If you care about your kids, I would think twice before letting them work here…read more
My daughter was repeatedly harassed, including sexually harassed, by other employees to the point that she ultimately quit. These issues were brought to management multiple times, yet the problems continued relentlessly and got worse. It took my daughter quitting for the employees causing the issues to finally be addressed.
Even after she quit, the disrespect continued. Most recently, an on-duty manager answered another employee's phone at his request and proceeded to be rude to my daughter.
In nearly a year of my daughter working there, the owner was never part of any of the discussions surrounding these ongoing issues. When my daughter tried to speak to him directly, he told her to take it to the same manager the problems had repeatedly been brought to without being resolved. This is someone who has described herself to me as passive and someone who doesn't like conflict, and unfortunately, that showed in the way these situations were handled.
After watching this go on for nearly a year, I finally stepped in and told management that the lack of respect and the way everything had been handled was gross and unacceptable, especially because children are involved. I can't say I was surprised when I was told she had no idea things had gotten this bad. That seems to be a recurring problem--management somehow doesn't know what is happening until things have already gotten completely out of hand.
This last incident was apparently when the owner decided to get involved--for the first time. Not to address what my daughter had experienced, but to tell me that I was being disrespectful to them.
I'm not sure what kind of parent could hear all of this and not have a serious problem with it. When I tried to explain my concerns, he scoffed at and mocked what I was saying, repeatedly asked me, "Are you done?" and was completely dismissive. I told him he was lucky I hadn't gone to the labor board, and he responded that maybe that should be my next step.
At this point, he may be right about that.
I don't have respect for anyone who doesn't take something causing a child harm seriously. If you can't provide a safe workplace for kids, you shouldn't employ them. It's that simple. And I have even less respect for someone showing up at the eleventh hour to criticize a parent's reaction after not being involved in any of the numerous conversations about the problems that caused it.
I've also personally been in the store as a customer and heard employees openly talking badly about customers, including saying they wished customers they didn't like would get hit by a car in the parking lot.
One of my daughter's last days working there, she arrived about an hour before her scheduled shift and was told by a shift manager that they needed the help, so she had to start working early--but that she wouldn't be paid for that hour.
Teenagers are going to act like teenagers sometimes. That's why there are supposed to be adults managing them. When harassment is repeatedly reported, employees are openly disrespecting customers, and a teenager is being told to work without pay, management should be stepping in--not allowing it to continue until an employee feels like quitting is their only option.
My daughter should never have had to quit before these issues were taken seriously. I absolutely would not recommend this as a workplace for someone's child. And after seeing how the owner and management handle serious concerns, along with what employees are allowed to say about customers, I wouldn't give them my business either.
What bothers me most is that they had an opportunity to do something genuinely good here. For many of these kids, a job like this is an opportunity to learn what having a job means--responsibility, accountability, teamwork, respect for coworkers, and respect for customers.
Instead, they're being taught the exact opposite.
They're learning that they can say disgusting things about customers without consequences. They're learning that harassment of fellow employees can continue despite repeated complaints. They're learning that problems can be ignored until someone finally quits. And they're learning that a manager can tell a teenage employee to work without pay because they need the help.
Kids deserve better examples from the adults responsible for managing them. Parents deserve to know what kind of environment they're sending their children into. And customers deserve to know how they're being spoken about when they walk out the door.
