How Dare I be sick! (Subway Edition)

[TheTigress]

This story happened yesterday. I'm recovering from a cold and the worst part of it happened to also be yesterday, the day I had to open the store and be there until 2:30.

I was very weak and mentally clouded all shift long and my voice sounded like a 70 year-old chain smoker. (no offense to any 70 year-old chain smokers out there) It was completely obvious from my voice alone that I was sick, yet I am a trooper who did the best I could. I won't miss work unless I'm throwing up. Plus, I was the only one who could even open that day so I pretty much had no choice regardless.

None of the customers throughout the day gave me any problems about me being sick or accusing me of having "attitude" until Mr. Douchebag showed up.

Characters:
Me: Hi
Mr. Douchebag: MDB

MDB walks in and I get up from my stool surrounded by my tissues in the back room to help him. I ask him in my chain smoker cold voice "what can I get for you?" (at this point it should be apparent to him that I'M SICK)

MDB ends up wanting 3 footlongs and a kids sandwich all on the same bread. He says he wants a "cheese steak" for the first one, and knowing how many people DON'T read our menu boards I pointed out that our PHILLY cheese steak is a 10 dollar sandwich. (just to let him know now to avoid a meltdown at the register)

MDB: You gotta be kidding me! What about the other steak sandwich?

Me: We only have the Philly cheese steak. The other one was discontinued last year.

MDB: *roll eyes* Ok then I will have a meatball.

(at this point I had no idea we were nearly out of meatballs. I open the meatball container assuming we had enough and low and behold there is only enough for a 6 inch in there. It would take almost 10 minutes for a new batch to be ready.)

Me: (after obviously fishing around for meatballs) We only have enough for a 6 inch.

MDB: This is rediculous. *said to himself* (I didn't say anything and just ignored it and waited for him to pick a different sandwich.) Ok give me a cold cut.

(I get out the breads for the sandwiches)

MDB: I want a different bread for that one, that one's all broken.

Me: (says nothing and just silently switches out the bread)

After I get all the meats and cheese on the sandwiches I ask if any of them are going to be toasted.

MDB: Yes. (wow, really specific there, buddy!)

Me: Which ones?

MDB: All of them. (said in a tone as if I was stupid and should have known)

I throw the first two in the toaster as I am unable to fit all of them at once. As they are toasting I'm sort of drooped over the toaster due to my sickness. My co worker asks me if they are all toasted (she had a sandwich that needed to go in next) and I just nodded my head yes. Might as well use other forms of communication if my voice is barely there, right?

Apparently all of this was leading up for Mr. Douchebag to lose his shit. He didn't like how exhausted I looked at the toaster while his sandwiches were toasting. I guess he would rather of had me prancing around the sandwich line farting rainbows out of my butthole.

As soon as the first batch was out of the toaster and I put the second batch plus co worker's sandwich in, I was on my way to finish batch 1.

Me: Mayo or mustard on all of these?

MDB: Yes.

(I put mayo and mustard on all of them. Low and behold something "wasn't done right"!)

MBD: Spread it out more on that one. (if you are that picky, go make your own fucking sandwich)

I didn't say anything and I was getting a knife to spead his majesty's mayo/mustard and then all of a sudden he just blows up and loses it.

MDB: You know if you really don't want to be here then you shouldn't be making people's food!

(Ok, that's it)

Me: I'm actually sick right now!

MDB: Then you shouldn't even be here!

(Yes, let me just use my magical non existant paid sick leave and or not open the store!) (At this point I was pissed. He was essentially kicking me while I was already down and had the "how dare you be sick!" attitude and I was going to have none of it.)

Me: I'm the only one that can open the store today and I can't NOT open the store!

MDB: *GARBLE BARBLE GARBLE GRUMBLE*

Me: (yes, my brain to mouth filter dissapeared at this point) How about I get right on that cure for the common cold as soon as I get home.

Right after I said that he angrily stormed out of the store and left his unproperly spreaded sauced sandwiches on the line. Then outside he whipped out his cell and was having an epic bitching session to whoever was on the other end (wife, kid, dog, whoever, I don't care)

Well he was right in that I didn't want to be there, but that was because I was weak and hoarse with sickness, jackass! How dare I get an illness in November!

After I got home I was in a big "humanity is disgusting and a disease" mode for a while. People like him are why I want to leave my house less and less.

[Caffienated_Caramel]

Oh damn that stinks to high hell. *offers chicken noodle soup*

[hinakiba777]

I yes, the imaginary paid sick days. I have so many of those stocked up. I could get imaginary paid for a whole year.

I don't like when customers give you attitude about being at work sick. You need to get paid, and you have to work to do it. It's not like you were coughing on his precious toasted sub.

[Legal Eagle]

Can i just point out that whilst ill with a cold you were working with food!

Did yourself and your manager really beleive this was a safe and healthy thing to do? If you were working in a computer store or on the phones or any number of other jobs it wouldn't matter but when you are ill, especailly with something so easily transmittable you DO NOT WORK WITH FOOD.

