28-year-old hiring manager fires employee on the spot after they were 1 hour late to first training, asks for manager's Snapchat

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  via Amrut Roul

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• Was I in The Wrong For “Firing” A New Hire For Being Late?

  I (28F) am the hiring manager at a restaurant. I am fairly new at this part of the job, but have been working there as a bartender for 2 years before the promotion. I like to think that I know what the restaurant needs, but yesterday I got kind of thrown for a loop and think that I may be wrong.

   

  So, this guy, let’s call him Tim (25M) comes in for an interview with me. He’s a little late for the interview, but the restaurant is in a downtown area with no onsite parking, so it’s pretty typical that unfamiliar people are a little late.

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  via LinkedIn Sales Solutions

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• Your employment isn't set in stone on day 1, in most cases. There is still some amount of wiggle room for either of you to change your minds. If you fail to show them that you can be the kind of employee they're looking for, then they're probably going to send you packing. And you can't necessarily be upset at them for this. It's just a fact of life. Unless there is some crazy extenuating circumstance, you have to assume that your employment will be revoked if you show up an hour late on the first day of training. It's disrespectful to everyone's time, and doesn't prove that you'll be a good employee. 

• As he walks in, he’s almost looking at me like he is in awe. I reach out to shake his hand and the first thing he says to me is, “You’re younger than I expected.” Not, “Hi, how are you?” Not, “I’m Tim, nice to meet you.” You’re younger than I expected. I laughed it off, maybe interview nerves made him blurt something out, but definitely noted it as a little strange.

   

  The interview continues and it’s going well enough. He sprinkles in more comments about my age, asks me to guess HIS age, asks me about where I am originally from. I generally start to get a little uneasy, but he has the work availability I need to hire for and the experience that I typically look for in new employees.

   

  I schedule him for his first training shift, and give him my phone number if he needs to reschedule or whatever. Trainees all report directly to me, and I’m not in the restaurant all the time, so I just give my number out to all new hires. No big deal.

   

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  via Unsplash+ (Getty Images)

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• Being late is one thing, but asking for someone's Snapchat is quite another. It's best to keep things professional when you're trying to get hired, and adding someone on a social media app is not professional. It implies a level of familiarity that most people aren't comfortable with. So it was no wonder that the hiring manager in this story proceeded with some amount of trepidation when it came to this particular employee. But she was still left wondering whether or not she was in the wrong. Keep reading for the full story, and then let us know your thoughts and opinions in the comments. 

• 
  via Unsplash+ (Getty Images)

  _{Image is representative only and does not depict the actual subjects of the story.}

• About an hour or two later, I check my phone and I have a new add request on Snapchat from Tim. I don’t know that I need to explain how inappropriate it is to add your new boss on Snapchat. We have interacted for all of 30 minutes at this point. Now, mixed with all the weird age questions, I’m fully weirded out. But again, trying to put my personal feelings to the side, I ignore the request and don’t mention it to him.

   

  Flash forward to the day of his first training shift. He calls me 5 minutes before he is suppose to be there stating that he is going to be late cause he had to take a family member to the doctor. “15-20 minutes late.” Okay, sure whatever. Not a great start, but fine. 15 minutes pass. Then, 20. Then, 30. At the 45 minute mark, I text him that we are going to go a different direction with employment and thank him for his time. ONE FULL HOUR after the shift starts, he comes in. I meet him at the door and he starts apologizing and pleading with me to give him a chance. I kindly tell him that first impressions are everything, and in essence he blew it. He walks out and texts me begging for a chance, and I ignore him.

   

  Between the weird comments in the interview, the Snapchat, and being late on the first day, I’ve completely written this guy off. But, AITAH? Should I have given him that second chance?

  -u/Upbeat-Regret-4952

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