Positivity.

I work hard to remain positive at all times while working, no matter where I am. I don't say "I try", because I believe that trying is setting out to fail, but with honor intact. In any case, I don't always succeed at being positive. Sometimes I go outside, into the back of the parking lot and curse loudly (not shouting, quite), or I'll go in the walk-in freezer and do the same thing. Sometimes, however, being the direct, blunt and authoritative person that I am, I have to confront the individual(s) that raise my ire.

I was scheduled for a close shift yesterday, the day after my birthday, which means I start work at 5 o'clock. Considering all this, I basically had about 4 hours of sleep in me when I got a phone call from B., my store manager, informing me that he had made a mistake and double scheduled myself and another manager to close tonight. He asked if I could not only come in early, but also work a shorter shift than my scheduled shift to avoid a horrible labor situation. Now, if I can do something to better my team, I'm almost 100% going to say yes. They needed me, so I agreed and rushed to get ready in less than half an hour.

When I showed up, it was just the very tail end of lunch. I went to go do my pre-shift functions, like counting our safe, verifying the deposit so far was accurate, a pre-shift checklist, etc. I got through the first step and found an error with the money (something that happens just about every single day in my store, and something that really, really irks me. Cash is the reason we show up every day, it should be the single most important part of the operation) when I was called to help out up front. Normally, I won't let anyone interrupt my pre-shift duties. I cannot prepare fully for my day if I don't do my pre-shift stuff, because that's when I prepare. It's important for me.

So I went up front to "help out", but mentioned to B. that I needed to get my pre-shift work done, and that the safe was not balanced as it should be. He looked at me and said "Well it's right, I know that." So instead of saying, "Hey we'll figure it out" or "It's possible I made a mistake (like I do every single day I work, because I don't know how to count to 1,000)", he tried to make me feel inferior and that I had made an error on something that I feel is the primary focus of my professional life. I was a bit miffed, but I got over it really quickly.

Our brief post-lunch rush wrapped itself up and I mentioned that I needed to get my pre-shift work taken care of, again. B. tells me he needs about 5 minutes to take care of something and asked me to cover his position for that 5 minutes. Next thing I know, 2 of the 5 crew members on the floor are going on break at the same time, the store manager has been gone for 20 minutes, the assistant manager was walking into the break room to speak to one of the crew members on break (I saw her!), the store hasn't been recovered from lunch (it's after 2 o'clock now), nothing is stocked, nothing is cleaned, there's no crew to deal with the customers we've got coming in to eat, and I'm standing in the front bellowing for some help, and being ignored. After calling for help like 6 times, I went to the back area of the store where both the manager and assistant manager were at and said this, "Listen I've got 3 crew people in the store and about 20 customers right now. I need help from both of you two five minutes ago. I came in early to help, not to be fucked over with a dirty, unstocked, unstaffed store, now get up front." Yeah, a bit aggressive, I know. But I was really pissed.

After this next little rush period, I told the store manager I needed to get my pre-shift work done. He said he was still busy. Our encounter went like this. "B., you called me in early. As a professional, I leave every shift clean, stocked and staffed. If there are too few people to work, or a rush, I stick around and help take care of it. You however haven't given me a chance to do the pre-shift work I have to do, you haven't even given me an opportunity to count the safe and make sure all the money is in the right places, which you and I both know it is not. You need to get the store cleaned and stocked, and I need an opportunity to get my work done. You're not treating me fairly, and you're making me rethink the wisdom of helping you out by coming in 4 hours early."

His response to my little tirade was, "Well, R. (the assistant manager) had the floor throughout lunch, and she has to clean up. Besides, the store manager's job isn't to stock and clean, that's why you're here. Besides, I'm leaving in 5 minutes."

I was flabbergasted. I respect this guy. I'm in his store to "learn" and be trained on how to be a store manager. For him to break out some straight bullshit like that stunned me. First of all, R. was in the kitchen throughout lunch, and when I asked her for help, that's where she went. That's where she was working throughout her shift. How exactly can she be responsible for the Service area's cleanliness and stock when she was in the Production area all day? Further, if the owner and operations manager can come in and clean, stock, and help with customers how the hell is it not the job of the store manager to do that when it needs to be done? I voiced my opinion to him, perhaps not in those exact words, but similar.

