At the Cafe

I was 16 and I needed money for social stuff, so I decided to search for a job. One of my Dad’s clients who ran a cafe said he had a job opening and I should come down. I was prepared for an interview, but they said as long as I could be polite and work hard I had the job. I thought this was golden so jumped at the opportunity. They said they didn’t contract any staff so we wouldn’t be taxed and they gave me okay money, better than some of my friends. But went downhill from there. They got this guy to train me, who was nice, but hopeless, so I had to make up stuff along the go. Everyone there seemed to have a stick up their arse and no matter how hard I tried to be social and friendly, I rarely had conversation back (except when one of the boys who worked there decided to tell me about how he and his friend “use each other” for sex). After about five months, someone nice started work and I noticed that her equally social nature seemed to make every other person there her friend. Slightly miffed about why I wasn’t treated the same, I thought, it is only a job and I can get through it.

One day, I came in early, did my work with no break for eight hours straight. That same day I had been teased by the guy who had told me about using his friend for sex. Only paid seven and a half hours and annoyed by him, I snapped at the guy and told him to “stop being such a douche and leave me alone so I can do my work without interuption the next week.” Since I had started the undeserved attack, according to my boss, and they shouldn’t pay me for that day, to which I replied, “I work really hard here and I do my job well whilst he slacks off talking about his sexual activites and I’m getting my pay docked? Really?” They left me alone with my seven and a half hours pay, but he got away scott free.

I worked harder than anyone else there and was often given extra shifts as they knew this. I was always 15 minutes early and never paid for it. But I thought this would build up a good rep. I rarely asked for days off and when I did, it would be for legit reasons. But they always seemed a bit arsey whenever I did saying, “We did this as a favour to your Dad seeing as you had no interview” in front of the other interviewed members of staff (the reason for their cold shoulder is now apparent). I said to my boss politely later that day that I was expecting an interview and that my father should have had nothing to do with my employment and should I have an interview to keep my job. I was told, “Keep your attitude out of the work place or you wont have one.” I liked having the money so I ignored it and stuck at it.

I then asked for two days off as I had important A level exams the following day. They said I might as well take the next few work days off as they were over staffed and come back at the end of my exams. I then returned and was told come back at the end of the month. This continued for two months until I gave up. I’m technically still employed as they never fired me.
It has been a year since, and I finally got a great full time job before my uni course starts. I never go in that cafe anymore and I have given it 1/5 stars on every website I could find (I wasn’t the only one) and often see comments saying, “Where is the tall fellow?” or “What happened to the lovely curly haired boy? He was always so nice and chatty.”