Would you step in?

iVillage Member
Registered: 08-22-2006
Would you step in?
14
Thu, 06-28-2007 - 9:42am

My DD is 17 and started her first summer job last month, in an ice cream shop (national chain). She really likes it and is punctual, friendly, and responsible (for a change, lol). When she was hired, she doesn't recall being told she would work a certain number of hours per week and didn't really think to ask. She knew other teens who already worked at the original location and assumed, correctly or incorrectly, that things would run the same way at this shop. Lately she has been scheduled very few hours (a total of SIX this week), she hasn't yet received a name badge or a "weekend" shirt (just a T-shirt to be worn for weekend shifts). Without jumping into paranoia,because she is a good employee and is complimented by customers every shift she works, it seems everyone else has the badges and shirts, plus they're scheduled at least double the hours she is per week. She called and left two messages, without going into detail, for the Operations Mgr. who handles the scheduling(and is not in the store, ever). She just wanted to question the lack of hours and request more, if possible. The woman has not called her back and it's been two weeks.

Now, to be fair, this is a brand new location for this franchise (there is another one across town) and they seemed to have hired nearly everyone on our side of town under the age of 17 to work there for the summer. They have a LOT of employees, and I have yet to see an adult managerial presence there any time I've been in the parking lot to pick up DD. It seems to be a shop run by 18 yr. olds. Poor management is a definite possibility here, as is being overwhelmed with a new location, lol. That's fine and good, but I think that if an employee calls a manager, then the manager has an obligation to get back to them within a reasonable amount of time to find out what the call is about. I think two weeks and counting is unacceptable, to be honest. I want my kids to handle their own matters, but I don't think my DD calling again is going to help any. Would you call yourself, if you were me? I'm not sure how my DD should handle it from here.

Pages

iVillage Member
Registered: 12-14-2006
Thu, 06-28-2007 - 10:05am
No, I would not step in. If this business isn't meeting what my expectations of an employee are, I would move on. There must be other jobs available. She tried twice to reach the manager . . . I'd think ahead. One of the key things we want out of jobs like this is the start of a job history. I might want a job reference someday. Future employers wouldn't be thrilled by the lack of an ability to reach a manager. I'd advise DD to move on.
iVillage Member
Registered: 10-29-2003
Thu, 06-28-2007 - 10:44am

I agree to a point w/ kidsandroses, but not completely. I'd let your DD work it out, BUT I wouldn't necessarily tell her to move on, either. An ice cream shop is a great place for young people to work. I agree that many are managed by young people too, which doesn't always work.

Kids nowdays think everything is disposable...jobs, marriage, etc...if they don't like it, then move to something else. There IS something to say for sticking w/ the ugly.....life isn't full of high paying jobs...we sometimes need to work at places that are less than ideal to pay the bills....

Responsibility and committment are very important to learn. You can't bail on something just because some things don't go right......

Now if there was an abusive work place, failure to pay, or other major issues affecting your dd, I'd say different, but failure to reach a manager over a badge and t-shirt I don't think are worth it. She needs to politely continue to reach a operations manager as well as talk to her in store mgr or lead. I know being the only employee without these items must feel awkward to her, and these issues need to be resolved for her, but she should handle it just like the rest of us, and if she DOES choose to leave, then remain employed until she finds a different job.......

I hope she can get more hours, her badge and shirt....it will boost her self confidence a great deal to know she handled herself in a professional, courteous manner to get what she's asking for.

Good luck!!

iVillage Member
Registered: 12-20-2005
Thu, 06-28-2007 - 11:12am

I agree with Shels' post here - I would NOT tell DD to move on, but would suggest she look for another job and, when she finds one, tell them she needs to give notice to the ice cream shop - and then do so. Learning appropriate employment practices is important, and it's never to early to start. If she really dislikes it, or if she NEEDS more hours or money, then she should look for something else. Otherwise, if it's an ice cream shop like my town, they'll close in the winter anyway, so it's a temporary inconvenience for her.

As for stepping in - absolutely not - it's her job, and her issue - help her learn how to solve it, but let her solve it herself.

That's my opinion.

iVillage Member
Registered: 12-24-2006
Thu, 06-28-2007 - 12:17pm

I wouldn't step in as regards the hours... but if there are only kids working there constantly, I might make an anonymous call to a higher up (than the manager).

When I was 16, I worked with another 16 y.o. and a 15 y.o. Night shift. Our manager never stayed. He came, got money and left. My parents were afraid for me.. and sure enough, I was robbed by an armed man. No one in back even knew it was going on.

I almost called the headquarters of my son's last fast food place. It was a good ways from my home (he was 17), no manager stuck around much at night. The place was next to an interstate. And they kept violating the rules about keeping the back door shut at night. He got fired for not having reliable transportation before I could go through with it.

