# You're Fired!



## left4bread (May 8, 2009)

Haven't been here in a long time. Glad to be back.

Thought I'd start off with a possibly entertaining thread, before starting a bunch of "inane question" threads.

So without further ado...

*story thread*; post 'em if ya got 'em.

I've been fired from three restaurant jobs in 25 years.

Dishwasher job when I was 18. No call, no show. There was teenaged fun to be had.

Cruise line cook. Got caught with an empty flask on a dry boat (well, _everyone_ was doing it...).
 Kicked myself in the ass for a long time for being stupid. It was a good job at the time. Messed up bad.

Saute cook job. Still unsure why. Showed up to work and the owner met me in the parking lot and told me to go home.
 I think he had a friend who needed a job and was just trying make a position for that friend. It really broke my heart.

Didn't cook professionally for a couple years because of it. Gave away all my whites and checks. Overreact much?

Why, yes I do! Well, "did". It was 10 years ago.

So, Cheftalk, share your embarrassing moments, or just brag about how you've never been fired!

I promise my next thread will be a serious kitchen management question.

L4B


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## chefross (May 5, 2010)

Let's see.....40 years worth hhhhhhhhhhhmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm.....The 1st job I was ever canned from was at a German restaurant where I just cooked pancakes all day. I think the Chef just didn't need another guy on the line..

My first professional job after graduation was as Garde Manger for Hyatt. I was way too young, and under sexed and well....... a few call in's and I got canned.

Worked for a Holiday Inn but couldn't get the food cost down to where manglement wanted it so after 4 months.....bye bye......

That's it....all the rest I chose to leave.....


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## chefedb (Apr 3, 2010)

I was fired in 1 place because I would not use the meat the owner told me to use because it was really bad. He told me"" it was his money and his place and to use it"". I told him since it is your money and your place. then You Cook it , and he fired me. The place closed about 3 monthes later.

     Was fired in another place because I took a roast beef. I worked 9 hours OT years ago when I worked by hour and the  guy did not pay me for it.

    I walked into fridge took the rib and in front of him walked out, he told me he was going to call police, and I was fired  I told him to go ahead and I was going to call labor board.


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## thetincook (Jun 14, 2002)

I have more of a laid off story then a fired story. Usually if I got the sense that things were heading to a firing, I self terminated. Dumb, I know...

Just started the AM pantry shift at a brand new restaurant. I had my interview there while they were still putting in the finishing touches to the construction. It's a upscale tapas place. 2 months in, the AM pastry girl is no longer there. A few months later, I show up for my shift, and put a big pot of water on the heat for blanching before I go downstairs to change. Chef stops me and wants to talk to me. "Business is slow yada yada yada, I'll call you if we pick up again." Well damn. I find out my buddy on the PM pantry shift who had got me the job got the axe too. I call the chef periodically after that. Always got voicemail and never a call back. I find out later that the Chef got sacked by the owners about three weeks after my last day.


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## thetincook (Jun 14, 2002)

chefedb said:


> Was fired in another place because I took a roast beef. I worked 9 hours OT years ago when I worked by hour and the guy did not pay me for it.
> 
> I walked into fridge took the rib and in front of him walked out, he told me he was going to call police, and I was fired I told him to go ahead and I was going to call labor board.


LMAO, I worked once at this place that was two paychecks behind. The last time they paid us was out of petty cash. The chef was using his credit card to buy veg. On my last day, I heard from one of the managers that the managing owner was "in Columbia and can't sign checks." Ruhoh. I was closing that night, and decided to loot a little bit. I never heard from the chef about that, but I did get some angry phone calls from him because I took back the recipe book I compiled for the place. Told him I'd give it back when I got paid, and then we could talk about who's f'ing who. Got a call from one of partners wanting to settle the wage claim for 20 cent on the dollar. The guy never showed up to the meeting to deliver the check I found out later that the principle 'investor' was notorious for fleecing investors.


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## foodpump (Oct 10, 2005)

1st one?

Mickey D's.  Honestly.  I was 16 at the time, working maybe 9 hrs a week, was called in for a "bi-yearly consultation" and was immediatley fired.  Funny thing was, so were about 14 other kids, all of us hired at the same time.  Meh.

Second time was about 6 years later, my first job in Switzerland, first day on the job too.  Chef asked me to get him some celery, went into the walk in and stared, no celery.  He freaks, grabs my arm, jams this funny, dirty looking root vegetable in my hand, and tells me to peel it. By the time I grabbed a vegetable peeler, he had already asked me to leave....

