# Best/Worst Excuse For Calling Out



## chefmannydlm (Jun 22, 2013)

I was just wondering what some of the best/worst excuses you have received from your cooks when they call out. In my current job I had a server tell us she had to leave because her "time of the month" had started early and she was unprepared. This was something non of the management was really willing to verify.


----------



## grande (May 14, 2014)

Sent a guy home once for showing up drunk: "Chef! I'm ready for SERVICE! WOOOOOOOI!"


----------



## alaminute (Aug 22, 2013)

You can get sent home for that?!!


----------



## grande (May 14, 2014)

Corporate, man. Sticklers.


----------



## redbeerd cantu (Aug 7, 2013)

Let me tell you a secret:

I've worked in corporate offices.

I've worked warehouse labor.

I've telemarketed.

If you EVER want to call in and have absolutely ZERO problems, call in and say, verbatim, "I can't come in, I have diarrhea."

No one will dare touch that and your absence will be excused.

No one will ever bother you about it.


----------



## spoiledbroth (Sep 25, 2014)

^ lol ya thats my go to excuse. Explosive.


----------



## kuan (Jun 11, 2001)

alaminute said:


> You can get sent home for that?!!


LOL! /img/vbsmilies/smilies/biggrin.gif


----------



## pete (Oct 7, 2001)

Had a cook call off "sick" one day.  When I told one of the owners that I was 1 short because so-and-so called in sick, he was very surprised as he a bumped into her at about 3am at the bars!!


----------



## chefmannydlm (Jun 22, 2013)

So would you rather someone call in the next day or show up hung over?


----------



## chrisbristol (Feb 16, 2014)

I actually had to call in sick today.  The real reason is because I suffer from depression and sometimes need a few days of but I said I had an ear infection.


----------



## spoiledbroth (Sep 25, 2014)

Its generally not advised to isolate yourself when in the midst of a depressive episode. In my experience. Be well chris.


----------



## spoiledbroth (Sep 25, 2014)

I suffered a bout of epididymitis and basically hurt to walk or sit or stand or lay down. Was an interesting phone conversation. Had to take a week off. Brutal.


----------



## lagom (Sep 5, 2012)

ChefMannyDLM said:


> So would you rather someone call in the next day or show up hung over?


If the're not mature enough to keep from posioning their selves to the point of not being able to meet their obligations then the're not dependable. They put an unneccessary burden on their co workers and by extenssion the customers. I would, and have fired people for this.

On the flip side, if you are sick please do stay home and get better, and yes my employees all have paid sick days. Also if you need to stay at home with a sick child then by all means do so, I and your co workers understand.


----------



## lagom (Sep 5, 2012)

ChefMannyDLM said:


> I was just wondering what some of the best/worst excuses you have received from your cooks when they call out. In my current job I had a server tell us she had to leave because her "time of the month" had started early and she was unprepared. This was something non of the management was really willing to verify.
> [/quote
> 
> As a husband and father of 4 daughters I would say your management is very wise.


----------



## pete (Oct 7, 2001)

While I would rather they be responsible and know that when you have a 9am start time you don't stay out until 4am.  That being said, I say, "Get your butt in here hungover or not."  I did it many times-I couldn't learn my lesson, but I always showed up for work and got the job done no matter how bad I felt.  Sure, the chef would ride me, but that was just because I worked for some sadistic chefs, but he could never complain that I didn't get the job done.  I would usually try to station myself in front of the flat top during prep and sweat it out.  Between that, and lots of water, I would usually be feeling, if not great, at least not like something the cat puked up any longer.  But no matter what, no matter how badly I hurt myself the night before, I never called off and let down the chef and the team.  So I say, yes, if you are hung over you need to come in.


----------



## flipflopgirl (Jun 27, 2012)

Been on both sides of the want to call in because of epic hangover story.
As with @Pete I showed up ON TIME and ready to fulfill the obligations owed to both boss and team.
Didn't have a flat top to stand in front of but would drive in with the car heater on full blast.
That and lots of fluids and for some reason carbs got me thru my shift.
Hangover is not a good reason to call off IMO.

mimi


----------



## just jim (Oct 18, 2007)

Had a dishwasher call in because he couldn't find his shoes.

Told him the day shift disher would loan him his shoes, so come on in.

