<p>Yemeng, you now know what is required from you in order to be successful in your job. Work hard to meet the requirements and work will become more enjoyable. Congratulations for having the courage to ask and the maturity to accept constructive criticism. Best of luck.</p>
<p>
That is sad. Not illegal but certainly not nice.
Some states require that you get a break every 5 hours. I would have thought large companies (like McDonalds) would also follow this guideline.
[U.S</a>. Department of Labor — Employment Standards Administration (ESA) — Wage and Hour Division (WHD) — Minimum Length of Meal Period Required Under State Law For Adult Employees in Private Sector1/ January 1, 2008](<a href=“http://www.dol.gov/esa/whd/state/meal.htm]U.S”>http://www.dol.gov/esa/whd/state/meal.htm)</p>
<p>For some jobs, you need to smile a lot. For some jobs (data entry in a cubicle, perhaps), smiling is not required. 
</p>
<p>Some people are not naturally smiley - our friend yemeng may be one of those - and this is a skill to learn: smiling and appearing to be cheerful at work, even when feeling down, tired, or just neutral (neither happy nor sad).</p>
<p>I worked in West Virginia and they have relatively lax labor laws I believe (compared to some other states). The experience certainly wasn’t all bad, though. I think I matured a lot just from having work responsibilities and learning to deal with people’s crap (co-workers and customers) in a friendly way. By the end I was begging to be in the grill cooking instead of at the register! (They put the young girls on register as an appearance kind of thing…mostly the guys and older people were stuck in the back, but eventually I WANTED to be there because customers suck).</p>
<p>I worked at McD in high school, back in the days when we added prices in our head and calculated sales tax in our heads :eek:</p>
<p>Our state was very strict about labor laws, our owner allowed no overtime and one girl asked the store mgr for extra hours at regular time (not OT) which he gave her; then she sued for OT via the labourboard and won. I cannot imagine that in this day and age any one would be cheating on hours, but do track your hours and go to the mgr with a good attitude and ask for help reconciling your records to your pay stub. 10-15 minute breaks are usually paid, 30 minute break are no, but it all varies by state- CA has over time after 8 hours per day, WA only does OT after 40 hours in a week.</p>
<p>A fast food job done well is not as easy and brain dead as it would seem; working fast and working smart are required.</p>
<p>Edad is right, you may think you are doing all the right things, but one critical need is to fit in to the group that is there. I am not sure how long you have worked there, but I would say it takes 6-8-12 weeks to fit in. Of course if your job is a brand new place it is more difficult to fit in as everything is changing and growing when a place is new.</p>
<p>In a specific example, I have had employees who were very methodical and very careful to do all their work, but it took so long it was difficult to respect their abilities. They were trying hard to do the job, but doing it slowly which did not bring them any respect.</p>
<p>tlesc01, my son would agree with you! He was working at the ice cream shop where his sister worked … but it was NOT for him. He had to find a job that didn’t involve waiting on customers. She loved it/he hated it. Different strokes for different folks.</p>
<p>I have never worked in a fast food restaurant but I was quickly relieved of my soda pouring responsibilities at a busy concession stand we worked as a fundraiser. I would pour a coke and a Dr P and promptly forget whih was which. I got very confused. I could plan and organize all the transportation, accomodation, tours etc for a month long girl scout trip through 7 countries in Europe but was not capable of serving soda. My then 17 year old son took over and was very efficient. </p>
<p>As kelsmom said - different strokes.</p>
<p>swimcatsmom, I am with you - The combination of figuring out which kid just gave me a $5 bill, which kid wanted pop, and to which kid am I supposed to hand the bag of peanut M & M’s I am now holding in my left hand absolutely befuddles me! Concession stands are h - e - double toothpick.</p>
<p>Part of our business is a seasonal one that has mostly high school and college age kids. there is no time clock. We have had some employees try to come in earlier than scheduled and staying longer…not working , but socializing and eating and then expect to add the hours to their pay…even have had a few kids who get a ride home with me because parents don’t want to come and pick them up. My work isn’t done when we close , so my kids usually grab some food and wait for me until I am done. I had one boy ( whose parents we know ) try to claim the time he had to wait for me to finish as part of his work hours , even though he was done working.
