Post # 1
Member
1751 posts
Buzzing bee
I posted a few weeks ago about an interview I had with an upscale hotel restaurant for a hostess position. I applied for a part time AM hostess. I told them I take my school work really seriously (I’m almost 23, and will have 3 degrees under my belt by the time I’m 25). So having a part time job where I can do my school work in the evening was really important to me. I ended up getting the job.
Well, I had orientation Tuesday with a really nice female manager. I started my first training shift yesterday and it went terribly. The first degree I have is a nursing degree, and since I was 18 years old I’ve worked in the healthcare field. I’ve never ran a cash register or worked in any food service. So I told the lady who was training me that, and she thought it was the most ridiculous thing she’d ever heard. She would NOT slow down on the cash register or explain to me what she was doing, even after I asked her to. She would do something super fast then say “Oh, you probably didn’t catch that-did you?” with like a smirk on her face. Well no shit I didn’t catch that, you were going so fast and wouldn’t explain what you were doing!
The waitresses were very rude to me and her, they kept bitching at her for not giving them enough tables. One girl in particular kept saying under her breath “I hate new kids” and looking at me. I had to bite my tongue to keep me from saying something to her. The girl that was training me got all the customers their drinks, would get their bread and food for them about 25% of the time, and would also clear the tables and run their credit cards too. The waitresses would all be standing around their station chatting it up while we did all of our work plus their work.
I don’t NEED a job. I wanted a job to give me some extra spending money and to hopefully get a little bit of a social life. So I told myself I would stick it out for the 2 weeks of training then see how I felt about it. Wellll this morning (day 2 of training) I was sitting in the parking lot about to go in and I had been getting bad cramps all night and morning and I went to go inside and I could tell I had started my period. I rushed into the bathroom and found out I had no tampons in my purse (I just changed purses). I freaked out and couldn’t find anyone down in the break room, I had tan pants on and it was going through them!!! I bolted out the door and went home. I was sobbing the whole way there.I felt embarassed and guilty for going to work but then leaving without telling anyone.
I didn’t know any of the other managers #’s so I had to call the creepy, pervy manager who interviewed me and I just left a voicemail saying I was sick and couldn’t come in. He eventually called me back but I missed it and he didn’t leave a message so I e-mailed him and explained further. He didn’t reply to that. I talked to my Fiance and my mom and mamaw about it and they all told me to quit if I didn’t like it. I called the guy back and he didn’t answer (surprise, surprise) and I explained the job wasn’t what I was expecting and I need to focus all of my time and energy on school. I thanked him for the opportunity and said I would return the two uniform tops tomorrow.
Has anyone else had a similar experience with quitting a job so soon? I felt so guilty all morning all I did was cry! I was so stressed out about it. I hate being irresponsible, but what the hell was I supposed to do. 🙁
Post # 3
Member
1177 posts
Bumble bee
There’s a lot of hazing in food service jobs. I’d say it’s because so many people in food service are crazy, but I don’t think they start out that way. It makes people crazy. Don’t feel guilty. It doesn’t sound like it was the right job for you.
Post # 4
Member
2167 posts
Buzzing bee
@BakerBee16: Awwww! That’s awful…but if I were in your shoes I would have done the exact same thing. It was a part-time job that you really didn’t even NEED. It’s propbably not as if you were needing this to add to your resume or anything so don’t worry about it too much.
When I was about 25 I was in school full-time and living in a different city than my family. I decided to get a part-time job as a grocery cashier for spending money. I knew that I would be going home over Christmas break and told my supervisor that, but she said they wouldn’t be able to give me any time off. A couple weeks before I was due to go home, the supervisor put me on the schedule to work on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. I kept my mouth shut and worked right up until I was supposed to fly home and after that shift was done told them I quit. They were kinda surprised and pissed but I was just like, “Well I told you guys I would be wanting to go home for Christmas so…oh well.”
Post # 5
Member
1751 posts
Buzzing bee
Yeah, my family kept telling me I wasn’t going to like it (since I’m so used to the healthcare field) but I kept saying “How hard could it be?!”
