the diminished stock occurred on earlier shifts and was not addressed then.  AND it wasn't like I was sleeping in the corner by the mustard...I was washing the walls under the sink and the garbage cans and other gross areas that hadn't seen cleaning in a loooooong time).  I was told I needed to respond to these texts I received from the manager and that rankled sorely with me.  I believe this approach to be an unprofessional and unethical way to manage a minimum wage staff, and know that in some states it is illegal to conduct business in this way.  And it saddens me that most of the people with whom I work accept this treatment either out of fear of losing their jobs, or lack of knowing otherwise.

There is a merciless "carrot & stick" method of managing staff at these type places.  When the manager's position became open, a couple of coworkers were told that they would get the job,but one of the conditions being that they quit their second jobs so they could fulfill the extra responsibilities of managing the store.  One of these employees is a single mother, who was managing to pay her bills working the two jobs.  After being told that the compensation of being a manager would enable her to quit her second job without a financial loss, she did just that.  And then was told the manager's position may go to someone else after all, and now she is left with one job which doesn't support her, and really, does the corporation give a shit?  There are two stores in this particular franchise on the highway...one southbound, one northbound.  Occasionally one store will run out of something and someone will be requested to "go across the street" to pick something up.  The corporation must feel that this is okay, since they allow the employee to remain "on the clock" while they do this.  And the employees, in an eagerness to comply and be recognized as willing to go the extra distance for the company, in a futile effort to be a candidate for a manager's position regularly hop into their own private vehicle, which is insured by their own private insurance carrier, and paid for by themselves out of the subsistence wage they are given.  In the event of an accident during this errand, what is the likelihood that the corporation would step up to the plate and IMMEDIATELY handle the repairs or replacement of the employee's vehicle??  I hesitate to definitively declare that wouldn't happen, but given the evident pattern of exploitation and lack of regard for the well being of their minimum wage employees,  it looks extremely doubtful.  And so, a hard working conscientious employee who lacks the resources to replace a vehicle or support the increased insurance rates as the result of an accident  will suffer a grievous loss of which the negative impact could affect their lives for a great deal of time.  Or, what if the accident results in a debilitating injury to the employee, perhaps an injury that could affect their earning potential for the rest of their lives, an employee on whom the well-being of dependent children or parents rely?  Workman's Comp?  Not only is the workman's compensation program distressing in it's inability to adequately cover competent medical care, but I've never heard of it covering the rent.

Now that I'm aware of some of the injustices of the treatment by corporations of their minimum wage employees, the boots in the trenches on whose backs their profits rely, I feel compelled to raise the public awareness of the situation.  Raising the minimum wage doesn't seem like a solution to the  issues, since nothing really changes as the cost of living goes up in conjunction with the increase of minimum wage amount.  Since most of us occasionally, if not regularly rely of the convenience of fast food establishments, I hope we can start to recognize that the people who serve us that coffee are probably some of the hardest working and loyal people to be found in any company.  They often are dealing with some difficult burdens and challenges yet serve the public and the slimy corporations under some pretty adverse conditions.  These people are not "less than" anybody else.  In fact many are incredibly admirable, and shame to any of us who are quick to judge.

Peace,
elfscooter

If You Don't Believe...

In my house, miracles happen.  Daily.  Ask anyone who lives here.  Unmade beds are made.  Blink.  How did that happen?  Underwear and socks never run out...clothing just refreshes, folded and clean, back into drawers.  huh?  Curiously, the floor seems to miraculously absorb the mud tracked in and the garbage is really great, finding it's way into the cans in the garage.  Perhaps kitty empties his own litter box, but wow...that's sort of a miracle, right?

The dishes, well, they are wonderful.  If you put your dirty used dishes in the sink or on the counter, well, before you know it, they are in the dishwasher, then amazingly out of the dishwasher, and, call the Vatican, they are IN THE CABINET, ready to use and start the whole cycle again!!

Horizontal spaces are a wonder to behold...just put an object on the breakfast bar, and it will appear magically in the place where it belongs.  One can simply not believe this happens!  It's like science fiction!

My favorite miracle is the garbage set on the counter by the can.  By. The. Can.  I figure it could jump in, that's a clear possibility, but how it opens the top is inexplicable.

No, really.

Peace,
Elfscooter