I made it clear that I can give him a ride home but not until I am done.
I have also been questioned about tax deductions too</p>
<p>I would advise you to keep track of your hours and if you queston them, bring it up to your manager if you feel there is a legitimate discrepancy. Maybe it is a misunderstanding</p>
<p>lje brings up a very valid point, restaurants run on a very low labor percentage and they cannot allow workers to just stay on the clock because they want more hours. If they are running a tight ship and you are staying past your time then that would not be authorised time.</p>
<p>On the other hand if you are closing and have a late rush meaning you cannot get your pre-cleaning done, you may work over your scheduled time and that should be paid.</p>
<p>Our labor quotas were always in question when it came to giving people more hours, especially after minimum wage went up in the summer of 2007. People got hours cut left and right, full timers included, which I felt really bad about because these people were supporting families on $5.85/hr and then weren’t getting their full 40 hours in either.</p>
<p>I didn’t get a chance to read the whole thread this time (sorry!) but I did want to say that its not always the case that young people feel others are bossy until they get used to it. While that may in fact be the case, we really do not know the details of this situation to judge. </p>
<p>It’s often the nature of low end jobs that such workers receive limited training, and those managing them have no training at all in how to direct or train those below them. In many of these cases, the context in which people are working is so ridiculously inefficient from an operations & logistics standpoint that all that’s left is yelling and threatening and other unacceptable behavior. Quite simply, there are a lot of very crappy work environments and a lot of very crappy managers out there. It is not always the newbie employee’s fault. </p>
<p>There is a plus to this experience. As a recall from many of my own, its a great opportunity to observe how NOT to manage, to oserve what kind of work environments you’ll seek later on, to observe how companies should and can function more efficiently, and to realize that getting a higher education will rescue you (at least somewhat) from it. In fact, it was horrendous job experiences that made me stay in school! I went on to get a PhD in business- of all things- and now write articles for Harvard Business Review and get paid a lot to tell companies how to function better. Go figure. </p>
<p>My sense - which could be wrong- is this is just plain old bad management. If so, it’s not acceptable, and it shouldn’t be something one should have to just get used to and put up with. It’s problematic not just for those subject to it, but to the company as a whole. In many contexts, the cost of turnover is ridiculous. Additional costs multipled across a given organization can be huge, because employees react to bad management: from absenteeism, to employee theft, to bad customer service…the list goes on. </p>
<p>So my short answer is talk to your manager about two things. First, look for some honest feedback on your performance thus far to see if something needs to change at your end. The managers’ response to this issue will tell you a lot. Second, bring in facts of your missing wages, and see a reconciliatory solution. Given them the benefit of the doubt that a mistake has been made, but provide them with the details, and take it from there. Others on here have offered excellent advice about getting those wages owed to you.</p>
<p>starbright, I would say it is bad management. They like to keep on repeating directions over and over again. Like, after I am done sweeping the floors, and wiping the tables, and when I went to the kitchen, my manager saw me and told me that after I am done serving I should start cleaning, which I already did. I already know what to do, but they always make it seem like I don’t know what I am doing. They just waste their time by keep on giving lectures, but they never acknowledge when I did a good job. No compliments just criticisms which is why sometimes I don’t feel like working.</p>
<p>Also, yesterday, my assistant manager won’t give me my check. So, after I am done with my shift, I ask her about it, and she somehow felt annoyed. I tried asking her, where can I see my hours, and she just said “Just sign”. Well, I did get all the hours I work right, but she made me feel bad for asking, as if I don’t have the right to question authority. </p>
<p>I also started looking for jobs last saturday, so far the restaurants on campus only pays $8 (I got paid $8.75 in this job), and the library and other departments only hires their old employees which means they are not really hiring. </p>
<p>I think my problem is not the job itself but the management. I work in 2 locations, and the other one, I have no problem because most them have work their for a long time.</p>