He showed up, with orange Converse on.

"I thought you couldn't find your shoes?"

"Oh, these are different ones."

I always pictured him sitting around with his friends before work, not wanting to come in, and his buddies saying "they can't make you work without shoes, tell them you have no shoes."

Same place, different guy, called in because he didn't have a clean dish shirt.

Told him to come in, the day guy would let him borrow his shirt.

To his credit, he showed up and wore someone else's stinky shirt all shift.


----------



## fablesable (Oct 11, 2014)

@Pete and @flipflopgirl Right there with you! I have put myself through some gruelling experiences in the kitchen due to having a hard time saying no to going home early and cutting the good times short. I always dragged my sorry butt outta bed to get to work with time to spare just so that the chef can raze my arse for being an idiot and laugh at me and then make my day hell by keeping me very busy!! I had some awesome chefs look out for me though so they did make sure I ate a hearty meal and drank tons of water or gatorade to get me through....lol

That being said.....the excuse list so far with the OP saying about the girl pulling the "time of month" thing and the hangover tells me we are getting really soft on our youngins. For the lovely lady server who had to go home for that time of month I would have said for her to take an hour....drive home, get prepared and then get back to work. I have sympathy as a woman.....but I know when to draw the line for the excuses. (of course I do take it on a case by case basis)

The hangover thing I would tell them to get their butts in anyway ;-)

What @ChrisBristol said as to having to call in sick.....I have two of my employees that have illnesses that have to be monitored and when need be they know that I support their decision to call it a day if they are feeling not up to snuff. They are hard workers and incredibly talented so I do not want them to wear themselves out before they are really able to shine in this industry. Also in my kitchen the rule is if someone has a cold or flu I send them home immediately. I do not want the rest of the crew nor patrons getting sick so I pay for sick days.


----------



## chefross (May 5, 2010)

As we all know employees will call out.

When I was growing in the industry at the time, there simply was no reasons, only excuses.

The Chef made you understand that calling out was totally unacceptable and that death was the only possible exclusion.

If you were hung-over, it was of your own doing so, suck it up buttercup.

Time of the month was NOT a reason, as was a cold.

Of course now-a-days having a cold while in the kitchen working is commonplace, unless you are sneezing and coughing.

And, of course, if you didn't feel like working that day and called in....later in the afternoon Chef would call to see how you were feeling.

If there was no answer, you'd better be prepared to explain why.

This mindset has stuck with me for more than 40 years of my career. I do not understand the mindset of some young people.


----------



## chef hanz (Jun 2, 2014)

In my kitchen the only way off is to find there own replacement of equal job title or get there asses in. I could care less about hang overs or tired or the sniffles. I've driven 20 miles to pick people up for the I have no ride excuse.


----------



## redbeerd cantu (Aug 7, 2013)

SpoiledBroth said:


> I suffered a bout of epididymitis and basically hurt to walk or sit or stand or lay down. Was an interesting phone conversation. Had to take a week off. Brutal.


Ohhhhhhhhhh!!!

Sorry you had to go through that.

Oof!


----------



## Apprentichef (Oct 21, 2010)

I called in once because I sliced the tip of my pinkie off from mid nail down on a 45 degree angle.

...I think I was justified.


----------



## chef hanz (Jun 2, 2014)

Screenshot_2014-12-15-10-13-10.png




__
chef hanz


__
Dec 15, 2014


----------



## Apprentichef (Oct 21, 2010)

OMFG I WANT THAT


----------



## chrisbristol (Feb 16, 2014)

Fablesable that is great that you have that in place.  It is a  real problem for me after 2 months I tend to get burned out and I get very depressed. It is something I may have to discuss with my employer and future employers. I am on medication and I am getting a support worker in the new year so hopefully that will help.


----------



## kostendorf (Mar 15, 2012)

7 months sick days for chemo.  i thought "no Problem do the chemo take a couple days off and them come back to work before my nexts session"  ya no!  could not taste or smell Food it would make me sick.  but all is good now.

Chef hanz great  f"n shirt


----------



## chefross (May 5, 2010)

Apprentichef said:


> I called in once because I sliced the tip of my pinkie off from mid nail down on a 45 degree angle.
> 
> ...I think I was justified.


