Dustin_m

I'm going to try to make this brief and will give more detailed info if needed.

I was fired yesterday from my job as a server at IHOP. A manager took the tips from two tables of mine because he said he provided service to them. When I let him know that was in violation of the labor code, specifically section 351, he got angry. I asked to speak to the district manager, who is the next one above him, to which he said no. He refused to give me any contact info to someone who was above him who could solve this, and went so far as to dare me to file a complaint against him, that no one would listen. I told him that I needed to go find the info myself and contact the Dept of Idustrial Relations about this, so I left to do this. I was subsequently fired by the district manager later in the day for "abandoning my job." When I explained to her that I had been refused any contact info for anyone who could help me with this, she still backed up the manager about taking the tips, saying that it was part of their policy to take tables and they were entitled to the tips, and still said that I had lost my job. I made it clear to her, jsut as I had to my manager during the incident, that I was leaving to contact DIR about this, not quitting my job.

This guy has had a pattern of this stuff, as in the past he has punished me for having to call in sick one day that I had the flu, after which he took me off the schedule and told me it was because it was company policy that servers can't be calling in (he even said that it was in the employee handbook, which I didn't have). Another thing he has done is deny me being able to take a 10 minute break one day when there was one table in the restaurant, who had their check and were completely finished. I told him that I needed to sit down for a minute, but was told that I should know that the restaurant industry doesn't work like that, and I couldn't take a break.

So far, I've tried to contact the CEO and others higher up, with no response. I've called the corporate phone number, they supposedly wrote down the issue and forwarded it to the dept that handles the franchises, but haven't heard anything. I've filed for unemployment, and plan on contacting DIR tomorrow. Is there any other course of action I should take?

Yea this job sucked ass, I know. I moved away from San Diego, where I had a stable drafting/design job, up to Central Cali where there are absolutely NO jobs, so I had to settle for this.

If I get no help from somewhere, I'm gonna end up in front of the restaurant with a big ass sign telling people to go elsewhere, but I'm giving the company a chance to right their wrong

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serrilion

Personaly people get screwed all the time, inless u are a higher up Manager or Distric Manager the company dont care, because u are expendable they can re hire someone elts.... sorry for your loss, and sorry ya got ripped off, grab 5 quarts of motor oil, a 2 gallon gas can, fill it full of the 5 quarts and 93 octane, poor it on his car throw a match and laph as u walk away LMAO, j/k but makes u feel better thinking about it right!

94H_Ex

Bro, that sucks, it s IHOP though. I mean is it really worth the possible 3.50 an hour to fight that hard for it? You might just have to get a job some where else, and wait for the great chance that either that manager or district manager comes in and give them a great pay back with "policy"

Dustin_m

$3.50/hour? min wage here is $8/hr.

TurboMirage

get another job. you're bitching over probably 5 bucks or less in tips.

tabKola

Seriously, do you even want to work for a place that would pull crap like this. Even if they take you back it's only going to get worse until you either quit on your own or get fired again.

reckedracing

call the newspaper
they should eat some shit like this up
firing someone right before christmas for a bullshit reason

but back to the original post...
did he provide service to those 2 tables?
is there any chance he earned those tips?

and why didn't you wait until after your shift to contact the DM instead of walking out?
that just gave your manager a chance to call the DM first

95b16coupe

call the local newspapers and news tvs. get your unemployment and find a real job.

also, why did you leave your drafting job to move?

TurboMirage

i hope it wasnt for a woman... or a man

BrutalB83

Have you ever filed unemployment before? Depending on the info you provided when you filed, they will probably get in contact with the guy and ask for his side of the story, and it's possible you may be denied. I wouldn't waste any time in looking for a new job...

SlushboxTeggy

You got $8/HR plus tips? Damn. NJ is like $2.13/HR since you're getting tipped.

And whether it's legal or not, that is a mad grimy move. He gets a salary to perform his job. In the event that the job requires he provide service to a table, he has already been compensated for his duty.

But what do you expect? Restaurant managers are some of the most backwards people in the world. Anyone smart enough to do a halfway decent job, is smart enough to get out of that line of work. I personally know/knew about 3 decent managers in like 6 years of restaurant work. All of which were my friends first, so who knows, they're probably dicks too.