Post # 6
Member
8041 posts
Bumble Beekeeper
@BakerBee16: Aw that sucks. You don’t deserve that kind of treatment. I think it’s good you quit. You explained the situation, you returned the uniforms. Don’t worry about it for another minute!!
Post # 7
Member
4272 posts
Honey bee
Not after one day, but a month yes. I don’t really want to get into it, but the manager was being inappropiate. I got a job opportunity from a regular customer and quit.
Post # 8
Member
519 posts
Busy bee
I’m sorry you had such a lousy experience. It’s hard to learn how to run a register if you have someone that doesn’t take the time to explain things to you. And even if you HAD run a register before, they all are operated differently so she still would need to slow down and explain things. In college, I worked at KMart and McDonald’s – their registers were COMPLETELY different. It just sounds like you had an awful person trying to train you.
Oh, and keep tampons in your car! That way, even if you change purses, you’ll always have them.
Post # 9
Member
714 posts
Busy bee
@BakerBee16: That’s working in a restaurant for ya. Don’t feel bad, it’s exactly what the managers are used to and what the bitchy servers wanted. I once worked at a pretty nice restraunt for 3 hours before I quit… that was 3 – 1 hour shifts… As if I’m getting all dolled up and getting myself to work for one hour of minimum wage!
Focus on school and if you still need a mindless job for some spending money get a job at a bank or as a cashier at a grocery or drug store.
Post # 10
Member
1751 posts
Buzzing bee
Thanks ladies for replying! It makes me feel better. I am just normally a very responsible person, I am never late, and I never thought I would just quit a job after a day! And the whole period thing was SO embarrassing, I am so glad no one was around while it was happening and saw me running out of the place crying! It’s kinda funny now, actually hahah 🙂
I will definitely keep some tampons stashed in my car from now on! The weird thing is I usually keep some in my FI’s car, but not mine for some reason.
Post # 11
Member
90 posts
Worker bee
I also quit a job after my first day. You’re not alone. So sorry to hear you had such a lousy experience!
Post # 12
Member
1966 posts
Buzzing bee
Restaurant/food service can be pretty cut throat. My fiance is a chef & comes home bitchin about the staff all the time. Especially “new kids” & the waitresses/waiters. Sounds like they were pretty nasty to you, it obviously wasn’t the job for you. Never go into a job thinking “how hard could it be”. Anyway focus on your school work and try to find a pt job in your field.
Post # 13
Member
1751 posts
Buzzing bee
@Sonatine: Definitely glad I’m not alone! I was googling this subject and everyone was like “Stop being lazy! Go to work! Give it time!” and it just made me feel like crap lol. I was like, I’m not lazy I swear!!
@MsSparklyBee: It’s so hard to find a part time job in the health care field with the hours I want, that’s what I ventured out into the food industry. I have a “part time” hobby of baking birthday cakes, wedding cakes and cupcakes for friends and family…so I thought that working in a restaurant would give me a little more credibility if I ever wanted to work at a bakery in the future.
Post # 14
Member
1966 posts
Buzzing bee
@BakerBee16: I do that too!! Although I hardly have time to make cakes between work, family & wedding planning!
Post # 15
Member
1751 posts
Buzzing bee
@MsSparklyBee: Tell me about it! It’s something I LOVE to do, but I’ve been so busy with my undergrad, getting ready to apply for the master’s program, wedding planning, and this whole job fiasco that lately I have only done one cake and two or three cupcake orders in the past few months. I do have a big wedding cake coming up in the beginning of May I am super excited about 🙂
Post # 16
Member
3625 posts
Sugar bee
I’ve personally never quit a job after one day, but given the experience you had, I think you are justified in doing so.
The way I figure is that 1) you didn’t need this job 2) it’s not doing anything for your resume anyway and 3) it sounded like a place you would have quit from eventually anyway.
We all had to start somewhere so I don’t think it’s a bad thing that you didn’t know how to run a register. At least you were interested in learning. Most retail positions train you much more thoroughly, especially at a larger department store such as Nordstorm.
As far as breaking into the pastry business, I don’t think you necessary have to go through a restaurant/hospitality job first. I think you should try honing in your skills first and letting it spread by word of mouth. At some point, people will call you up personally because they had your cake/cookies at so-and-so’s party and they were awesome.
