'I hung up and ignored all calls from my boss': Restaurant boss asks employee to walk five miles in below zero temperatures, critiques their 'work ethic'

Remy Millisky • Writer and Editor

Oct 8, 2023 5:00 PM EDT

Some bosses don't believe in excuses. They have a zero tolerance policy for latenesses or absences, as if they're managing robots, and not human beings.

If you've never worked in the food service industry, let me tell you a secret: snow days are often incredibly busy times at restaurants of all kinds. It seems counterintuitive---after all, if the roads are closed and temperatures are in the negatives, who's going to want to go out for a burger?

What happens, though, is that people lose power and need somewhere to charge their devices. So they head to the nearest restaurant and camp out for hours, taking advantage of the warmth and electricity and access to hot food.

That's great for them. But it's infuriating to be a worker on these days. You're worried about your own safety getting to and from work in a blizzard, while you're still obliged to serve other people.

U/griffin4war's boss was faced with the same issue one snowy day. The OP couldn't make it to their shift, due to their car getting completely snowed it. So the OP's boss actually suggested they take a five mile walk in negative temperatures, just to make it to their shift. I know the boss didn't think that one through, and they're lucky the OP didn't attempt to do that! They would have been a popsicle by the time they got to the restaurant.

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