When I did that, I was slicing cooked lobster and lobbed off the tip of my finger. I calmly picked up my finger tip and placed it in ice water and walked into the food production manager's office and showed him what I'd done. After the hospital visit to get the finger cleaned stitched and bandaged, I went back to work and finished my shift.


----------



## cheftux (Oct 12, 2011)

Chefross said:


> When I did that, I was slicing cooked lobster and lobbed off the tip of my finger. I calmly picked up my finger tip and placed it in ice water and walked into the food production manager's office and showed him what I'd done. After the hospital visit to get the finger cleaned stitched and bandaged, I went back to work and finished my shift.


i once cut the tip of my thumb off while working at a ski resort, rode down the mountain on my board to go to the ER. got bandaged up, came into work the next day.

cut my thumb while slicing green onions, first thing on my Chef put on my prep list for that day was to break down a whole case of green onions


----------



## allanmcpherson (Apr 5, 2007)

Yeah, I put a trusting needle through two of my fingers (don't ask), went to the ER, got two hours sleep and worked 11 hours following. I am still "proud" of myself for that, but I was Chef. If one of my cooks tried to pull that, no way, they would be going home for rest.


----------



## spoiledbroth (Sep 25, 2014)

I got pulled through a meat slicer on a fairly thick setting, 3 or 4 I think. Cutting onions. It was when I was too green to know better.  Blood on the ceiling. They gave me the cauterizing powder and put me back to work. The powder was probably more painful than being cut


----------



## alaminute (Aug 22, 2013)

Nice


----------



## fablesable (Oct 11, 2014)

@ChrisBristol I have family that are manic depressive and friends that have disguised illnesses that you cannot see on the surface. Looking normal does not equate to being fine and healthy anymore so with that knowledge and knowing how difficult it is to find understanding in a work atmosphere, I wish to help the great people that I work with as they help me. Stress is an insidious monster to those suffering from depression or otherwise. You hang in there and enlist that support worker to help you find employers like myself that will understand your condition and support you as you support them as a hard worker. For myself, its not the quantity of work that I get from my employees that suffer as much as it is the quality. They bring quality to the table everyday they are at work and that is all I ask. /img/vbsmilies/smilies/wink.gif


----------



## chrisbristol (Feb 16, 2014)

Thank you.

I do work very hard in the kitchen. Some people may wonder why I work in an environment like a kitchen if I suffer from depression but it is the only thing I find interesting and any other job would probably make my depression worse if I was bored.  It can be hard at times with the more abrupt chefs and the demands of the job but I am getting there.


----------



## westbigballin (Jun 3, 2014)

One of the cooks I work with calls me probably twice a month to take his shift b/c he has to call in.

Most recent excuse was the flu, when I've worked while very ill and lethargic with a crippling cough and barely ate over a stretch of ~10 days (obviously I made sure not to cough/sneeze into food and washed my hands more than I already do)

One time he had an excuse that he was going out of town with his dad for a concert and should have been back in time for his shift but his car broke down and he missed the next 3 shifts

Another time is that he had to go say goodbye to a family friend who was not expected to make it through the night. She's still alive and out of the hospital a few months ago after that...

Oh and can't forget the numerous times his dad has been sick or out of contact and he's had to leave work early for it.

Sure most of his reasons are legit, but it's really pissing off everyone else.

I open on weekends so I'm pretty much always hungover. Bacon and water does the trick for me.

I once came into work not hungover for the first time in a few months and my performance was pretty bad that day. GM and Exec Chef mandated that I'm no longer allowed to come to work not-hungover.


----------



## cheflayne (Aug 21, 2004)

ChrisBristol said:


> I do work very hard in the kitchen.


Good atcha! There is always room for people that do. It is an admirable quality that I definitely look when interviewing potential employees.


ChrisBristol said:


> Some people may wonder why I work in an environment like a kitchen if I suffer from depression but it is the only thing I find interesting and any other job would probably make my depression worse if I was bored. It can be hard at times with the more abrupt chefs and the demands of the job but I am getting there.


One of the reasons that I am still in this industry after all these years is the fact that it is never boring. Stay focused and keep plugging away. Don't let abrupt chefs and the demands of the industry keep you from pursuing what it is that interests you.

At times those things get to us all, but just remember that this too shall pass. This profession can be very rewarding to those willing to work hard.


----------