Great, you're the store manager and you've got things to get done. Then schedule people correctly so you have the time to get those things done. Schedule so the post-lunch cleaning and stocking can happen - with two people in the Kitchen, one in Front Counter, one in back-booth of Drive Thru and one person to run, present, cap drinks, and make fries is just not enough. When we have 2/3 of the business of the lunch rush and less than half the staff, with the store very obviously not Clean-as-you-go'd during lunch, it's not enough.

So he stocked what needed stocking (after pissing and moaning about it for a further 15 minutes, instead of just getting the job done), worked through other people to get clean what needed cleaning and then left.

Three hours later, with the assistant manager working in the Production area again, we were just coming out of an hour where we did 87% of the business of the lunch rush with only 6 people (11% labor for the hour!), the assistant manager says, "Ok, Michael, I'm leaving." I said, "Hey listen, can you make sure the kitchen is stocked and clean before you go." She threw a damn hissy-fit about how she was only in the kitchen for an hour and why should she have to clean it, there's crew members there. This time, I was fed up.

I stopped what I was doing and said, "Listen, R. we're busy. My crew members cannot clean right now because they're serving customers. I know you've had a long day, but honestly, I came in early to help you as well as B. and you should show some gratitude. Can you imagine how this day would've been with one less manager? I'm not asking you to take care of everything on your post-shift checklist, which you BY YOUR JOB DESCRIPTION, need to do. I'm asking you to clean and stock one area of the store which you've been in ALL DAY LONG. Now, if you don't think that a manager's job is to make sure the store is clean and stocked for the next shift, then fine. Let's go call P. (the owner/operator) and ask him what he thinks about it."

Here, she interjected with "You're not being fair Michael!" and I finished it with, "Listen I can't force you to do your job, it's on you. In fact, since you don't want to do your job, just go. Get off my floor, get off my time-clock, and go." I wasn't yelling, I was just speaking very pointedly.

At this point, I've got every customer and every crew member stopped dead in their tracks. R. grabbed a towel and started cleaning saying, "See Michael, I'm cleaning, I'll get everything pretty for you!", as sarcastically as she could.

I made direct eye-contact with her and said, "Hey, R. Stop. You need to get off the clock, Right. Now." There was apparently just the right amount of finality in my voice. She stopped what she was doing and left, exactly the moment her scheduled shift ended.

Now, I know I may not have been entirely right. But the thing is, I'm a professional. I'm not there to babysit other adults. I go to work everyday to help make sure my store is as profitable as can be. McDonald's restaurants are profitable because they have the best QSC&V. I ensure Quality by making sure, every day, that I am training and reinforcing training with all the Production crew members - and when I am in the Production area, I follow and demonstrate the correct procedures. I ensure Service by making sure that every day I am training and reinforcing training with all my Service team members, and make sure that I smile directly at all customers that I interact with, use a pleasant and firm tone of voice, and make sure I fix any problems following the correct procedures. Cleanliness is easy - I make sure it's a priority and actually go on travel paths every hour (or close to it). I have little or no control over Value, except making sure people get everything they paid for, their drinks are topped off, they get the right portion size for fries, shakes, ice cream and other Service Produced menu items. If I can balance all of these, and my people, product and equipment, every shift, then I am doing the best possible job of improving profitability of my McDonald's.

I assert again, fiercely, that I am a professional. This means, further, I have high standards for my colleagues. I have no place for people who are not willing to come in and do the MOST they can to ensure QSC&V. I hate slackers, I despise a lack of accountability, and I think I'm pretty much done with my store manager and his attitude of "take, take, take" with no "give". The primary function of a McDonald's manager, if you ask the McDonald's training, is to work through other people. But this also means showing respect for those people you work through, being considerate of the people who get work done for you and, very importantly, offering both Appreciative and Constructive Feedback.

None of these things are happening with my store manager - and honestly I could tolerate that if he'd be willing, at the least, to leave the store stocked and cleaned, or if he did all of the administrative functions of his job accurately, like a professional. Not a day passes that we're out of some critical food or paper product. Not a day passes in my store that we don't have a horribly unbalanced schedule, with 30-40% labor before lunch and 14-15% labor during the mid-shift. The point of this complaint is: B. has an expectation that myself and the other managers be the utmost professionals, and when we do make the slightest error or oversight, he brings a hammer down on us. When he is wrong or makes an error, it just can't be and he points the finger somewhere else. I've spent a lifetime being surrounded by inferior human beings play-acting at being exceptional, but it's still a real emotional and intellectual let-down when I discover someone who I thought was exceptional revealed for what they are.