I just started my job at a fast food place less than a week ago. Today was my 4th day on the job and it went terribly. Not only was I not on my A game, but nobody else was either. It was a chaotic day but we got through it. Then my shift ended and I asked "is there anything you need me to do before I clocked out?" because you usually have duties that you have to do before you can leave, boy was that a mistake. I had to refill all of the ice machines in the restaurant which is a pain in the ass. I loaded up the ice cart and filled a couple of machines. My last duty was to fill the machines in the lobby. A combination of things went wrong: 1. There was not enough room between the ceiling and the top of the ice machine for the ice bucket to fit. 2. The ice bucket isn't that heavy, but at the end of the day its a lot different and I had to lift it well above my head. Making it hard to lift safely and hold my balance. The ice bucket slipped and smashed into the machine where advertisements for certain drinks were placed. The advertisement's frame was broken and some light bulbs behind the display were smashed. Two customers that were sitting down and eating looked at me and I said "My shift ended 30 minutes ago, I should probably just walk out, right?" they just laughed. So I cleaned up the spilled ice, and went and told my manager I finished the job. I clocked out, and I left. Nobody but those 2 customers know I did it, but there were cameras that clearly saw me. So I figure they'll realize it's broken, watch the film, and fire me, or at least ask me about it. I know I should have told, but I didn't. What do you guys think about all of this? EDIT: I added a really stupid poll in just for fun I guess. My restaurant has like a 3 strike system or some shit like that, so I thought maybe that could change the outcome.
Dude you should have just said something. NOW you might get fired for leaving it but if you spoke up they probably would have understood. It's your first day on the job. When it comes to any food service gig, any respectable manager doesn't expect you to know everything until at least a month or two into the job. And I can't tell if anyone did cause of your post, but someone should have been there "holding your hand" and walking you through it. But you also should have asked if no one did. This could go either way.
What should I say when I go back to work tomorrow. I'm pretty nervous since I know that I should have told someone but was too embarrassed to do so.
Obviously I hope they don't, but there was a camera getting a side-view of everything and those customers could have snitched on me. The thing is, on camera you can't really tell that I broke it (although that would obviously have been the cause) so I am considering playing dumb. Though I'm mostly leaning towards coming clean. The truth shall set you free.
Damn dude, i think you should just tell a manager or something, just be honest man. I mean if I was a manager I wouldn't assign duties like that to someone whose been on the job for less than a week. Im sure they will be understanding, if not you could always find a job at another similar place.
Just fess up tomorrow and be completely honest. They're going to find out one way or another. If you don't tell them, they'll fire you for sure. I know as a manager, I would fire you. That's some untrustworthy shit, regardless of the reason. I'd be MUCH more inclined to keep you on if I knew it was an accident helped by a long stressful day.
If they ask tell them it was you but you didn't realize that you had broken anything (unless it's extremely obvious). I've been in the restaurant industry in the kitchen cooking and managing, believe me, it's harder than you think to get fired from a place like this. You cleaned it, didn't complain and your fine. even if it is broken, it's not like you punch it and broke it out of anger, you were legitimately doing your job and where tired so it was difficult to life. If anything, it should make them realize how dangerous it really is to haul a bucket full of ice into a dining room full of customers, then have you attempt to shove ice in a hole that is too small to fit the bucket. Unless you had a bad attitude the whole time, shit happens, and in a kitchen or fast food, you have a LOT more bad days than good days, it's really how you fix your mistakes and how well hard you work or at least try to work.
Just fess up first thing tomorrow, tell em it was a stressful day and you didn't feel like dealing with it at the time.
You're pretty much always better off admitting you broke something that not, especially if it was accidental. If you don't want to lose the job, I'd say something first thing when you come back. Admit to it/apologize and explain you just got too nervous or something to say anything when it happened. Ideally, do this before anyone even questions you about it (like I said, do it first thing).
I doubt I'll be fired, I just broke a couple of light bulbs and knocked an ad out of place, plus the restaurant is literally almost 2 dozen employees short of what its supposed to have. They need me more than I need them, I'm not afraid to find another job, though I would rather not be fired before I even finish training.
Okay, so... most people are saying that I should fess up first thing, but I do like what Egg Man said about not realizing I broke anything, but idk, I'll need more advice. I appreciate all of the advice though.
It's childish to break things and not say anything about it. If you do that where I work, you get fired. However, if you honestly break something and tell someone, you don't even get a slap on the wrist. Accidents happen, especially if you're new on the job. They're going to know the lightbulbs were broken, and even if they don't suspect you, admitting to it makes you look like a stronger, honest person.
I mean it's still saying that you did spill, and make a mess, and cleaned it, in front of costumers, but none of that is firing material, and either way you do go, I would not fire someone for making a clumsy mistake the first week. just don't argue, and have a good attitude about it. Do you know for sure you broke something, it sounded like originally you didn't know if anything was broken. If you do know it's broken, you should prob just go tell them about it tomorrow. I wasn't trying to say to keep anything from them.
Right, I'll admit that I spilled the ice if they ask, and if they ask why I didn't finish filling the machines I'll say it's because I was tired, stressed, embarassed, and that i couldn't get it to fit. But as for the display...not sure what i'm going to do about that. i asked this on yahoo answers and got 1 response in the time it took to get all of these. I love grasscity so much <3