Next one wasn't a real firing, just wouldn't pass my 3 mth probation period, a 500 rm hotel in S'pore.  Only white guy in the kitchen, and didn't suck up to the Exec. Chef.  Eejit had his name changed legally on a weekend whim, and I wasn't in "the loop"  to know about it, and addressed him by the only name I knew at our daily Chef's mtg.  Bad form.  Then, the GM goes and steals my entire crew while I'm at a meeting,  I find them chopping fruit for one of his side businesses that had nothing to do with the Hotel, but was wholly owned by the GM..  I told MY staff to go back to their jobs in front of him--bad form. How dare I challenge the GM, a long time friend of the owner?  Then a week later,  I get reamed out at another daily mtg. for a high labour cost. I point out that although my crew had nothing to do with the French restauarant, somehow, by a previous deal, I had to supply two staff every day to supplement the French rest. crew of 9.  Stonewall faces from the Exec and his cronnies  To make matters worse, I pulled out the reservation book, and shoved it under the Chef's nose, and showed him that he had more staff than customers for the past 2 mths. 

Sigh...  I guess I was just a Kwai-lo bull in a China shop, didn't have enough sense to keep my mouth shut when I should.

I think that was my last firing.


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## fixxxer (Jun 3, 2011)

In a move I would _never_ consider trying ever again, I left a sous job at a mom & pop place pretty spectacuarly several years ago. I called the owner (who liked to call himself the executive chef) into the kitchen to see my garde manger vomiting, just so he wouldn't have any reason to question why I had sent the man home. I made the comment "well, there's no way we can keep him here, being sick like that." The owner started screaming at the top of his lungs about how he knew that, why was I constantly questioning him like this in front of the rest of the staff and the like. I stood staring at him, flabbergasted, but when he actually took a meancing step toward me, I slapped him lightly across the face with a raw bone-in ribeye steak I'd just taken out of the marinade. Everything got real still and quiet and after a moment, I took off my apron and left. That place is still open and doing great business, but I've heard that the man's wife took it away from him in the divorce.


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## sinnathome (Jun 6, 2011)

The first time i got fired i was working in this mom and pops diner flipping eggs and burgers. To date i still miss cooking short order. Anyway i was 16 and still in hardcore party mode. Went out after work one night and ended up scoring some shrooms. I was use to a six hour trip........ well lets just say it lasted way to long. My boss had no idea what i was f'ed up on but she know there was something wrong. Bye!

The second and only other time in my 16 years as a cook of any kind was at an Olive Garden. My roommate called me in drunk and in a closet. This might have been true at the the time of him calling me in but i did show up for work. It was too late. Bye!


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## leeniek (Aug 21, 2009)

First time I got fired I was working two jobs to pay for college.  I worked at Bi-Way (long out of business discount retail chain) and it was fine until the new manager came into the picture.  He was a pervert and I didn't feel comfortable working with him so I told the assistant manager and it was fine for a while.  I refused a few too many call-in shifts with the manager so ... bye bye!! 

And I think I got fired because I quit...  The new job hasn't been working out well for me.. far too much stress... I get almost panic attacks and I have never had that anywhere else so it was time for me to say thanks but no thanks.  It's only been a month so I don't owe them anything but out of courtesy I emailed them and let them know that it wasn't working out for me and that I would open yesterday and work out my shifts this week as scheduled.  I was given a curt email back saying not to bother coming in as I'm not needed anyway and to drop off my key at 8am.  I didn't think much of having the key past 8am so I walked the dog and didn't I come home to a nasty email telling me that I was late and the key needed to be there at 8am.  I didn't feel  like getting reamed out over a stinking key so I sent it over in a cab.


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## left4bread (May 8, 2009)

Well, I can only hope that you wrapped the key in fresh dog "walkings" before returning it.


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## leeniek (Aug 21, 2009)

left4bread said:


> Well, I can only hope that you wrapped the key in fresh dog "walkings" before returning it.


LMAO @ that one. No, I was nice and put it into an envelope and sent it over... at least one of us can be the better person here...


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## prairiechef (May 22, 2010)

The first and only time I ever got fired, I was working FOH in a family owned Italian Bistro.

We had a smoking busy night one night... crazy busy.

The potwasher begged off work early cuz he "had something to do", so Mama (yeah, that's what everyone called her) let him go home at about 5 PM. I was sick, but stuck it out, as there was no other option for the floor.

Myself and my supervisor worked our tails off all night long. Unbeknownst to us, Mama let all the chafers, plates, glassware etc pile up all night long.

At midnight when we finally shut the doors (an hour after scheduled closing) Mama called my supervisor downstairs and told him that I had to stay and do dishes.

When he told me, I looked at him and said "dude... I'm sick. I worked sick. I have school in the morning, and I feel like I'm dying, i can't spend the next four hours catching up on pots. I have to leave"

The next day she saw me outside, walked up to me and said "we don'a need you any more" to which I replied "sounds good to me".


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## rgm2 (May 28, 2011)

I have only been fired one time, and to this day I have no idea why. I was 16 and working at a Holiday Market(grocery store) and my boss called me into his office, that I have never seen before and told me I was not needed at work anymore. It was fine because my mom was trying to get me to quit to work in the family burger joint. I really did not want to do it at the time but I grew to love it. Granted I never got a paycheck after being let go until I moved across the country at 18 to start my own life.


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