This is something that happened in the cafe/ bakery where I work.
Background:
This is a small shop, 1 baker, 2 barrista's (coffee makers), 6 general staff (work tills, bus tables, do washing etc), me, the shop owner and the newly hired assistant manager.
My job is quite simply, everything, I had started as general staff but moved on till I bake on the baker's days off, I make coffee's on the barrista's days off, I open up, I close, I do the figures, count the tills at end of day, do inventory, organise staff rota's- Whatever job needs doing, I am the person who does it and although I still have the same job title as the general staff the rest of the staff look up to me and I was the highest ranking there except for the owner - Until she hired an Assistant manager cos she thought I was being overworked (which I was but I didn't mind as the job wasn't too bad). The assistant manager slowly learnt most of the roles that I did but didn't do finances or baking.
Story:
I had just finished my baking for the day and was about to start washing which was a monumental task after baking 20 dozen muffins (a dozen each of 20 varieties) the assistant manager comes into the kitchen looking worried.
I ask her whats wrong and she says that two men have come from the power company (we had one company for electric and gas) to disconnect us for not paying our bills and could I speak to them. This startled me as:
A: I knew we were fully paid up on our bills (the paperwork was in the safe)
B: they were from power company B, not power comany A who we got our power from.
Anyway after trying (unsuccessfully) to phone the owner I end up sitting with these two men asking what's going on. It turns out that the previous tenants (8 months ago) before our shop opened had still not cancelled their power and had 9 months bills owing. After showing them the up to date bills from the safe they still refused to budge and said that they still had to disconnect our power.
I asked to see their paperwork giving them permission to do so and it stated our address but the previous shop's name and a different bill payers name. I showed them our tenancy and when we opened and I contacted the mall staff and got them to bring documentation on when the previous store left (turns out they were evicted for not paying rent).
So after all this evidence (and phoning their boss and explainign the whole thing to them as well) what happens?
Thats right, the two power company men go ahead and disconnect our power!
So I'm stuck with 20 dozen freshly baked muffins that I can't sell, 4 staff who can't work, a boss who won't answer her $%*!ing phone and a cafe thats going to have to close just before the lunch rush!
I end up standing outside the shop as the staff close up explaining to our customers whats happened and why we aren't open at lunchtime (Oh I forgot to mention that out shutters are electrical and so don't close when the powers down) when the shop owner walks up and asks me whats going on.
Needless to say she is even more unhappy with the situation than I am at this point and starts trying to contact the power companies to get the issue sorted. The wonderful people in the shop next door lend us a long extension from their sockets and a lamp so we can see as we clean up and we can turn on the electric shutters to close up.
Then the assistant manager has the nerve to say, in front of the entire staff (and the wonderful people from next dood) that its my fault because I talked to the men instead of asking her to do it as after all, she is the Assistant Manager, and I'm just general staff (Never mind that she came to me for help in the first place!)
So, that was my day, sorry for the long story but I feel a lot better now I've ranted
Apparently we will have power back up by tomorrow. I guess I'll find out in the morning when I try to open up.
Background:
This is a small shop, 1 baker, 2 barrista's (coffee makers), 6 general staff (work tills, bus tables, do washing etc), me, the shop owner and the newly hired assistant manager.
My job is quite simply, everything, I had started as general staff but moved on till I bake on the baker's days off, I make coffee's on the barrista's days off, I open up, I close, I do the figures, count the tills at end of day, do inventory, organise staff rota's- Whatever job needs doing, I am the person who does it and although I still have the same job title as the general staff the rest of the staff look up to me and I was the highest ranking there except for the owner - Until she hired an Assistant manager cos she thought I was being overworked (which I was but I didn't mind as the job wasn't too bad). The assistant manager slowly learnt most of the roles that I did but didn't do finances or baking.
Story:
I had just finished my baking for the day and was about to start washing which was a monumental task after baking 20 dozen muffins (a dozen each of 20 varieties) the assistant manager comes into the kitchen looking worried.
I ask her whats wrong and she says that two men have come from the power company (we had one company for electric and gas) to disconnect us for not paying our bills and could I speak to them. This startled me as:
A: I knew we were fully paid up on our bills (the paperwork was in the safe)
B: they were from power company B, not power comany A who we got our power from.
Anyway after trying (unsuccessfully) to phone the owner I end up sitting with these two men asking what's going on. It turns out that the previous tenants (8 months ago) before our shop opened had still not cancelled their power and had 9 months bills owing. After showing them the up to date bills from the safe they still refused to budge and said that they still had to disconnect our power.
I asked to see their paperwork giving them permission to do so and it stated our address but the previous shop's name and a different bill payers name. I showed them our tenancy and when we opened and I contacted the mall staff and got them to bring documentation on when the previous store left (turns out they were evicted for not paying rent).
So after all this evidence (and phoning their boss and explainign the whole thing to them as well) what happens?
Thats right, the two power company men go ahead and disconnect our power!
So I'm stuck with 20 dozen freshly baked muffins that I can't sell, 4 staff who can't work, a boss who won't answer her $%*!ing phone and a cafe thats going to have to close just before the lunch rush!
I end up standing outside the shop as the staff close up explaining to our customers whats happened and why we aren't open at lunchtime (Oh I forgot to mention that out shutters are electrical and so don't close when the powers down) when the shop owner walks up and asks me whats going on.
Needless to say she is even more unhappy with the situation than I am at this point and starts trying to contact the power companies to get the issue sorted. The wonderful people in the shop next door lend us a long extension from their sockets and a lamp so we can see as we clean up and we can turn on the electric shutters to close up.
Then the assistant manager has the nerve to say, in front of the entire staff (and the wonderful people from next dood) that its my fault because I talked to the men instead of asking her to do it as after all, she is the Assistant Manager, and I'm just general staff (Never mind that she came to me for help in the first place!)
So, that was my day, sorry for the long story but I feel a lot better now I've ranted
Apparently we will have power back up by tomorrow. I guess I'll find out in the morning when I try to open up.
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