'Ok then, I won't talk back': Fast food manager scolds new employee for 'lazing around,' gets upset when another employee calls her out

Author image for Remy Millisky
Remy Millisky • Writer and Editor
Feb 15, 2024 11:00 AM EST

This fast food worker could've avoided trouble, but instead, they decided to stick up for a teammate. 

Working in fast food means knowing exactly when you'll be busy during your shift. If you clock in at 11 AM, you can bet that the lunch rush will be starting within the hour. Some places plan for this, and add in additional staff members to help with the rush. Another popular strategy is bringing in the newest members of the team to work during the mealtime crunch. Apparently they think that learning the ropes should be a trial by fire. 

The issue is that it doesn't benefit anyone to do that. The new person will be messing up orders during the most critical times. Customers are rolling their eyes because their orders are botched and the wait times are long. And even seasoned workers now find themselves doing their own jobs as well as helping out their clueless counterparts. It's not the fault of the new person---supervisors could easily pair them with another employee, or work closely with them to make sure all of their questions are being answered. But most, like the supervisor in u/Asleep_Bit_9712's story, couldn't care less about the workers in their store. 

After you read this workplace tale, have a laugh at some of these unintentionally funny moments. 

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  • 01
    'The supervisor in charge of our shift... scold[ed] our coworker because, "she was just lazing around" SUPERDOG w/SAUSAGES, POTATOES, & DRESSINGS 89,-
    via Irina on Unsplash
  • 02
    Don't talk back to the supervisor? Ok, then I won't talk back to the supervisor
    via u/Asleep_Bit_9712
  • 03
    When I was 18 I used to work at a fast food restaurant. At the time of this happening, I was working in the kitchen and I had two coworkers with me - my best friend and a new-ish girl.
    via u/Asleep_Bit_9712
  • 04
    We were in a rush and my coworkers and I were doing all we could to get the food out as fast as possible. My best friend and I had about 1 year working there so we were kinda used to the rush by now, but our other coworker had like a month working in the kitchen and she was doing all she could.
    via u/Asleep_Bit_9712
  • 05
    Apparently that wasn't enough to the supervisor in charge of our shift, because she came (in the middle of the rush, mind you) to scold our coworker because, "she was just lazing around."
    via u/Asleep_Bit_9712
  • 06
    My best friend and got mad, not only because the scolding was unnecessary but because we were still mid-rush and this supervisor was just wasting our time.
    via u/Asleep_Bit_9712
  • 07
    So I said something along the lines of, "Why don't you just leave her alone? She's new and you are just making it worse, if she's being so slow you should help us."
    via u/Asleep_Bit_9712
  • 08
    It was normal for the supervisor to step in to help if we were stuck but this one didn't do that, and she now got mad at me and started yelling things at me but at this point I was just ignoring her.
    via u/Asleep_Bit_9712
  • 09
    When the rush passed, I was called to the manager's office and the manager and her berated me for talking back to a supervisor. They made me sign some paper where I 'promised' to never talk back to a supervisor again.
    via u/Asleep_Bit_9712
  • 10
    So like 30 minutes pass and I'm on my break, and this supervisor comes to me trying to make some small talk. I proceed to ignore her and she gets mad when she notices that I'm not answering her questions.
    via u/Asleep_Bit_9712
  • 11
    So I calmly reply, "Didn't I just sign a paper where I 'promised' that I never would talk back to you?"
    via u/Asleep_Bit_9712
  • 12
    She then got even more mad and left me to enjoy the rest of my break.
    via u/Asleep_Bit_9712
  • 13
    GreenLeafGreg. I would've continued to ignore her, then when I got back on duty, would have went to someone else (manager, hopefully) and say "I just signed this paper, so I would appreciate it if she would not try to talk to me anymore, as was requested. Not only that, my break is my time, so I really don't appreciate being approached when I'm trying to enjoy my time away from working."
    via u/GreenLeafGreg
  • 14
    Asleep_Bit_9712 OP. I didn't think of that! But I think it wouldn't have worked anyway, because the manager was there when she made me sign the paper and he didn't say anything about it, so I guess he agreed with her or something.
    via u/Asleep_Bit_9712
  • 15
    luxurycrab I worked fast food as a teen too and even now almost 20 years and several career changes later it was the most pointlessly stressful job ive ever worked. People screaming at eachother and ragung for hours because a sandwich wasnt made quick enough or because theres some crumbs on the floor. It was jarring when i found myself in a role with actual responsibility but with none of the stress
    via u/luxurycrab
  • 16
    This is exactly why when my kid gets their first part time job, I'm going to have him relay everything that's said and done to/for/with him. So I can tell him exactly what is and is not permissible, legal, or moral. I'll also drill it into his head what a job description is, and why spending more than 20 minutes doing a job that's not on that list is grounds for a raise or refusing to do it anymore.
    via r/MaliciousCompliance
  • 17
    dougfmyqx Praise in public. Punish in private. Without being an AH.
    via u/dougfmyqx
  • 18
    duetmasaki Every time I got written up for something stupid, I wrote on the sheet events that led up to what i did or said, or that it was blown out of proportion. 9/10 times it got thrown out. One manager tried writing me up 3 times before giving up when I wrote on the sheet what he had said to me. He was trying to get me fired, but what I wrote made him look bad so he felt he couldn't turn it in.
    via u/duetmasaki
  • 19
    The FlyingToasterr. What a pathetic power trip lol
    via u/TheFlyingToasterr

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sign employee malicious compliance new hire customers malicious-compliance-reddit employees food service supervisor food malicious compliance reddit fast food
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