Now he's working at another fast food place and has told me that his manager is quite open with her ice use. He says several others also use it, or meth, and that it's no secret, and how much he hates it.

Still thinking of calling. I just want to make sure he doesn't figure out it's me, cause he just told me a few days ago.

So.... I say go with your gut. So what if she loses this job? It's only 6 hours a week.

Good luck,
zz

iVillage Member
Registered: 08-03-2004
Thu, 06-28-2007 - 12:19pm
I agree with pps. I would NOT step in. When the kids start working it is a real step towards their independence. They not only learn the value of a dollar but how rewarding hard work can be and also how frustrating it can be. There are always conflicts in the work place and this is where they have to start to learn how to deal with them. I think as long as there are no safety or abussive issues involved then parents need to stay out of the work place. This is just a scheduling conflict and while your DD must be getting frustrasted by her managers lack of response she'll figure out how to deal with it. As for the t-shirt....my DD 17 also works at an ice cream restaurant that is open year round. When the summer came the employees got their summer tees but DD was still wearing her old ratty one that had a hole in it and she felt toally out of place with it but her boss kept putting her off telling her she didn't have one in her size. Well the hole kept getting bigger and bigger and DD refused to sew it because she wanted her new one...she finally got one after her boss noticed how grubby she looked...lol.
iVillage Member
Registered: 03-26-2003
Thu, 06-28-2007 - 12:32pm

My son had a brief stint at Abercrombie-they simply function this way-hire a ton of employees and only give them a few hours a week. Being the last one hired, he got the least hours. When he left there was certainly no reaction. A store like this in a mall is where teens want to work!

I would say the same for an ice cream shop-probably somewhat easy to find summer help!

I think she should keep trying to reach the OM and hang in there

And think of what she has already learned-ask about hours up front, for example.

And, no, I would definitely not interfere as a parent unless it was a safety issue

iVillage Member
Registered: 08-22-2006
Thu, 06-28-2007 - 12:58pm

Yeah, I agree to a point as well.

I've told her all along to just do her job and be responsible for herself; even with these kinds of jobs (or maybe especially with these kinds of jobs), it's too easy to get mixed up in petty drama. Today, for example, she's filling in for someone who just didn't want to work his shift. She said to me, "Well, I don't really want to work on Saturday...but I'm going to." And I told her, "That's called being responsible." We all have to do some things we don't necessarily want to. I haven't encouraged her to quit, but she has been looking for another (or even a second) job. Trouble is that at this point in the summer, nothing is available, so she's fortunate to even have this job.

She did first speak with a shift manager about her lack of hours, and that's when she was told to call the Ops Mgr. And they "might" be ordering more name badges and shirts, or she can just wait until someone quits. That gave me a chuckle! So she's following the chain of command; it's just a learning lesson, I guess, that businesses are all run very differently, lol. I'm sure it could be much, much worse!

The only thing I've seen that sort of concerns me, and, again, I doubt it would happen if an adult were present, is an employee and his girlfriend making out inside the shop, in plain view of potential customers. The entire store front and side are glass, so there's nowhere to hide, lol. Fortunately, the shop was empty inside at the time, but there were customers seated outside, and I, and anyone else driving or parking in the lot, had a much-too-clear view of their activity. I figured my DD could handle this one on her own, as she's friends with the boy's sister, who's a shift manager at the shop. Of course, the girl who was shift manager that day should have said something, but, again, youth, inexperience and, most likely, uncertainty on how to handle this situation, won in this case.

iVillage Member
Registered: 08-22-2006
Thu, 06-28-2007 - 1:04pm

Yikes! I think in this case I'd be making an anonymous phone call. That's not only illegal but it's putting your son and other employees who are clean and straight at risk.

My DD has only closed once so far and I do worry about that. They have to go outside to hose off the patio area, and it's pushing 11 PM at that point. It's not in a really bad part of town but it's a high commercial area and literally right below an interstate, so there's always a possibility of trouble, I suppose. But that could be the case anywhere these days, unfortunately.

We're definitely treating it as a summer job, nothing more, and, believe me, if something else comes up, she's ready for it!

iVillage Member
Registered: 08-22-2006
Thu, 06-28-2007 - 1:08pm
Lol, that's a tactic to try with the shirts. I've jokingly told her to make her own name badge, too. If it's not part of the "official" uniform, maybe they'll take notice and dig one up for her.
iVillage Member
Registered: 08-22-2006
Thu, 06-28-2007 - 1:10pm
I've figured that they hired tons of kids for the summer because they figured, over time, they would naturally lose some here and there. And I've told my DD that things may pick up when school starts. Everyone wants to work during the summer; it's a different story when school's in session and sports and everything else starts up again.

Pages