[Calud]

Yeah, we all know that. But unless you work somewhere with a little bit of logic, like say anywhere but america, you wouldn't be working at all.

I'm lucky I'm in France. I can be sick for two weeks, as long as the doctor oks it nobody has the legal right to complain at all.

[NateTheChops]

Can i just point out that whilst ill with a cold you were working with food!

As long as the OP was wearing gloves and not actually dripping on anything it should have been fine. And handwashing. That's a big one.

I do hate it when customers run their mouths. You know, we're human too, we get sick we slow down. And we do our best to serve you while being This is my first winter at K-mart and I dread the thought of that awful mid-winter sore throat that I know I can never avoid, which means I'll have to basically screech into the phone for customer assistance.

[jackfaire]

Unfortunately in most states here you are an at will employee and can and will be fired for not showing up to work. You can be let go no matter how legitimate your reason not showing up is and unemployment when you make less money is not as helpful.

For me if I am out of work even being on unemployment isn't helpful because I lose 600 a month of what I was making and don't get enough to even pay my rent. I am lucky I work for a company that understands being sick.

Plus I am sorry yes I know some people their dream job is working at Subway but not everyone is working there cuz they love it dude if you want them to be smiley and farting rainbows then pay them more. OOoooo can we say tip jar.

[Indigo_X]

Awwwwww. I'm sorry you had to go through that. Having been through a similar situation very recently, I know what it's like.

What's wrong with people? Don't they realize that cashiers/sammich artists/phone slaves/etc. are just as human as they are? Oiiiii.

[LillFilly]

It's a damned shame that you're pretty much required to go to work even when you're sick to make ends meet or because they're asshats about their policies. But on the other side I would be grossed-out by someone who's obviously sick working with my food. It might be different if they were products that got cooked to kill germs, but bread and cold cuts; no. And you can spread germs even if you're not 'dripping' on the products. It's a catch-22.

[Broomjockey]

But unless you work somewhere with a little bit of logic, like say anywhere but america, you wouldn't be working at all.

Not specifically singling this post out, as there's more going on, but still. There's a lot of Fratching going on. We all know ideally you shouldn't be working while ill, but we all know reality intrudes, so can we drop that tangent as well?

[Astrokitty]

Many hugs to you. What an idiot that guy was! *offers a hot toddy*

As an aside, I get sinus infections a lot. I've had someone yell that I was going to "kill him with my flu" when I wasn't even contagious.

PS What is this "sick leave" you speak of? (Yeah, I get 8 hours per year lol)

[TheTigress]

Can i just point out that whilst ill with a cold you were working with food!

Did yourself and your manager really beleive this was a safe and healthy thing to do? If you were working in a computer store or on the phones or any number of other jobs it wouldn't matter but when you are ill, especailly with something so easily transmittable you DO NOT WORK WITH FOOD.

Like I said I was the only one who could open the store that day. That's the manager's only day off and also the day she has her kids. Plus, all of our hours are being cut and I actually kind of need the money right now.

Until my dead end job gives us paid sick leave then it looks like I will be showing up when I have a cold.

Thank you for the well wishes, everyone. My cold is nearly gone now but I can still feel it slightly in my head. At least after the "sick at work" episode my schedule rewarded me with 3 days off in a row to recover.

[slavetotheman]

Me: (after obviously fishing around for meatballs) We only have enough for a 6 inch.

MDB: This is rediculous. *said to himself* (I didn't say anything and just ignored it and waited for him to pick a different sandwich.)

Well, honestly, if I walk into a Subway in the morning/middle of the day (since you left at 2:30 I'm presuming this was before or during lunchtime), and there aren't enough meatballs to make a footlong... yeah. It is ridiculous. Not your fault, mind you, but a ridiculous situation nonetheless.

After I get all the meats and cheese on the sandwiches I ask if any of them are going to be toasted.

MDB: Yes. (wow, really specific there, buddy!)

<pedant> Well, technically speaking, if you asked, "are any of these going to be toasted?" you've posed a yes-or-no question. </pedant> It's not unusual for customers to wait for the follow-up question because I've on more than one occasion had to repeat myself when I jumped the gun, attempting to give the deli worker/Sandwich Artist the information they need before they ask it. Why bother?

Me: Which ones?

MDB: All of them. (said in a tone as if I was stupid and should have known)

Note: I'm not arguing the guy isn't a douche. Obviously he is.

People like him are why I want to leave my house less and less.

Ooh, does that mean more time spent on CS telling us stories?

[cinema guy]

Well, honestly, if I walk into a Subway in the morning/middle of the day (since you left at 2:30 I'm presuming this was before or during lunchtime), and there aren't enough meatballs to make a footlong... yeah. It is ridiculous. Not your fault, mind you, but a ridiculous situation nonetheless.

We would get this at the cinema with hotdogs all the time. This is a the fault of stupid co-workers who take the last (or almost the last) item that needs to be heated and doesn't have the sense to put more on to heat.

It used to drive me nuts.

[blas]

Um, I've been to a Subway that was out of bread. That's ridiculous.