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eg6sir

i used to bus tables at Chilis... i had tables to clean and the dishwasher went on break.. a new woman manager was there about 2 weeks ... she asked me to do the dishes.. i told her i had tables to clean, so i went and cleaned my tables and then ran the dishes through the dishwasher.... she was pissed off because of that.... before i left work that day i told her i realize i'll probably be fired... she said "i never said that" ... but i knew.. 2 days later on my day off i get a call, "you're fired" .. bunch of bullshit... power hungry women suck.. i suppose she had to prove something around there since all the other managers were guys

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92stoccord

Yeah, fuck resturaunts. I used to work at a hotel/rest. washing dishes. We were so expendable that they had signs above the dishwasher that says that they will fire us the first time we screw up, no questions asked. Gl with ihop man. I'd be pissed too. Go work at a theater. they're easy to learn and projection is a fun job.

DarkHand

Forget trying to go up the chain in the company, go for newspapers and report them to the state labor board. They eat that stuff up.

newb

Never had to deal with shit like that, so I dont have any advice. Contacting the local media will at least draw some unwanted attention to them, but all that will accomplish is making the management a bit uneasy. I say just cut your loses and find another job.

Also, I know you dont wanna hear it, but your manager was right about abandoning your job. Since you were not asked to contact the DM, and the manager even actively tried to stop you from contacting them, when you left your scheduled shift, you were abandoning your shift. If you would have waited until you were clocked off, and asked for the contact info again you prally would have got it. If not, that could land your manager in a bunch of shit.

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hondasaurus

sry to hear that. maybe you could sue but might not be worth it. good luck.
where does a one-legged girl work? ihop

Taco15

sue? yeah right why pay a lawyer top dollar to get nothing!

it sucks, its life, get over it. I would say something positive but you shot your self in the ass when you walked out and then supposingly filed for unemployment.

by the way that must have been some mad cash flow because i have NEVER heard of a waiter or waitress making high dollar and hour AND tips.

MthaFuknGreen

i agree, hit up the newspaper.
make a sob story outta the whole situation.
tell em you have kids to feed and now have to go on welfare.
lol

that shits fucked.
id probably put sugar in his tank.
then again, im a very angry person.

dacheat

wow, super suck. f ihop, i will boycot them for you. meanwhile in addition to a letter to the editor of your local newspaper, etc......

- you could write them a nasty review on google.com (find them on google maps, then write a shitty review expose style - but keep it short and focused on their skeezy management).

- you could paste the nasty review you leave on google.com into a local craigslist post.

- you could report that ihop and mgt to the BBB.

- you could write a letter to arnold (seriously, he'd eat this up; it's bullshit that they took your tips, but again keep it on the skeezy manager, not your walking off the job to escalate the issue).

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Dustin_m

About $12 actually, and it's principal. how much money would I have to steal from you before you got pissed and said something? not much I bet.

Didn't matter if he did anything for the tables. it's clearly written in sata labor code that managers are not allowed to take any tips even when they provide service to the tables. This is exactly what that recent class action suit against Starbuck's was about.
labor board is who I'm calling today, the news will be tommorrow,a nd Friday or Saturday I'll be posted up outside with writing all over my Jeep and a big ass sign :P Scool ends tomorrow, and its too late in the month for me to get a paycheck for a new job. My financial aid checks come in at the beginning of Jan, and I won't be working once school starts. So the way it all works out is that if it is obvious no one is going to do anything and I have nothing to lose, then I'm at least going to be a huge pain in their ass.
The summary of what happened was brief, but the guys attitude got really threatening to me, and he was beginnning to get up in my face and other customers were noticing, thats why I left iinstead of staying there to contact someone. I probably could have spent some time on the phone to get the necessary numbers, but with this being the second time this dude has lost his temper on me, I didn't want to be in that situation for any longer.

Oh and after tips, I would usually make between $17-21/hr. so it's not quite the same as losing a real min. wage job.

It's flat out b.s. that he refused to contact someone higher up to resolve this. There's no excuse that he can pull out of his ass for this.

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BodyDroppedNikes

contact the BBB and tell them what happened. they dont take shit off any business

DarkHand

This is how you get stuff done, people. Too many people nowadays just give up. Principal still has merit.

Rep for you!

Dustin_m

I just called the Dept of Industrial Relations, and was told to file a wage complaint and a retaliation complaint, and that both taking the tip and firing me were violations of labor code. I also just talked to the Franchise business consultant for IHOP corporate, and found out that this mgr. is already being investigated for other stuff, so he probably won't be there much longer.

MthaFuknGreen

coincidence?
i think not.

i think you are handling this situation very well, keep a level head.
if all else fails, then you can go crazy.

phyregod

Well, lets look at the bright side of this. You got canned from a shitty job with a shitty boss. A step you obviously weren't willing to take on your own. Now go find something better. And stay the hell away from the restraunt industry.