Mc. Donald's-yes, I still work there- requires that if I
need time off I give them notice two weeks in advance. My family and I are
going on a weekend trip to Las Cruces
this weekend, since we all have a 4-day weekend (!), but I turned my information into
Mc. Donald's a few days late. Thus, I had a fun time getting it off (sense the
sarcasm here). In the end, I talked to Justin, the manager in charge of schedules,
and he told me he would cover Friday and Saturday this weekend. I thanked him
and walked out of the store this last Monday afternoon feeling free, and I
immediately told my aunt Janine that I actually could come on the vacation. I
was so excited.
Today,
Thursday, I was finishing up some Spanish homework before the vacation when the
phone rang. It was Mc. Donald's. Cautiously, I picked it up.
"Hey,
Kathy, this is Abbey from Mc. Donald's," said Abbey, a
manager-in-training at work. She's pretty nice and I get along with her for the
most part. "Did you know you're working today?"
My heart
stopped. I had been hoping something like this wouldn't happen.
"...No..."
I replied.
"Sue said you needed Saturday off, so she switched you and Nicki," Abbey replied. I heard her tell an employee to put two mcdoubles with no pickles in
the bag, and I stifled a laugh. She's definitely new at the whole manager
thing.
"...Well,
I need Friday and Saturday off, and I talked to Justin and he said he'd cover
both of the days," I said. "Thursday was never mentioned."
"I'll
talk to Amelia (head manager) and get back to you in a few minutes," she
said, obviously flustered with the drive-thru and front counter and me at the same time, and she
hung up. As promised, she called a few minutes later.
"I
phoned Justin, and he said you're fine and he forgot to mention Thursday."
"...Okay...so
I'm good?"
"Put a small fry in the bag and hand it out.
Yeah, you're good Kathy."
We hung up
again and I went back to doing my homework. A few minutes later, my job called
again.
"Sorry,
Kathy," Abbey apologized. "Amelia says that we need to write you up
since you aren't coming in today."
"Do
you want me to come in?" I asked, wondering if I still had time to find a way to get to work.
"Well
you were scheduled to work at 2:15 today and you're thirty minutes late, so
you'd still be written up even if you did come in. We don't really need you
today." She told an employee to add a medium fry, and I thought, 'Sure you don't need me,' as my brain
went back into panic mode.
"...So
I'll be written up, even though I didn't know about coming in today?" I
asked in a small voice, and she confirmed this before she quickly hung up.
Instantly,
I began to cry. I called Dad to vent, 'cause really, I don't deserve to get in
trouble for something I didn't do. When I got off the phone with Dad a minute
later, Mc Donald's called again. Wiping my
eyes and taking a deep breath, I wondered what they could possibly have to say
now as I picked up and greeted Abbey.
"Sorry
Kathy," she apologized yet again. "I just talked to Ben (yet another
manager) and he said we wouldn't write you up 'cause it's not your fault. We'll
talk to Sue when she comes back. So you're good, and you won't get written up.
I just wanted to call so you don't get stressed." Too late for that, but,
whateve.
...So, two
things have been learned from this experience. One: Next time I MUST turn in vacation requests on time.
Kickin' myself for that, so I'm soooo glad God allowed me to have the time off.
Two: I already knew this, but today it was more confirmed; my job is a mess. I
need a new one.
Anyway, that is all! Later!
~Kathy
