Restaurant General Manager Didn’t Want To Let Employees Eat Free Food, So One Refused To Work Without Getting A Meal
by Matthew Gilligan

Shutterstock/Reddit
I’ve never worked at a restaurant where I didn’t eat least get a little nibble here and there after I finished a shift.
But you know how some people can be…STINGY.
Take a look at this story from Reddit and check out how this cook maliciously complied with a restaurant GM who didn’t want to feed workers.
Restaurant that didn’t want to feed it’s employees.
“I was a cook for a good long portion of my life.
The last restaurant I worked at was a pretty nice farm to table Italian place.
I really liked the owners and had worked for them at a previous restaurant and I also liked having 2 vacation weeks and insurance so I followed them to this new place.
There was one big problem.
Now the owners were great, the GM however was a stubborn and stingy person.
We opened the place up with the idea that there would be a family meal every day before the dinner shift started.
Nothing crazy expensive, just a salad and pasta for everyone.
Pretty quickly though it just turned into pasta, then eventually into nothing at all with no replacement meal plan for the employees at all.
I understand the need to keep costs down, especially at a new restaurant but this was getting ridiculous.
There were days I’d end up working a double and very angrily eating just a Cliff Bar during the whole work day.
This sounds ridiculous.
I’m serious about the GM being a penny pincher though.
The most egregious example I have is if any servers or cooks made a mistake they were expected to purchase their mistake.
There was one time I made a pasta dish by mistake and refused to buy it, mistakes happen!
My assistant GM knew it was gonna be a big deal so he ended up purchasing it . Eventually hours started getting cut and people were being let go.
I had been given a couple of split shifts a week (I disliked them so much but needed the money).
I was expected to come in and open, work a couple of lunch, leave for a couple hours and come back for the dinner shift. So after a few weeks of these shifts it became pretty routine.
It allowed me to get lunch either nearby or at home.
Except one day it was unexpectedly busy for lunch.
We got really slammed and couldn’t really catch up so they asked me if I could stay and help prep for dinner.
Now me being maliciously compliant said that I planned on having lunch during that time but I’ll stay if they let me have something good (I’m just thinking pasta with meat on it), they said we can’t do that.
Welp, sorry.
So I said I can’t stay then.
The look on both of my bosses faces said it all.
They of course couldn’t back down but I wasn’t gonna let them walk all over me especially when I’m just following and expecting to work my scheduled hours.
I came back a couple hours later with a full belly and worked a pretty busy dinner shift.
My split shifts didn’t last too much longer after that.
There was one more time when I had an unexpected Thursday night off but I was asked to come in and wash dishes.
Once again I needed the money and I’m not above washing dishes so I said yes.
Now I’ve done dishes before for my normal pay and it wasn’t a problem.
That’s what I was expecting, my normal pay.
Jeez…
I come back and they ask me to please clock in under the dish button they had just created for me.
I asked if the pay was different and I was told yes, it’s a couple dollars less.
I nearly walked out.
I only stayed because my coworkers would have a much worse day without me there but I was livid.
My assistant GM tried to offer me some food scraps but I looked at him and refused.
Then I remembered that dish employees get a free meal that nobody took advantage because of the cheap GM.
I told my assistant GM I wanted a pork rigatoni pasta dish with peppers in it and he was completely caught off guard.
“What?! Who’s paying for that?” He says to me.
I merely reply with dishwasher gets a free meal and walk away.
A few minutes later I get my lovely pasta dish, I go sit down for a few minutes, savor every bite and come back to my smiles from my coworkers and my GM not looking at me.
The dish button was removed from my clock in screen after that.”
Here’s what folks had to say on Reddit.
This reader spoke up.

Another individual chimed in.

This Reddit user shared their thoughts.

Another reader had a lot to say.

Now, this was some EXPERT malicious compliance!
Good for him for not backing down.
Thought that was satisfying? Check out what this employee did when their manager refused to pay for their time while they were traveling for business.
Categories: STORIES
Tags: · food, jobs, malicious compliance, picture, reddit, restaurants, top, work, working
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