This is a weird situation, and no one comes out looking very good.
- Food truck operator, apparently relying solely on social media feedback to judge the performance of staff? How the hell can you punish someone for the color of food in an instagram photo, anyway (the whole point of that format is stylized, inaccurate color)?!? I’ve worked for owners who were over-reliant on comment cards, and it’s hellish. Most of that sort of feedback is, by definition, negative. And contradictory! Weee.
- Big shot masters-of-the-universe types who overreact to a negative mention on twitter, and apparently pressure an employer to fire the offending twit? Ugh.
- Seemingly entitled little whiner who deliberately sabotages his employment and then complains about the consequences? Where’s my violin? (Can’t find it, 'cause in this case it’s microscopic…)
Look. I don’t want to get in to the tipping debate (suffice it to say that I’m a default twenty-percenter). But the social requirement to tip in non-waitstaff situations is not firmly established in the US, and certainly not in the relatively new arena of food trucks. The mere presence of a tip jar is not a reliable indicator that the workers actually need said tips to build a full paycheck. I worked in a coffee bar setting for a minute, and although the wages weren’t excellent the jar was just gravy at the end of the day. Furthermore, many, many restaurants discourage tip-sharing between the kitchen staff and the waitstaff. I worked at a place that was one of the classier joints in my town, but paid the cooks for crap (I was only at eight-odd bucks after several years of excellent work, and even the head chef only pulled down about $25/hr.). But the waitstaff routinely walked with $300 – $500 a night, and only tipped out the kitchen on extremely rare occasions (usually due to specific customer direction). In a situation – like a truck – where the staff both takes and fires orders, things can get murky. I mean, do you tip your diner cook? Probably not, even though he/she might engage with you (including handing over your food!) at least as much as the server (who you do tip).
Dude clearly doesn’t understand the basics of food service. “The business practice of running a restaurant is to cultivate great customers and spurn bad ones,” he says. Um, no. The business of a restaurant is serving f*cking food to people, whether great or bad. At least in this reality.
I get that the whole social media angle really complicates things. The owner put himself at risk by building it so heavily into the business model, for sure, and I join many here in sort of relishing his miscalculation (as well as noting the lack of class on the part of G,L & Co.). But for an employee to go so specifically public about a “bad” customer is just not acceptable. Would it be okay to take out an ad in the local paper, badmouthing an otherwise lucrative customer who tipped poorly? Maybe from some sort of abstract social justice perspective, but not from a business one. Immediate termination.
Termination, we need to understand, that the employee fully admits he anticipated and had the luxury to afford. So, yay for him (I wonder how his former comrades are enjoying the increased scrutiny and pressure from above?). I think it’s safe to say that those decrying class oppression are barking up the wrong tree, at least this time. (And I assure you, as a 12+ year veteran of that scene, I’d normally join in.)
