16-year-old working first job as restaurant busgirl told to work faster by manager, slips breaking over $100 worth of plates: 'I was doing what you said'

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Brad Dickson • Managing Editor
Dec 5, 2024 12:00 PM EST

There's certainly something to be said for working within your limits, particularly for the sake of safety and not making costly mistakes. Especially when a job requires manual labor, it's a matter of self-preservation. By overextending and injuring yourself, you could permanently impair your ability to do that job.

I remember working at a beer distribution company just out of high school; the older guys liked having me around on their routes because I could sling the fresh kegs around for them. They'd always be telling me, though, to make sure I was lifting them carefully. I never listened, but I shudder now to think of the permanent problems I could have caused myself at such a young age.

This story is a bit like that, with this young worker instead being pushed by their boss to work faster and with less of their natural caution. Encouraging them to push past the bounds that they were physically capable which resulted in an incident that luckily only went as far as a few broken dishes and not a serious workplace injury.

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    Cheezburger Image 10437622016
    via Annie Spratt For Unsplash+
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    Need me to be MORE efficient? Okay, here's £100 worth of damage! M I got my first job when I was 16, dodgy family run business, paid less than minimum wage but whatever. Anyway, there was one manager there who was the definition of "middle aged women hate the younger female coworkers".
    via harleydavidsonjk
  • 03
    Let's call her "Smudge" (her mascara application was dreadful). Smudge was one of those people who gave you the most harsh, vicious critiques but with a huge smile on her face. She wrote the book on passive aggressiveness and for some reason she was CONSTANTLY on my case. Even though I'd go above and beyond in my role for this company. (for reference, i worked in an area where i just collected and cleaned dishes which had to be transported upstairs, restocked stuff etc).
    via harleydavidsonjk
  • 04
    Anyway, this one shift there was a huge rush and I had to run around collecting dirty dishes. The trays were so flimsy it felt like i was piling stuff on cling film. So i couldn't stack as much as Smudge wanted me to (even though i was still way over stacking dishes). "My Name you need to be way more efficient and stack the cups and plates way more than this, this is just lazy" and pointed to my tray that was about to give way in my tiny 16 year old girl arms.
    via harleydavidsonjk
  • 05
    No problem! I got a new clean tray and went to the downstairs section which was still heaving with dishes even though I'd made several trips already. But orders are orders!
    via harleydavidsonjk
  • 06
    I piled 2 stacks of 10 ceramic plates, 4 thick round mugs, 4 tall slender mugs, and 7 tiny espresso mugs. The tray honestly felt like it was gonna break but efficiency is key so i used all my strength to lift it up and began walking up the stairs (littered in rubbish because nobody did their jobs).
    via harleydavidsonjk
  • 07
    What do you know? I trip on a wet wipe and couldn't hold the weight of the tray so alll of those dishes fell and 10 plates smashed, 7 mugs got chipped but I had to keep pushing up the stairs. because EFFICIENCY. Told Smudge what happened and she panics and asks "Why did you stack that many???" "I was doing what you said". Next day there was a meeting about not pushing past your limits.
    via harleydavidsonjk
  • 08
    desertboots 12h ago . Hystairical !! Well played!
    via harleydavidsonjk
  • 09
    ProspectivePolym... . 11h ago Using my own words against me? Oh, you traytor!
    via harleydavidsonjk
  • 10
    Cartmansimon • 10h ago Did you ask why you have to attend the meeting when it was smudge that needed the extra training?
    via harleydavidsonjk
  • 11
    Coder Joe1 12h ago Top 1% Commenter Ah, a dish served chipped works as well as cold.
    via harleydavidsonjk
  • 12
    SteamingTheCat . 11h ago. And it wasn't your fault. You slipped on something.
    via harleydavidsonjk
  • 13
    Pheeshfud 10h ago . Absolutely smashing.
    via harleydavidsonjk
  • 14
    Dripping Snarkasm • 9h ago Tray magnifique! :)
    via harleydavidsonjk
  • 15
    Kineth ⚫ 7h ago Told Smudge what happened and she panics and asks "Why did you stack that many???" That's some weird dissociative sh there on her part.
    via harleydavidsonjk

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customer service server teenagers waiter customers waiting customer talesfromyourserver food service service tales from your server service industry restaurant
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