Clint
I was telling Mom about the Clint story otherwise known as the worst day ever at the restaurant. I thought I'd told her before. Brett was texting me today about how his GM was having anxiety attacks all the time and it reminded me of the Clint situation. How he was ok when he was promoted from dining room manager to GM and how gradually he fell apart. He started doing coke then came the pills. He would chug 4 or 5 red bulls at a time. He was such a nice person Steven and I waited too long to tell the regionals about it. We kept quiet because we were rooting for him to get better and then it was too late.
He had started to not shave,show up late, and leave his work shirt hanging in the office on a hanger. He work come in,grab his apron, grab a few red bulls, and declare that he was on expo again. He had stopped working in the dining room. He'd actually have to look respectable to do that. We still felt sorry for him. We knew the job demands were too much for him to handle and were running him into the ground. It wasn't his fault. He was working 60 hours a week and getting yelled at all the time by the regionals. Their unrealistic goals and all.
It was a Saturday afternoon and I remember it vividly still. Sparks was bartending, I had opened and Steven and Josh were in the kitchen. Tension was already all over the restaurant because of Melissa a server accusing Sam another server of stealing her purse. I can't remember those exact details. Clint was due in at 3. We had just cut half the staff mainly the cooks because that's what we did there to save money and run labor. I think it was about 3:30 when Clint finally rolled in. He was looking particularly rough that afternoon. It was getting to the point where I was afraid of the mental state he was in when he walked in the door.
He walked right up to me and said hey can I talk to you in the office. I said ok. When we got in the office he shut the door and said I had a really bad night. I didn't get a lot of sleep and I'm really depressed. He looked terrified. Then he told me he wanted to hurt himself. I said ok hang on let me get Steven. It was too much for me to handle. And I was kind of mad at him bevause he knew my dad had committed suicide. Why was he saying this to me?
I told Steven what he said and he grabbed his car keys and said come on let's get you out of here. They took off. The 2 people in charge of the whole damn restaurant gone on a Saturday afternoon. Josh was pissed. What were we suppose to do? We assumed Steven took him to the ER. Then of course we get slammed with no cooks. Thank god Sparks who was bartending and was a former kitchen manager and knew how to cook. I threw a server behind the bar and it was me,Sparks and Josh in the kitchen. Mind you I could really only help with cold items and salads and desserts.
The tickets came flying in,we couldn't keep up,it was a nightmare. I remember crying in a bucket of peel and eat shrimp I was fixing. Literally tears running down my check and into the shrimp. I was worried about Clint,thinking about my Dad and being upset at how busy we were at the worst time. We weren't busy that's why we sent hourly cooks home. It was awful.
I managed to go in the office and call one of the regionals to explain what had happened. I think his response was really,keep us posted. Oh I'm sorry your general manager just told me he wanted to hurt himself in the office and you don't feel the need to do anything about it. Shortly after my phone call Steven returned with Clint. He had just taking him for a drive to calm him done. I freaked out. He needed to be at the ER not at work. I still felt sorry for him. I told Steven if Clint was working I was leaving. He needed help. Steven said he was sending Clint home but needed me to pull it together.
I was a mess. I went home to clean myself up from crying,fixed my hair and make up and drove back to work. The plan was for Clint to leave right when I got there. As I pulled up I saw police sirens. I thought they were there for Clint. Nope. They were there to arrest Sam the server because they had security footage of some sort and proof she stole Melissa's purse. They asked who was in charge of course it was me since Clint had just left. Are you kidding me. She was in the middle of waiting on 4 tables and the cops handcuffed her right there in the restuarant. She started balling telling me how sorry she was. I transferred all her tables and watched her get put in the backseat of the cop car.
I often wonder what my health and future would have been like if I had just walked out and quit that day. If only I had kept a journal eveyday I worked there. Clint had to sign papers shortly after that incident stating he would go to therapy or else be asked to resign. He tried therapy for awhile and then ended up deciding he probably didn't need the pills,coke and 10 red bulls a day if he worked a job that didn't drain the life out of him.
He had started to not shave,show up late, and leave his work shirt hanging in the office on a hanger. He work come in,grab his apron, grab a few red bulls, and declare that he was on expo again. He had stopped working in the dining room. He'd actually have to look respectable to do that. We still felt sorry for him. We knew the job demands were too much for him to handle and were running him into the ground. It wasn't his fault. He was working 60 hours a week and getting yelled at all the time by the regionals. Their unrealistic goals and all.
It was a Saturday afternoon and I remember it vividly still. Sparks was bartending, I had opened and Steven and Josh were in the kitchen. Tension was already all over the restaurant because of Melissa a server accusing Sam another server of stealing her purse. I can't remember those exact details. Clint was due in at 3. We had just cut half the staff mainly the cooks because that's what we did there to save money and run labor. I think it was about 3:30 when Clint finally rolled in. He was looking particularly rough that afternoon. It was getting to the point where I was afraid of the mental state he was in when he walked in the door.
He walked right up to me and said hey can I talk to you in the office. I said ok. When we got in the office he shut the door and said I had a really bad night. I didn't get a lot of sleep and I'm really depressed. He looked terrified. Then he told me he wanted to hurt himself. I said ok hang on let me get Steven. It was too much for me to handle. And I was kind of mad at him bevause he knew my dad had committed suicide. Why was he saying this to me?
I told Steven what he said and he grabbed his car keys and said come on let's get you out of here. They took off. The 2 people in charge of the whole damn restaurant gone on a Saturday afternoon. Josh was pissed. What were we suppose to do? We assumed Steven took him to the ER. Then of course we get slammed with no cooks. Thank god Sparks who was bartending and was a former kitchen manager and knew how to cook. I threw a server behind the bar and it was me,Sparks and Josh in the kitchen. Mind you I could really only help with cold items and salads and desserts.
The tickets came flying in,we couldn't keep up,it was a nightmare. I remember crying in a bucket of peel and eat shrimp I was fixing. Literally tears running down my check and into the shrimp. I was worried about Clint,thinking about my Dad and being upset at how busy we were at the worst time. We weren't busy that's why we sent hourly cooks home. It was awful.
I managed to go in the office and call one of the regionals to explain what had happened. I think his response was really,keep us posted. Oh I'm sorry your general manager just told me he wanted to hurt himself in the office and you don't feel the need to do anything about it. Shortly after my phone call Steven returned with Clint. He had just taking him for a drive to calm him done. I freaked out. He needed to be at the ER not at work. I still felt sorry for him. I told Steven if Clint was working I was leaving. He needed help. Steven said he was sending Clint home but needed me to pull it together.
I was a mess. I went home to clean myself up from crying,fixed my hair and make up and drove back to work. The plan was for Clint to leave right when I got there. As I pulled up I saw police sirens. I thought they were there for Clint. Nope. They were there to arrest Sam the server because they had security footage of some sort and proof she stole Melissa's purse. They asked who was in charge of course it was me since Clint had just left. Are you kidding me. She was in the middle of waiting on 4 tables and the cops handcuffed her right there in the restuarant. She started balling telling me how sorry she was. I transferred all her tables and watched her get put in the backseat of the cop car.
I often wonder what my health and future would have been like if I had just walked out and quit that day. If only I had kept a journal eveyday I worked there. Clint had to sign papers shortly after that incident stating he would go to therapy or else be asked to resign. He tried therapy for awhile and then ended up deciding he probably didn't need the pills,coke and 10 red bulls a day if he worked a job that didn't drain the life out of him.
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