Manager overstaffs restaurant during the slow season so he can hire his ex-coworkers, forcing servers to 'alternate shifts' and lose out on hours: ‘I can't simply get another part-time job’

Author image for Lana DeGaetano
Lana DeGaetano • "Show me to me please."
Aug 9, 2025 6:00 PM EDT

Working in the restaurant industry could prove to be very lucrative, but not during the slow summer seasons. If the restaurant you work in is not in a destination town, the summer months can be pretty barren in terms of cash. That's why it's important to staff accordingly; Overstaffing in the restaurant industry is basically stealing money out of dedicated employees' pockets, especially if, as a manager, you are hiring people because you have personal connections to them. That's what's happening in this next story, and the server who posted it explains that she is sick of it.

A lot of us have fallen on tough times in the last couple of years, financially and otherwise. The service industry is tolling enough as it is, so when the employees at this restaurant realize they need to start "alternating" shifts because there are too many people on the schedule, things get messy. Scroll to read.

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  • "I went from 5 days down to 4... Now I am told that Saturdays are going be alternated."
    via Getty Images For Unsplash+

    The image does not depict the actual subjects of the story. Subjects are models.

  • "We keep hiring people and now we have to ‘alternate shifts’ because there are too many people."

    We are a smaller restaurant and we went two entire years without a manager. Shift leads (servers) would run then one day the decided to hire a manager for us.
    via Huge-Scallion-4787
  • This guy was a server at a similar restaurant but really wanted to be the manager and they wouldn't
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  • let him. So he became the manager for us. He has since hired 5 servers, all from the restaurant he used to work at.
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  • We have not been hiring. Summer is our slow season.
    via Huge-Scallion-4787
  • I went from 5 days down to 4 no problem. I need the money, but having Friday off gives me one on one time with my oldest child so I turned that into a positive. Now I am told that Saturdays are going to be alternated.
    via Huge-Scallion-4787
  • Woman's hands holding pen and resume in a job interview
    via Getty Images For Unsplash+

    The image does not depict the actual subjects of the story. Subjects are models.

  • We have a group chat and my manager goes from welcoming someone to the team, then the next message talking about
    via Huge-Scallion-4787
  • having to alternate shifts and thanking all of us for being so understanding during our slow season.
    via Huge-Scallion-4787
  • Does this make sense to anyone? I've asked to have a talk with her. I've been there for almost 7 years and I'm a single mom of 2. I left
    via Huge-Scallion-4787
  • my child's dad less than a year ago and it NEEDED to be done. Our custody is arranged so that I work every time I don't have the
    via Huge-Scallion-4787
  • kids. I cannot just pick up other shifts. My schedule has been the same for years and years, even before leaving him. My parents are de d, I have no sitters.
    via Huge-Scallion-4787
  • I'm not trying to have a pity party for myself. Just trying to explain I can't simply get another part time job. I can't open up my
    via Huge-Scallion-4787
  • availability. I am a good worker, often left with no manager and as the only server on. I stepped down as being a lead after some
    via Huge-Scallion-4787
  • really bad seizures so I am not as valued as I once was. The epilepsy makes it hard to retain new information, aka find another job easily.
    via Huge-Scallion-4787
  • I don't know what to do. I have asked to talk to my manager tomorrow but I'm not even sure what I want to say.
    via Huge-Scallion-4787

  • As you've read, it's clear that the manager is solely looking out for themselves and their ex-coworkers. They're trying to build their own little ecosystem at this new restaurant, but are simultaneously disadvantaging loyal employees. There are people out there who have to provide for their families, but clearly, the manager has more important fish to fry…

  • bint_haram6 This happened at the restaurant I worked at and then they acted shocked when other people started picking up more shifts at
    via bint_haram6*
  • their other job or had to get work elsewhere. Karma (and reality!) will bite them in the a sooner rather than later. I Good luck, OP.
    via bint_haram6*

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workplace-stories toxic-workplace job work reddit story horrible-management workplace Horrible Bosses reddit thread job interview interview entitled people toxic-work-environment
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