Minimum wage is crap. There. I said it. We can all stop pretending it's not. If you've never worked for minimum wage, consider yourself impossibly lucky. Those of you who have will totally get what this reddit user meant when they asked:
Minimum wage workers, what is something that is against the rules for customers to do but you aren't paid enough to actually care?
We all want to think that work ethic just is what it is, but I promise you when you make next-to-nothing it's not enough money for you to chase down a poop-covered man to try and hold him until store security gets there. Yeah, that was personal experience. Nope, I didn't even consider giving chase. Here are some of the best responses - some may have been edited for content or clarity.
Do They Really Pay You So Much?
Giphy
I worked at a hardware store in the garden center making close to minimum wage. We often loaded heavy bags of mulch and dirt for customers in their trucks beds and what not.
We were told that we were not allowed to take tips from customers.
So being the good boy that I was, I turned down a couple tips until one day I loaded up a full customer pickup bed and he handed me a $20.
I told him I can't take that, and he looked me dead the eye and said, "Do they really pay you so much you don't need it?"
I stopped being an idiot that day. Why the f*** I let someone pay me so little and tell me I'm not allowed to make more and I listened is just embarrassing now.
Just Clean Up After Yourselves
Giphy
Used to work at a movie theater. No one cares if you bring your own snacks, although it's super aggravating if you leave your snack garbage in the theater instead of taking it out with you. We usually have an hour window where all the theaters are getting out. We tend to have about 10 min per theater to clean on a busy day. Leaving your garbage in your seats makes everything slower. It's not hard to carry it down to the can.
Bathroom Privileges
Giphy
Using the bathroom if you aren't actually a customer. We are the only place open at 3 in the morning. I'm not gonna tell people to go find somewhere else.
Price Check
Giphy
If the item doesn't have a price I let the customer just name it if they're nice. We're suppose to have someone check the price but that usually takes a long ass time as everyone's busy, I save that for as$holes.
Me: "Do you remember how much this was?"
(Situation A)
Customer: "I think it was $x.xx"
Me: "Sounds right." manual price entry
(Situation B)
Customer: "No, I don't, sorry"
Me: "Well, today only it's on sale for 99 cents" manual price entry
(Situation C)
Customer: "Of course not, that's not my responsibility this store is so horrible I don't know why I keep coming here you're all worthless I probably wouldn't be such an ahole if mommy and daddy had told me they'd loved me more I don't have time for this don't you know who I am"
Me: pages "Price Check"
- JayEster
Ketchup
Years back I worked at a local chain restaurant that had a drive-through. One of the owners would occasionally come through and reiterate that we were to only give one ketchup packet out per order of fries at the drive-through. Our fry orders were huge, and one packet was nowhere near enough, so as soon as he was gone, we'd go back to throwing handfuls of ketchup packets into the bags.
Need A Penny, Take A Penny
Giphy
I'd carry coins on me when I worked at a fast food joint so if anyone came up to less than a dollar short, I'd cover it for them. I'd feel especially bad declining them if they were with a girlfriend or family or something. I know what it's like to come up short at a fast food place.
Not Enough Cheese
Giphy
At my pizza place we make large pies for slices. Cheese pies only get 14oz of shredded mozz on them but that's not enough cheese to get decent coverage. I'm putting at least another three ounces of cheese on that MFer, ain't nobody getting a s*** slice of cheese pizza on my watch.
Explosive Fitting Rooms
Giphy
One of my jobs as a teenager was working at Marshalls. In case you all weren't aware, but having explosive sh!ts in the changing room is against the rules for EVERYONE. When they tried to get me to put on gloves to clean it up I just stood there and said no. They certainly were not paying me enough to deal with that sh!t... literally.
Why Kick Them When They're Down?
Giphy
People sleeping in their cars overnight. I consistently work night shifts and see it all the time. We're meant to tap on the window and ask them to leave; but really if someone has to sleep in their car and we have a huge empty carpark, why kick someone while they're down?
- Skorm178
Fluffy
Giphy
People aren't supposed to bring their dogs into the store yet would walk their dogs on leashes through the store all the time. I'd see it happen, realize I hated my job, pet the dog then go about my business. I didn't get paid enough to get into an argument with some old rich dude about why Fluffy isn't allowed to walk around in the store.
H/T: Reddit
