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Getting your first job is very exciting, but it can also be quite scary.

What would you do if you were working at a restaurant and things were fine most of the time, but whenever there was a rush, the chef and your manager (co-owners) got really mean and yelled at you a lot?

That is what is happening to the young lady in this story, and she doesn’t know what to do. She wants to do a good job, but feels like they aren’t helping her to succeed.

It is easy to see why she is frustrated. Read through the full story below and see what you think of how she is handling it.

First work environment troubles

Hi everyone, this is mostly to rant and to get some advice!

Many jobs are very difficult at first.

I started my first summer job a couple weeks ago. I’m serving in a small, busy restaurant in France for five weeks. The first couple days were difficult as it’s gets quite busy and the chef is quite hostile.

It started to get better as I found my feet. But, the last few days have been pretty rough on me.

Things get stressful when it is busy.

There’s only four of us working in the restaurant, including the chef and the chef’s wife, my manager. They both co-own the place.

The chef is very friendly outside of the lunch and dinner runs, but he becomes really stressed and honestly awful to work with during the rush.

Training new employees during a rush is impossible.

My manager doesn’t want me taking food orders independently because when I try to read them out to the chef, he finds any reason to criticise and yell at me.

Everything is so strict. I’m not allowed to do anything (take plates away, serve food, etc) without checking first, but then I am being yelled at for asking. So, I just help serve, get drinks and clean.

When it is slow, she should ask her manager exactly what is expected of her.

Anytime I stand still or can’t find something to do for even a second he tells me off for not being active enough. I accidentally served a soup to the wrong table and got yelled at. I understand and I apologised but he would not let it go.

I’m feeling like I’m not being given enough responsibility to stay busy and then I’m getting yelled out for not being occupied enough.

Unfortunately, chefs have a reputation for being jerks in the kitchen.

The chef also makes comments about me being too timid and getting annoyed at his wife for giving me menial tasks. As if he doesn’t want me to be paid to do nothing which I can understand as it’s a small business but still it’s hard.

The chef even yells at her often, which makes her upset with me and my colleagues. The environment is weighing on me. I’d appreciate any advice and if I should do something or just leave it alone and stay out of it.

Maybe she needs to talk with the chef and her manager about expectations, attitude, etc.

I am a hard worker and the clients all seem to be pleased with my service and attitude, but I am finding it really hard to not let the stressful, bad energy get the best of me.

I’m feeling really useless right now, like they don’t need or want my help and I’m not sure what to do.

When it is slow, I would directly ask the chef and the manager what they think of my performance overall. If they have a problem, they can explain it calmly. If that isn’t possible, it might be time to find a new job.

Let’s see what the people in the comments have to say about it.

Here is someone who thinks she should get a different job.

The chef is hard to work with, but that isn’t going to change.

It is unlikely that the chef or the manager will change their behavior. If she can’t put up with it, then she might want to find another job.

When someone owns a company, they get to behave how they want (within reason).