Well, at long last I am about to give you and update on my new job. I was hired at Caffe' Panini and started work on January 7th. When they hired me, the idea was that the current management wasn't working. The owners want to franchise the store and they wanted someone to kick it up a notch and get it really running smoothly so that could be done. Imagine my surprise when I walk in on the first day and am told and then introduced to, the former manager (I will call him Jake), WHO IS STILL WORKING THERE! It was awkward to say the least and I wasn't happy about the situation.
I tried to do my best to let him know how much I appreciated his humbleness at staying on and the help he was providing me. For the first week, things seemed fine. I can totally understand how that must have felt and I felt really badly about the whole situation. He is young and in culinary school, never has managed a place before. He seemed to understand that they wanted to do what was best for the restaurant to grow it. Moving in a new direction was what would do that.
Slowly though, things have gone down hill with him. I have asked him for help in several ways, such as writing down the soup recipe, but he has never done it. Even with me repeatedly asking. Right now I am working six days a week while we get things up and running, so on Monday's, I just work until 1:30. When I came in Tuesday, the place was a MESS! "Jake" had closed the afternoon before. I expressed gently my displeasure, but all I got from him was a bunch of excuses. I have since discovered that nothing is ever his fault...lol.
Things progressed about that way all week until yesterday when he crossed the line. I heard "Jake" telling my boss that he need to talk to him. I went to my boss and asked him if he would encourage "Jake" to talk to me since I am the boss at the restaurant. He agreed completely, thank goodness. I went right over and told "Jake" that I had overheard him talking to Robert and asked him if there was something I could do for him. I think this threw him a bit, but he went ahead and talked to me anyway. He told me how he thought the restaurant was going downhill and the quality was bad since I took over. He proceeded to tell me the other employees were unhappy (which I know is untrue because I do talk to them). He also complained about the other employees. He was all over the place and it was obvious that it was an effort to make me look bad. I discussed all his complaints with him and showed my willingness to work with him on the things he was concerned about. That should have been the end of it. But no, he then went ahead and talked to my boss as well. Right over my head. That ticked me off royally. It was VERY obvious that he was trying to do me in.
I didn't have a chance to talk to my boss about it all yesterday because he was out running errands. BUT, he did call me later that evening to tell me that he had just gone into the restaurant and one of the grills had been left on. Now, there are three panini grills in the kitchen. All sitting right next to eachother. When I left, I thought all three lights were off, telling me the grills were off. But when Robert came in later (and thank goodness he did!), one of them was left on. Now, if you were going to turn the grills off, you would turn them all three off at the same time. It seemed much to obvious that one was left on. Now, I take full responsibility for a grill being left on. I swear the lights were off, but if for some reason, one was still on, it's on me. I do however, think one was left on for the very reason of getting me in trouble.
Today, the disrespect from "Jake" has continued with some very sassy comments early on in the day. He is very obviously trying to make trouble. I called my boss and he agrees that this is a bad situation and must be remedied. We are planning to talk on Monday, but most likely, I will have to fire him. Ick. Not my forte. Never done it before, but in this situation, I cannot allow him to continue to try to sabotage me. It will hurt the whole operation, and that is unacceptable.
Listen to me! Two years ago, I would have been a mess over this situation, and I'm not even sure I would have had the confidence to stand up for myself at all. I've come a long way, and I like the newfound confidence I have. Go Erin!
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2 comments:
I really hate firing people, and to date, I've managed to avoid it. So - I may not really have much advice for you, but here's my two cents:
You have recent knowledge of how it feels to be fired. Bring that with you to the table. Instead of making the goal to get rid of this employee, make the goal to get this employee back in line so that the restaurant can function at its best.
Make it clear that you aren't crazy about the awkwardness of the situation either, but that you value his input and experience and that you want to go the extra mile to make this work.
Clearly establish your expectations for his behavior with him. Aka - the store will be clean after he closes. The soup recipe will be documented by such and such a date. Give him options and let him make the decision. Good luck! I hope you are able to bring him around. I think that would be a great way to impress your new boss.
Well, I was worried my last paragraph would make people think that I WANTED to fire this guy. Ummm, no. It was akward right from the start and I tried to be honest with the guy and communicate from the beginning. I am still trying to make this work, but if you have someone actively trying to sabbatoge you, which he has clearly done (some examples have not been shown), then you have to take action. The ball is in his court at this point, so we will see how he deals with that.
I hate confrontation. And in my final paragraph, I really just meant that in years past, I had been beaten down (not physically, but mentally) into a person who would not stand up for themselves when needed. I am pleased that I have come so far as to stand up for myself.
I hate that the guy was put into this position. I even asked that they wait until after Christmas to do it becasue I had recently been there. I know it is hard for him. But also, I know that it is hard for me. I don't take any of it lightly. I will certainly let you all know how it turns out.
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